De La Soul Music Rights Update
Contents
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio from Amityville, New York. The group is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres.
Music Rights
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio from Amityville, New York. The group is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the Native Tongues Posse. The group originally consisted of three high school friends, Kelvin Mercer, David Jolicoeur, and Vincent Mason. In 1987, they signed with Tommy Boy Records and released their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising.
What are music rights?
Music rights are the legal rights to live performances, sound recordings, and compositions. They are traditionally split into two categories: performance rights and mechanical rights.
Performance rights give the artist or copyright holder the right to control how their music is performed in public. This includes the right to collect royalties when their music is played on the radio, TV, or live venues. Mechanical rights give the artist or copyright holder the right to control how their music is reproduced and distributed. This includes the right to collect royalties when their music is sold as CDs or digital downloads.
The majority of music rights are held by record labels, publishers, or performing rights organizations like ASCAP or BMI. In recent years, there has been a trend of artists retaining more control over their music rights by self-publishing or signing with independent labels.
Some artists have chosen to waive their performance rights in order to have their music streamed on platforms like Spotify or Pandora. However, this does not mean that these artists have given up all of their music rights. They still retain the mechanical rights to their songs, which allow them to collect royalties from sales of CDs and digital downloads.
If you are an artist who is looking to retain more control over your music rights, it is important to do your research and choose a business model that works for you. There are many resources available online and through your local musician’s union that can help you understand your options.
How do I get music rights?
There are two types of music rights: performance rights and mechanical rights. Performance rights allow public performances of a copyrighted song, while mechanical rights allow reproduction of the song for distribution (i.e., on a CD, record, or download). In order to get permission to use a copyrighted song, you must contact the copyright holder (usually the music publisher) and ask for permission. The copyright holder may charge a fee for the use of the song.
De La Soul
After a legal battle that spanned years, the seminal hip-hop group De La Soul has finally regained the rights to their music catalog. This is a huge victory not just for the group, but also for artists’ rights in general. It’s a complex story, but here’s what you need to know.
Who are De La Soul?
De La Soul is an American hip hop trio from Amityville, New York. The group is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres. The members are Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo. The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape of the song “Plug Tunin'”. With his help, they signed a record deal with Tommy Boy Records in 1989. They released their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising the following year.
The album was a critical and commercial success, credited with having brought alternative hip hop to mainstream audiences. It is considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time. De La Soul’s next two releases — De La Soul Is Dead (1991) and Buhloone Mindstate (1993) — were considerably less successful commercially, but received critical acclaim. They returned to prominence in 1996 with their fourth album Stakes Is High, which received gold certification. In 2000 they released Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump.
The group has since released several more albums, including 2004’s The Grind Date, which received mixed reviews but still managed to debuted at #10 on the US Billboard 200 chart; 2005’s critically acclaimed Peaheahe; and 2016’s And the Anonymous Nobody..”
What is their story?
De La Soul is a legendary hip-hop trio from New York, consisting of members Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, and Maseo. They are best known for their innovative and jazzy style of hip-hop, which they helped pioneer in the late 1980s along with groups like A Tribe Called Quest. De La Soul’s debut album 3 Feet High and Rising is considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, and they have released several other classic albums throughout their career.
Despite their critical acclaim, De La Soul has had a rocky relationship with their record label, Warner Bros. Records. In 2000, the group sued Warner Bros. over unpaid royalties, and they subsequently left the label. In recent years, they have been involved in a legal dispute over the rights to their music, which has prevented them from releases new material.
However, after years of legal wrangling, it looks like De La Soul may finally be getting some relief. Earlier this week, it was announced that the group has settled their lawsuit with Warner Bros., and they will now be able to release new music. This is great news for fans of De La Soul, who have been waiting patiently for new material from one of hip-hop’s most iconic groups.
What is the current status of their music rights?
As of September 2019, De La Soul’s music catalogue is available for streaming and purchase again after a long-term dispute with their former record label, Tommy Boy Records. The group’s classic albums, including 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul Is Dead, were taken off digital platforms in 2013 after the rights to the music expired. In February 2019, the group announced that they had reached a settlement with the label that would allow them to regain control of their catalogue. All of De La Soul’s albums are now available on streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, and can be purchased through digital retailers such as iTunes and Amazon Music.
Update
In a recent post on their official website, De La Soul announced that they have finally regained full control of their music catalogue. This is great news for fans of the iconic hip-hop group, who have been waiting for new music for years.
What is the update on De La Soul’s music rights?
The pioneering hip-hop group De La Soul is the latest artist to run afoul of the confusing and opaque world of music rights. The group, which rose to fame in the late 1980s with its innovative and irreverent take on hip-hop, has been embroiled in a legal fight over the rights to its music for years.
The group’s original label, Tommy Boy Records, was sold several times over the years, and the rights to De La Soul’s catalog have changed hands multiple times as well. The current owner of the catalog is Rhino Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Rhino has been licensing De La Soul’s music for use in films, TV shows, and commercials without the group’s permission. In response, De La Soul has sued Rhino for copyright infringement.
The group is seeking to reclaim the rights to its music, or at least to negotiate a more favorable licensing deal. In the meantime, fans hoping to hear De La Soul’s music on streaming services or elsewhere will have to wait until the legal situation is resolved.
What does this mean for their fans?
The group’s decision to give away their music for free comes as a result of a long-standing dispute with their former record label, Tommy Boy Music. In 2011, the group sued the label, claiming that they had been shortchanged on royalties and that their contract had been breached. The case was settled out of court, but the terms of the settlement were not made public.
It is not clear how the group’s decision to release their music for free will affect their legal case against Tommy Boy Music. However, the group has said that they hope their fans will “understand our motivations” and support them in their fight for “artist’s rights and creative control.”
Takeaway
After a years-long legal battle, De La Soul has finally reached a settlement with the estate of their late collaborator, J Dilla. This means that the group will now have full control over their classic album, 3 Feet High and Rising, and will be able to generate revenue from it once again.
What is the takeaway from this story?
The story is about the dispute between De La Soul and their label, Tommy Boy Records, over the rights to their music.
The takeaway from this story is that artist need to be aware of their rights and be proactive in protecting them. This includes being familiar with the contracts they sign and knowing what rights they are signing away. Artists should also be aware of the laws governing copyright and how they can use those laws to protect their work.