UMG Files New Brief Opposing Salt-N-Pepa Copyright Appeal
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- Universal Music Group filed a new brief Tuesday in the Second Circuit arguing Judge Cote correctly dismissed Salt-N-Pepa's case because the 1986 agreements show the group "never owned the copyrights" or granted a transfer of those rights to anyone else.
- Salt-N-Pepa sued UMG last May after the label rejected their 2022 copyright notice seeking to reclaim "Hot, Cool & Vicious," "A Salt With a Deadly Pepa," "Blacks' Magic" and "Very Necessary" under the Copyright Act's 35-year termination right.
- UMG maintains the four albums were "works-for-hire" under May 1986 contracts that gave masters control to Next Plateau, which was eventually absorbed into UMG — rendering them ineligible for reclamation under the Copyright Act of 1976.
- Salt-N-Pepa's appeal brief counters that the 35-year period begins once a work is essentially complete and that artists do not need to "assert their ownership" to qualify for termination.
- UMG's Tuesday filing also argued that Salt-N-Pepa's case ignores "important limitations" baked into the Copyright Act's carefully balanced termination scheme.
- The four albums remain unavailable on streaming platforms — a point the group flagged during their November Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, when Salt told the audience fans "can't even stream our music."
Why it matters: Four genre-defining hip-hop albums sit in a streaming blackout while the Second Circuit weighs whether 1980s recording contracts can permanently sideline the Copyright Act's 35-year termination right — a precedent that will ripple across every legacy act with pre-1990 masters.
