Kanye West is continuing to make waves. Over the last few weeks, the rapper has been putting the recording industry on blast, particularly the way in which artists are locked into record contracts that don’t always serve their best interests.
The performing artist has been talking about the importance of transparency over the last few days, which he has exemplified by leaking his own contracts to show he’s putting his money where his mouth is. Hot New Hip Hop says Kanye has been speaking to the executives at Universal and Sony as well.
It appears Kanye is serious about making major changes in the music business, including the way in which deals are structured and how they’re conducted. This all comes after the news that the Yeezy creator is trying to get his own master recordings back.
He even promised his children they would own the rights to his music after he’s gone. Perhaps more interestingly, Kanye announced he would be giving his own artists back their master recordings. Kanye runs GOOD Music and has been producing for other artists for years now.
West wrote in a tweet this week that he would be “giving Good music artist back the 50% share I have of their masters.” As most know, Kanye’s record label is no joke. He has signed Big Sean, Pusha-T, Cyhi The Prince, 070 Snake, Valee, and more.
https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/1308844645212880896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Furthermore, if Kanye were to extend his newfound principle to some of his other artists, that would mean he would have to give back the rights to artists such as Kid Cudi, Common, Kacy Hill, Desiigner, and John Legend, as well.
Obviously, Kanye had to make a power move after he was criticized for being a hypocrite. The rapper complained about not owning the rights to his own master recordings, while simultaneously owning the rights of other artists.
Hypocritical or not, Kanye has had an extraordinary year this year. Back in July, he revealed he would be campaigning for the head of state in the Oval Office. Thus far, his campaign has been fraught with problems, however, including allegations that he is merely trying to help Trump by taking votes from Joe Biden, and also signature fraud.