February 25, 2026
A federal decide discovered that these contracts didn’t present that Salt-N-Pepa themselves ever owned or transferred copyright possession of their music.
Pioneering hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa have filed a discover of enchantment after a federal decide dismissed their lawsuit in opposition to Common Music Group (UMG)
The discover of enchantment was filed with the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Second Circuit after U.S. District Choose Denise Cote dismissed the case Jan. 8, iHeart reported. The dismissal stemmed from a dispute over whether or not Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton ever owned the copyrights to their early recordings. In response to the ruling, the group “by no means owned the copyrights to their sound recordings and due to this fact can’t reclaim them.”
Salt-N-Pepa initially sued UMG in Could 2025, arguing that the 1976 Copyright Act gave them the precise to terminate older contracts and regain possession of their grasp recordings. The lawsuit cited Part 203 of the Copyright Act, which permits artists to reclaim copyrights 35 years after switch.
The authorized combat focuses on agreements from 1986 involving the group’s first label, Noise within the Attic Productions, and a distribution settlement with Subsequent Plateau Information. Choose Cote discovered that these contracts didn’t present that Salt-N-Pepa themselves ever owned or transferred copyright possession.
UMG argued in its movement to dismiss that the recordings have been “works made for rent.” Moreover, the work belonged to the label or producer below the phrases of the unique contracts. After the preliminary ruling, representatives for Salt-N-Pepa instantly expressed their intent to pursue their rights on enchantment. In response to the dismissal, they stated they continue to be dedicated to “vindicating and reclaiming our rights as creators below the Copyright Act.”
UMG has defended the dismissal. In a press release, a spokesperson stated the corporate was “gratified that the court docket dismissed this baseless lawsuit” however stays “open and keen to discover a decision to the matter and switch the web page so we are able to focus our efforts on working collectively to amplify Salt-N-Pepa’s legacy for generations to return,” BLACK ENTERPRISE reported.
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