The thorny issue of termination rights, through which musicians in the US can reclaim the rights to their works after a set period of time, has reared its head again this week.
Salt-N-Pepa are suing Universal Music Group over its response to their filing of a notice of termination rights in 2022, which they say the label treated as “invalid and ineffective” because the two albums in question were “works made for hire”.
1986’s ‘Hot, Cool & Vicious’ and 1988’’s ‘A Salt With a Deadly Pepa’ are the albums at the heart of this case. Billboard reported that the artists want their termination rights to be declared valid, and are also seeking more than $1m in damages.
The lawsuit also claims that UMG has pulled the albums “from all major platforms in the US” amid the dispute, although they remain available elsewhere in the world – this story is being typed to the accompaniment of ‘Push It’ to test that out.
“UMG appears to take the position that it can unilaterally decide when and/or if a recording artist is entitled to termination,” claimed Salt-N-Pepa’s attorneys. “This is not the law, and UMG does not have this power.”
Termination-rights disputes have periodically made headlines in recent years. In 2023, a group of artists sued UMG (and also Sony Music) claiming that the labels had refused to honour these rights. The artists were denied class-action status in the lawsuit, which was then settled in March 2024.
Then, in October, another veteran rap act – 2 Live Crew – won a legal battle over the termination rights of their back catalogue. However, this case focused on a specific issue: whether these rights could be exercised for a catalogue that had been sold on when their former label went bankrupt.
Privately, Music Ally has heard tales of artists being advised by lawyers NOT to try to exercise their termination rights in the US. Partly because any blocking or delaying tactics by labels can lead to ballooning legal costs for the artists, and partly because of fears of retaliatory action on their catalogues.
Understandably, many artists in that situation choose to try to negotiate a better royalties deal rather than fight to exercise their termination rights.
Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit – filed at a moment when their profile is high again due to their upcoming induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – will thus be followed intently by artists, rightsholders and lawyers alike.
Universal Music Group has yet to comment on the lawsuit. We’ll bring you any official statement in tomorrow’s bulletin (and in the web version of this story today), and we’ll be keeping an eye out for the company’s counter-filing in the case too.
