Judge Dismisses Salt-N-Pepa's UMG Copyright Suit

A federal judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa against Universal Music Group, ruling that the artists never owned the copyrights to their early sound recordings and thus cannot reclaim them under federal law.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York granted UMG's motion to dismiss on January 8, ending the case filed by Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton in May 2025. The duo sought to terminate UMG's ownership of masters for hits like "Push It" and regain control of the physical recordings, citing Section 203 of the 1976 Copyright Act. That provision allows artists to reclaim copyrights 35 years after an initial transfer, provided they originally owned and then granted those rights.

The ruling hinged on three agreements from May 15, 1986. Salt-N-Pepa signed a recording contract with Noise in the Attic Productions, a company owned by their producer Hurby "Luv Bug" Azor. That same day, Azor entered a distribution deal with Next Plateau Records, UMG's predecessor, transferring ownership of the masters. Salt-N-Pepa also signed an inducement letter agreeing to the terms of that distribution agreement....