Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs gifts back publishing rights to Bad Boy artists

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Nationwide Correspondent, @StacyBrownMedia

(NNPA Newswire) – Sean “Diddy” Combs has gifted his Dangerous Boy household with life-changing anniversary presents. In line with Billboard, the music mogul has determined to return the publishing rights of his label’s artists and songwriters to their rightful homeowners.

The transfer resulted in Dangerous Boy Leisure’s host of creatives rapidly signing agreements to regain management of their mental property. Ma$e, Religion Evans, The LOX, 112, and the property of the Infamous B.I.G. are amongst those that have already inked offers to reclaim their rights, as per Billboard. Combs began the method in Might 2021 to promote the catalog, however the particulars of the preparations are nonetheless unknown

For years, the administration of publishing on behalf of Dangerous Boy was entrusted to EMI, a subsidiary of Sony Music Publishing/Sony Company of America. Notably, EMI nonetheless handles Combs’ publishing. 

Offering artists with publishing rights may imply tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} for his or her backside line, as gross sales of publishing have steadily elevated through the years. For instance, Dr. Dre just lately bought his catalog for greater than $300 million, and Justin Bieber netted north of $200 million.

This beneficiant transfer by Combs coincides with the thirtieth anniversary celebration of Dangerous Boy Leisure this yr. The choice additionally follows a longstanding public feud between Combs and Ma$e, one in every of Dangerous Boy’s hitmakers. The rift arose when Combs criticized the Recording Academy throughout his 2020 Trade Icon Award acceptance speech for undervaluing Black artists in R&B and rap. Ma$e confronted his former label boss in an Instagram publish. He revealed that he provided $2 million to purchase again his publishing, however Combs mentioned no. Ma$e additional alleged, “Your previous enterprise practices knowingly have continued to starve your artist purposely and have been extraordinarily unfair to the exact same artist that helped u acquire that Icon Award on the long-lasting Dangerous Boy label.” The publish make clear longstanding grievances by Dangerous Boy artists, together with Combs’ retaining of Ma$e’s publishing rights from 24 years in the past in change for a mere $20,000.

In a later interview with The Breakfast Membership in 2022, Combs mentioned that Ma$e owed him $3 million prematurely cash for an album that was by no means obtained.

Dangerous Boy Leisure, based by Combs in 1993, has loved a storied historical past within the music business. The label rapidly grew to become profitable, with many albums and singles that went gold, platinum, or multi platinum. The artists included Craig Mack, the Infamous B.I.G., Religion Evans, Ma$e, Whole, 112, The LOX and Diddy, himself. Through the years, the label’s illustrious roster has additionally featured abilities like Carl Thomas, Shyne, Dream, Danity Kane and French Montana. Moreover, it housed an in-house author/producer collective often known as The Hitmen, which included notable figures just like the late Chucky Thompson, Stevie J, Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie and Mario Winans. Latest releases beneath the Dangerous Boy banner embrace Machine Gun Kelly’s 2022 album “Mainstream Sellout” and Janelle Monae’s newest providing, “The Age of Pleasure.”