Judge: Salt-N-Pepa Never Owned Copyrights For Music, Tanking Ownership Suit

( January 12, 2026, 1:26 PM EST) -- NEW YORK — A New York federal judge held that the artists who form hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa could not reclaim copyrights or master recording from UMG Recordings Inc. because, as per a 1986 agreement, the copyright interests were vested in their original record label before eventually being transferred to UMG....