Diddy Returns Bad Boy Publishing Rights to Artists & Songwriters

Diddy announced today that he is returning the publishing rights to the artists and songwriters of his Bad Boy label. This goes against the long-standing practice in the music industry where labels typically retain the publishing rights to the songs created by their artists. Diddy began the process of giving back the publishing rights two years ago when he was considering selling the Bad Boy catalog. Most of the parties involved have signed their offers, while others are still in negotiations. EMI, owned by Sony Music Publishing, currently administers Bad Boy’s publishing. Artists like Faith Evans, Ma$e, The LOX, and 112 now have ownership of their publishing from the label.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Ma$e revealed that he offered Diddy $2 million to repurchase his publishing, but Diddy declined the offer. Ma$e expressed his frustration with Diddy’s past business practices, accusing him of starving his artists and being unfair. Diddy had allegedly given Ma$e $20k for his publishing 24 years ago, which Ma$e considered an inadequate amount. Last year, Diddy claimed that Ma$e owed him $3 million for an album advance that was never delivered.

Cam’ron also shared on Instagram that Ma$e has regained his publishing rights. He congratulated Ma$e and mentioned that he himself will be releasing a new project called “The Lost Files Vol. 1” on September 8.