Universal Music Group (UMG) is firing back at Salt-N-Pepa’s attempt to win back control of their masters, saying the claims are legally invalid as the hip-hop duo was not actually a party to its 1986 record deal.

The argument comes in UMG’s Thursday (July 17) motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Salt-N-Pepa back in May. Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton claimed the major label is refusing to honor their so-called “termination rights,” a provision of copyright law that allows artists who sign over their master recordings to regain control of that intellectual property 35 years after a song’s release.

UMG’s lawyers argue that Salt-N-Pepa don’t have any termination rights because James and Denton were not the ones who signed away their masters for the 1980s and 1990s albums Hot, Cool & Vicious, A Salt With A Deadly Pepa, Blacks’ Magic, A Blitz of Salt-N-Pepa Hits and Very Necessary.

The music giant says Salt-N-Pepa’s 1986 distribution deal with Next Plateau Records — now a part of UMG — was actually signed by the duo’s producer, Hurby “Luv Bug” Azor.

“There was never an intention to effectuate a copyright transfer from plaintiffs. The only transfer is made by producer as the copyright owner to Next Plateau,” the motion reads. “Because that is not a grant subject to termination by plaintiffs, plaintiff’s declaratory judgment claim as to the validity of their termination of purported grants concerning the sound recordings should be dismissed.”

The motion points out that in a landmark class action lawsuit brought against UMG over termination rights, a federal judge specifically determined that these rights only apply to record deals executed by artists. Salt-N-Pepa’s lawyers worked on the class action, notes UMG, but have “apparently chosen to ignore that decision.”

UMG also says termination rights don’t apply to derivative works, including remixes. Several of the recordings cited in Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuits are remixes, including versions of the hits “Push It” and “Expression.”

“Accordingly, even if plaintiffs had executed grants of copyright rights in the sound recordings that are the subject of the notice, and even assuming that the notice were otherwise valid, UMG’s ownership interest in the derivative ‘remixed’ sound recordings would not be subject to termination,” write UMG’s lawyers.

UMG wants the entire lawsuit tossed out and says it shouldn’t have to begin the discovery process until a judge rules on its motion. Gathering evidence for Salt-N-Pepa would be time-consuming and expensive, says the label, “because the relevant events trace back many decades, including various contractual arrangements dating back almost forty years.”

Reps for Salt-N-Pepa did not immediately provide a comment on the motion.

SoundCloud partnered with elasticStage, a platform that offers a “print-on-demand model” for physical music releases. Through the deal, SoundCloud’s Artist Pro users can list their vinyl releases for sale on a dedicated website and sell vinyl on demand as orders come in. ElasticStage handles all processing, shipping and customer service requests. “Vinyl sales have surged over 300% since 2016, yet most independent artists have been excluded from this growth due to high manufacturing costs and logistical limitations,” said SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton in a statement, adding that the “partnership is another step toward ensuring that every artist — no matter their size — has the tools to build a sustainable career.” Artists can join the waitlist here.

Reservoir Media invested in London-based entertainment company Lightroom, which develops immersive entertainment experiences around IP — which Reservoir will provide as part of the deal. According to a press release, Lightroom is in five cities and will be in 12 by the end of 2025. The release reports that Lightroom’s experiences have played to more than one million visitors globally. “We see meaningful opportunity in this high-growth vertical, and this investment is an opportunity to enhance the value of our music assets, capitalizing on milestone moments, as well as our evergreen music catalog, to create shows rooted in IP,” said Reservoir founder/CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi in a statement.

Music rights technology company Chordal signed a multi-year deal with TikTok for the platform’s pre-cleared commercial music library (CML). Through the pact, rights holders of fractionally owned songs can use Chordal’s enterprise synch licensing technology, InstantClear, to opt into TikTok’s CML, pre-clear their fractional shares and automate payments. “We are looking to help evolve the micro-licensing industry to take advantage of the speed and scale of digital advertising and short-form video,” said Chris Marion, manager of commercial music at TikTok, in a statement. “Our goal is to provide brands with a safe, expansive library of music to use in their content, while opening up new revenue streams for the artists that power it.”

Symphonic Distribution signed a deal to utilize the IP enforcement services of Third Chair (previously known as Watchdog) to monitor social media usages of music under Symphonic’s Bodega Sync division. According to a press release, Third Chair “makes it easy for anyone to monitor social media for brand use of their content, streamline licensing negotiations, and recover missed revenue without adding headcount.” Symphonic CEO/founder Jorge Brea said of the deal, “Our partnership with Third Chair is a natural fit as the issues around music usage on social media become more pronounced, and we look forward to putting their IP monitoring and monetization solutions into the hands of all our independent music creators.”

Legends/ASM Global renewed its partnership with the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority in Michigan, extending its contract as venue manager and food & beverage operator for Van Andel Arena, DeVos Performance Hall and the DeVos Place convention center — and, in the future, Acrisure Amphitheater (set to open in May 2026) and Amway Stadium (spring 2027). The agreement amendment takes effect on July 1, 2026, for a 15-year period, with a 10-year renewal option.

Universal Music India signed a licensing agreement with physical music distributor Blisstainment. Under the deal, Blisstainment will be the official licensor and distributor of vinyl records from Universal Music India’s repertoire domestically, including remastered vinyl editions of Hindi film soundtracks and I-pop albums. The first three releases via the pact are the soundtracks of the films Bombay, Yeh Vada Raha and Rocky.

Downtown-owned B2B distributor FUGA signed a global partnership with Arketyp Group, a new indie label founded by Swedish music manager and YEAR0001 label co-founder Oskar Ekman. FUGA will provide digital and physical distribution, marketing support and synch services across Arketyp’s artist and label client rosters, which includes artists on YEAR0001 — a FUGA client since 2022. Under the expanded Arketyp umbrella, the label has released music from punk band Viagra Boys and Miike Snow.

Antwerp, Belgium-based management and booking agency Darkroom Bookings joined Tomorrowland’s artist agency One World Artists. With the move, Darkroom brings four emerging artists — NOVAH, BYØRN, Callush, and EMILIJA — to the One World roster.

J Balvin has dropped a surprise album called Mixteip with “songs I had on my iPod and now are going to your playlist,” according to the artist himself. The release comes on the heels of his performance at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final halftime show.

In the 10-track project — which includes the previously-released singles “Río” and “KLK” with Omega -— the Colombian artist pays homage to the old-school reggaetón of the 1990s and early 2000s, but also delivers his signature progressive and experimental side. 

Track “Zun Zun,” in collaboration with Lenny Tavarez and Justin Quiles, for example, has those retro-yet-sensual perreo elements à la Plan B or Zion; whereas opening number “Bruz Weinz” (inspired by Bruce Wayne’s vigilante persona Batman) is an edgy trap-R&B fusion. 

One of the standout tracks on Mixteip is “Misterio,” which features salsa legend Gilberto Santa Rosa. Lyrically, it’s heart-wrenching and about a relationship that failed, but musically, it’s a seductive masterpiece that goes from a smooth reaggetón to an exhilarating salsa melody. “Hermano, el amor no es siempre lo que parece. A veces, hay que vivir, y a veces hay que sufrir” (Brother, love isn’t always what it seems. Sometimes you need to live, and sometimes, you need to suffer), Santa Rosa recites before the song’s surprising transition. 

Meanwhile, “UUU” in collaboration with English-Ghanaian rapper Stormzy is a saucy Brazilian funk; “PQBL” brings back the timeless Bad Bunny-assisted “La Canción”; and “KLK” is a club-ready, electro-merengue. “This project is all about the art of putting all the music you love in one place. Whether it’s a sad song, a salsa or an old-school reggaeton,” Balvin tells Billboard via email.

Mixteip follows the release of the Rayo album released last August, which debuted on the Top Latin Albums chart at No. 13. Rayo marked his sixth studio album following La Familia (2013), Energía (2016), Vibras (2018), Colores (2020), and José (2021).

Stream and listen to Mixteip below:

Memphis Bleek revealed that he and Beanie Sigel were supposed to make an album together.

During a recent episode of his new show ROC Solid, the Brooklyn rapper sat down with his friend and former labelmate Freeway and told a story about having to go to Miami to record music in the early 2000s. Free — who was an up-and-coming rapper out of Philadelphia at the time — tagged along with Bleek and Beanie to take advantage of the studio time while the two of them were supposed to make songs for a collab album that fans were clamoring for at the time because of songs like “My Hood to Your Hood,” “So What You Saying,” and “Hustlers.”

“Me and Beans were supposed to do an album,” Bleek explained on the show. “They flew us to Miami — me, I didn’t bring none of my artists with me, but Beans said, ‘I’m bringin’ Freeway with me.’ Because Free didn’t have a budget, he didn’t have nothing. We bullsh—tin’ in the studio, we get back to New York, Jay like, ‘Yo, what did ya do?’ So, me and Beans lookin like, ‘We ain’t got nothin’.’ So, he like, ‘Yo, ya blew $300,000 just in the studio? What ya do?’ [Young] Guru was like, ‘But Freeway got some records.’ And my n—a, Free, you came with the two monster records, bro.”

Freeway then added that he chose to lock in with Just Blaze in the studio instead of partying and recorded the hit record “Roc the Mic,” which peaked at No. 55 on the Hot 100. “That’s when I started developing my relationship with Just,” he recalled. “N—as wanted to go to the club when we in Miami, I’m like, ‘Man, f—k that, I’m in the stu.’”

And while Memph and Beans didn’t come back with a project, Bleek came back with “Round Here” featuring Trick Daddy and T.I. which eventually became the lead single to his 2003 album M.A.D.E.

You can watch the full conversation below.

The Notorious B.I.G.’s estate has reached a settlement with Target, Nordstrom and other retailers that allegedly sold unauthorized canvas prints of the famed “King of New York” photo snapped just days before the legendary rapper’s death.

A court filing from Wednesday (July 16) says the lawsuit filed by Biggie’s estate in February has been settled entirely. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, as is typical with these types of settlements.

The lawsuit accused Target, Nordstrom, Bed Beth & Beyond and Home Depot of selling infringing prints of the iconic image known as “The King of New York” — a portrait of The Notorious B.I.G. wearing a gold crown in front of a red backdrop, taken only three days before the rapper was killed in a Los Angeles shooting in 1997.

Biggie’s estate claimed the retailers sourced these prints from a company called iCanvas, which allegedly has a history of making unauthorized prints of other artists, including Beyoncé, Prince, Jay-Z, Snoop Dog and LL Cool J.

A lawyer representing the estate, Steven Hart, tells Billboard on Thursday (July 17) that he cannot disclose the terms of the settlement but that “the matter was resolved to our client’s satisfaction.”

“I will also say it is so incredibly important, in this day and age, where everyone’s privacy is under attack and so easily disseminated, to protect our privacy, name, likeness and image and trademarks,” adds Hart. “Companies must do better than to steal the identity of others to turn a profit or for their own selfish a greedy interest. We urge other public figures whether alive or passed to dearly hold on to their good name and use of their images.”

An attorney for the retailers did not return a request for comment.

The resolution comes as The Notorious B.I.G.’s estate is becoming embroiled in another legal battle — this one internal. An executor for the estate of Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, sued the rapper’s widow, Faith Evans, last week for control of the valuable portfolio.

In that lawsuit, Evans is accused of withholding profits from Primary Wave’s landmark purchase of a stake in Biggie’s catalog and other intellectual property rights earlier this year. Wallace’s executor wants to remove Evans from her role as sole manager of Notorious B.I.G. LLC.