Salt-N-Pepa’s Copyright-Clawback Row With Universal Is Dismissed

Hall of Fame rap and hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa lost their lawsuit accusing Universal Music Group of unlawfully refusing to transfer the copyrights of their hit songs back to them as a New York federal court dismissed the case.

Judge Denise Cote said Thursday there was no indication the duo—Cheryl James and Sandra Denton—ever owned the copyrights to the sound recordings of their songs based on a series of contracts they signed with predecessor record labels in 1986.

“Even viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, the 1986 agreements do not indicate that Plaintiffs ever owned the copyrights to the sound recordings or that they granted a transfer of those rights to anyone else,” Cote wrote in the opinion for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Salt-N-Pepa’s first recording contract in 1986 with the production company Noise in the Attic Productions Inc. stated explicitly that the company “shall be the sole and exclusive owner of any and all rights” to master recordings.

The duo would go on to be the first female rappers to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of American and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their hits including “Push It,” “Shoop,” and “Whatta Man” have sold millions of copies.

The judge said that without original ownership of the copyrights, Salt-N-Pepa can’t claw back those rights under the Copyright Act’s termination provision, which allows artists who licensed away their works early in their careers to regain control of the rights.

Salt-N-Pepa sued UMG in May 2025 after sending termination notices three years earlier. UMG said the notices were “invalid and ineffective” because the sound recordings were “works made for hire” that can’t be terminated. The duo said UMG in 2024 took down dozens of their songs from streaming platforms in an attempt to punish them.

Blank Rome LLP represents James and Denton. Cowan Liebowitz & Latman PC represent UMG.

The case is James v. UMG Recordings Inc., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:25-cv-04182, dismissed 1/8/26.