*The legendary hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa transformed their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognition into a platform for advocacy, addressing music industry inequities during their acceptance of the Musical Influence award.
Cheryl “Salt” James called out the unavailability of their music catalog, which has been removed from streaming services amid an ongoing legal battle, Variety reports. “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,” she said.
James emphasized the group’s determination to fight for artist rights and fair treatment. “Salt-N-Pepa have never been afraid of a fight. This is the Influence Award. 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,” she stated.
The public statement references a federal lawsuit Salt-N-Pepa initiated against Universal Music Group in May over control of their master recordings. The legal action accuses UMG of Copyright Act violations by preventing the group from reclaiming ownership of tracks released through Next Plateau London Records, despite federal statutes allowing artists to regain rights after 35 years. UMG reportedly contended the artists lacked “termination rights” because they were not direct signatories to the original agreements.
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A UMG representative responded to the allegations: “Clearly, the artists’ legal counsel thinks they can use the threat of negative media coverage from the lawsuit to achieve their unreasonable demands. Despite this, and consistent with our longstanding practice, we remain committed to working towards an amicable resolution.”
Beyond the legal discourse, Salt-N-Pepa delivered a medley of hits during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event, featuring “My Mic Sounds Nice,” “Shoop,” “Let’s Talk About Sex,” and joined by En Vogue for “Whatta Man.”
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