publishing rights
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The family of The Notorious B.I.G. has struck a deal with Primary Wave Music for the late MC’s catalog and more.
As reported by Variety, the estate of Biggie Smalls has partnered with the music giant in an agreement that includes his publishing rights, master recordings, image, name and likeness. This would allow the agency to negotiate on the estate’s behalf and leverage the assets so The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy lives on via strategic placements and arrangements.
While terms of the deal have not been publicly disclosed, the Wall Street Journal reports that Primary Wave Music is acquiring 50% into the estate, which the business magazine estimates being valued at $200 million dollars. In the feature, WSJ details the late Voletta Wallace’s journey to organize Biggie’s affairs ever since his passing in 1997, which included negotiating a higher split from Bad Boy Entertainment for his music publishing.
“The estate and Primary Wave will collaborate on all business moving forward in an effort to continue the incredible and innovative work done thus far with one goal in mind, to keep the legacy of the Notorious B.I.G. alive,” a press release reads. According to the Hollywood Reporter B.I.G.’s former management team Mark Pitts and Wayne Barrow will represent the estate. Voletta Wallace passed away Feb. 21 at the age 78.
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Diddy has long been the target of criticism over holding the publishing rights who recorded and released music under his Bad Boy music imprint. According to a new report, Diddy will hand back the music publishing rights to a number of artists and other collaborators.
Variety gained exclusive intel from a source that says Diddy, real name Sean Combs, will give back the music publishing rights to the estate of The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e, and more.
Per the source, Diddy has “decided to reassign his Bad Boy publishing rights back to all Bad Boy artists and writers who helped build Bad Boy into the powerhouse it is today.”
While the full details of the shift in rights are not known, other acts include the likes of The LOX, 112, and a host of others that could be assumed to be songwriters, producers, and engineers.
The outlet added that the speculative worth of the rights could total up to hundreds of millions of dollars. The outlet’s source also adds that Diddy has received a number of offers for the publishing rights but instead shifted course and placed them back into the hands of the original creators.
Last week, we posted a story that Cam’Ron, who now works with Ma$e on a sports podcast, shared the news of his co-host signing paperwork regarding the transfer of his music publishing rights back.
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Photo: Getty
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