Does Kanye West own his masters?
Someone else controls where it's played and when it's played. Artists have nothing accept [sic] the fame, touring and merch.” For West, owning his masters, some of which are held by label Universal Music and publisher Sony/ATV, is personal.
In efforts to give artists the same autonomy he's been fighting his labels Universal Music Group and Sony/ATV for all over Twitter, Kanye West is returning his share of his artists' masters. “I'm giving all Good music artist back the 50% share I have of their masters,” the G.O.O.D.
It isn't the first time the 28-year-old rapper has flexed ownership of his masters. In January 2017, fresh off the enormous success of his 2016 collaborative EP with Metro Boomin, Savage Mode, 21 leveraged a deal with L.A. Reid's Epic Records that awarded him 100 percent ownership of all master recordings.
Jay-Z reportedly sold master recordings of Kanye West's first six albums to buy back his own masters in the Roc-A-Fella-Def Jam deal.
In a cover story for the April issue of Vogue, Abby Aguirre reports that after she released her last album in 2012, Rihanna left her old label and acquired the masters to all of her previous recordings. This is an incredible business move for star who also founded her own label imprint under her new home RocNation.
UPDATED: Kanye West has said publicly for years that he deserves to own the rights to his music — the master recordings of his songs, and his publishing — even though he knowingly signed contracts with Universal Music Group and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, with top attorneys present, that adhere to music industry ...
For West, owning his masters, some of which are held by label Universal Music and publisher Sony/ATV, is personal. “My children will own my own masters, not your children, my children,” he followed up.
Owning your masters means you own the copyright to the original sound recordings of your music. The copyright of the Sound Recording is generally owned by the artist or record label that they are signed to.
West released his first six records on Roc-A-Fella, the label owned by Jay-Z. However, when Def Jam bought the label in 2004, the label owner and rapper reportedly sold the rights to records including 'College Dropout' and 'Late Registration' in a deal that would secure his own masters.
Who owns Snoop Dogg's Masters?
Snoop Dogg Reveals He Now Owns The Masters to Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' After Death Row Acquisition – X102. 3.
Does Lil Baby Own Sole Control Over His Masters? Neither Lil Baby nor Quality Control Music has made it public who currently has control over the masters for Lil Baby's music.
They had as much riding on making him a hip-hop star as he had to make himself one. Does he own his masters? He does not. That doesn't happen often.
(The album "Beyoncé" belongs to both Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.) Because of the arrangement, Beyoncé owns the masters of at least some of the songs appearing on her albums. What's more, Beyoncé signed a global deal with Sony Music Entertainment, the company that owns Columbia Records, in January 2020.
For West, owning his masters, some of which are held by label Universal Music and publisher Sony/ATV, is personal. “My children will own my own masters, not your children, my children,” he followed up.
Adidas agreed to give him royalties, and West described the CEO of Adidas as "someone who allowed [him] to build something". Under the partnership with Adidas, West retains 100% ownership of his brand while having full creative control over the products released.
(The album "Beyoncé" belongs to both Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records.) Because of the arrangement, Beyoncé owns the masters of at least some of the songs appearing on her albums. What's more, Beyoncé signed a global deal with Sony Music Entertainment, the company that owns Columbia Records, in January 2020.
It also means that Jay-Z's own records, which recently were released through a deal with Atlantic Records, part of the Warner Music Group, will once again come out on Universal.
