Salt-N-Pepa’s legal battle against Universal Music Group (UMG) may have reached a dead end. This week, a New York judge dismissed the lawsuit filed by group members Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton, which sought to reclaim ownership of their music and accused UMG of violating copyright law.
“None of the contracts identified by Plaintiffs indicate that they ever owned the Master Tapes,” the dismissal noted, per Variety. The judge stated that “the statutory text in § 203 is clear: Plaintiffs can only terminate copyright transfers that they executed. They cannot terminate a copyright grant executed by NITA. As a result, Plaintiffs do not plausibly allege a claim for declaratory relief.”
As previously reported by theGrio, the “Push It” singers filed the lawsuit in May 2025 after they claimed UMG refused to turn over the rights to their master recordings. The filing says James and Denton filed to terminate their agreement under the law in 2022, “eager to retake full ownership of their art and legacy,” but that, “Inexplicably, UMG has refused to honor” their rights and had subsequently deprived fans of accessing their work and “tanking the value of [the group’s] music catalogue.”
“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,” James said during the group’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Salt-N-Pepa have never been afraid of a fight. We have to keep using our influence until the industry honors creativity the way the audience does — with love, respect and fairness — and that includes streaming platforms too.”
Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit led UMG to file a motion to dismiss, categorizing the songs as “work made for hire,” which means that the artists had no rights to the tracks.
“While we are gratified that the court dismissed this baseless lawsuit, it should never have been brought in the first place,” a UMG representative said in response to the judge’s Thursday verdict. “Prior to this suit—and without any legal obligation to do so—we made multiple attempts to resolve the matter amicably, improve the artists’ compensation, and ensure that Salt-N-Pepa’s fans had access to their music. Even with the court’s complete rejection of their claims, we remain open and willing to find a resolution to the matter and turn the page so we can focus our efforts on working together to amplify Salt-N-Pepa’s legacy for generations to come.”
