Salt-N-Pepa’s Appeal to Reclaim Early Album Masters

In May 2025 the hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa sued Universal Music Group (UMG) after the label rejected the group’s 2022 copyright notice seeking to reclaim ownership of their first four albums—*Hot, Cool & Vicious*, *A Salt With a Deadly Pepa*, *Blacks’ Magic* and *Very Necessary*. UMG argued the recordings were “works-for-hire” under the 1976 Copyright Act, making them ineligible for reclamation after the statutory 35-year period. A district court dismissed the suit in January 2026; the plaintiffs appealed, and the case now sits before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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The dispute traces to contracts signed in May 1986 with the independent label Next Plateau, which later became part of UMG. UMG maintains that those agreements never transferred copyright ownership to Salt-N-Pepa and that the recordings were owned by the label from the outset, invoking the works-for-hire doctrine to block the group’s reclamation claim.

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• Salt-N-Pepa – Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton, and Deidra Roper (DJ Spinderella)

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• Universal Music Group – parent company of Next Plateau, represented by its legal team

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• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit – hearing the appeal

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• Judge Cote – author of the district-court dismissal

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• May 1986 – Contracts executed with Next Plateau.

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• 2022 – Salt-N-Pepa files a copyright notice to terminate prior agreements.

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• May 2025 – Lawsuit filed against UMG.

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• January 2026 – District court dismisses the case.

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• February 2026 – UMG submits a new brief to the Second Circuit.

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• November 2025 – Salt-N-Pepa inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and publicly decried streaming removal.

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• Four albums at issue, all released before 1991.

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• 35-year reclamation window under the Copyright Act, which the plaintiffs argue began when each work was “essentially complete.”

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• Current streaming status: All four albums are unavailable on major platforms.

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UMG’s brief reiterates that the 1986 agreements “do not indicate that Plaintiffs ever owned the copyrights to the sound recordings” and that the termination provision of the Copyright Act is a “carefully balanced scheme” imposing limits on when the right may be exercised. Salt-N-Pepa’s appeal contends that the 35-year period starts upon completion of the work and that artists need not “assert their ownership” to trigger reclamation.

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During their Hall of Fame induction, the trio warned, “fans can’t even stream our music. It’s been taken down from all streaming platforms because the industry still doesn’t want to play fair,” framing the legal battle as part of a broader industry reluctance to return control to creators.

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• Ownership claim: UMG asserts the group never held copyright; Salt-N-Pepa argues the statutory termination right applies.

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• Works-for-hire status: No definitive court ruling yet on whether the 1986 contracts create a works-for-hire relationship.

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• Future streaming: No information from either side about potential restoration pending litigation.

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• “the extent to which the entire termination provision [of the Copyright Act] is itself a carefully balanced scheme that also places important limitations on when and how the right may be exercised.” — Universal Music Group, lawyer

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• “assert their ownership.” — Salt-N-Pepa, plaintiffs’ appeal brief

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• “As we celebrate this moment, fans can’t even stream our music. It’s been taken down from all streaming platforms because the industry still doesn’t want to play fair.” — Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and Deidra Roper, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction

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The outcome will clarify how the works-for-hire doctrine interacts with the Copyright Act’s termination provision, potentially setting a precedent for other legacy artists seeking control of their masters and influencing the availability of historic recordings on digital platforms.

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The Second Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments later this year. Until a ruling is issued, the four Salt-N-Pepa albums will remain absent from streaming services, and the legal question of ownership will stay unresolved.

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