{"id":1951521,"date":"2025-08-09T15:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-09T15:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1951521"},"modified":"2025-08-09T15:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T15:48:16","slug":"amid-legal-battle-salt-n-pepa-claims-umg-keeps-us-from-re-releasing-our-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/amid-legal-battle-salt-n-pepa-claims-umg-keeps-us-from-re-releasing-our-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid legal battle, Salt-N-Pepa claims UMG \u2018keeps us from re-releasing our music\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Two members of Salt-N-Pepa said Universal Music Group<\/a> has taken down some of their hit songs from streaming services and is preventing them from re-releasing and promoting their catalog.<\/p>\n

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Cheryl James<\/b> and Sandra Denton<\/b> told<\/a> Good Morning America <\/i>co-anchor Robin Roberts<\/b> in a recent interview that Universal Music Group <\/b>removed their music from platforms amid their legal battle<\/a> to reclaim ownership of their early recordings under federal copyright law.<\/p>\n

Denton said<\/a>: \u201cIt just keeps us from re-releasing our music \u2014 promoting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The duo\u2019s latest allegation comes nearly three months after the two sued UMG, alleging the music company is preventing them from reclaiming ownership of their master recordings, in breach of US copyright laws.<\/p>\n

In their complaint lodged<\/a> in a US District Court in New York on May 19, James and Denton\u00a0accused UMG of engaging in \u201cself-interested and heavy-handed tactics\u201d to block them from exercising their termination rights under copyright law. They\u00a0<\/b>are looking to regain control of their early catalog, which features hits like\u00a0Push It, Let\u2019s Talk About Sex,\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0Shoop.<\/i><\/p>\n

Their lawsuit centers on Section 203 <\/b>of the Copyright Act<\/b>, which gives creators the right to reclaim their work 35 years after initially transferring the rights, provided they have properly submitted termination notices.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen you\u2019re an artist, in the beginning, you sign a contract saying that the copyrights will revert back to you after 35 years. And we\u2019ve done all the things legally to get our copyrights back. But they\u2019re just refusing, so we had to sue them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheryl James, Salt-N-Pepa<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The two said they served termination notices in 2022, \u201ceager to retake full ownership of their art and legacy.\u201d However, they said UMG has refused to acknowledge their validity, claiming the recordings were \u201cworks made for hire.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Salt-N-Pepa\u2019s complaint, UMG retaliated by removing the music from streaming platforms in May 2024.<\/p>\n

James told GMA: <\/i>\u201cWhen you\u2019re an artist, in the beginning, you sign a contract saying that the copyrights will revert back to you after 35 years. And we\u2019ve done all the things legally to get our copyrights back. But they\u2019re just refusing, so we had to sue them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Denton added: \u201cIt\u2019s the law. That\u2019s what it really boils down to. It\u2019s the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

UMG has already filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Back in May, a spokesperson for the music giant told<\/a> MBW: \u201cSalt-N-Pepa\u2019s own legal filings demonstrate the repeated attempts we have made to resolve this matter amicably (including offers to enter into a mediation) ever since the artists served an invalid termination notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly, the artists\u2019 legal counsel thinks they can use the threat of negative media coverage from the lawsuit to achieve their unreasonable demands. Despite this, and consistent with our longstanding practice, we remain committed to working towards an amicable resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cObviously, it\u2019s something. They wanna keep it. They wanna hold onto it. And they\u2019re tryin\u2019 to fight us. So, obviously, they understand what\u2019s the worth of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandra Denton, Salt-N-Pepa<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Salt-N-Pepa had earlier argued that UMG has refused to acknowledge the validity of their ownership, claiming the recordings were \u201cworks made for hire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to GMA, <\/i>James said: \u201cWe didn\u2019t have that leverage. We didn\u2019t have that knowledge. We didn\u2019t have that control in the \u201980s. And so, to be held to a contract from 1985, and 40 years later, it\u2019s, like, ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n