Diddy Makes History by Reassigning $100 Million Bad Boy Publishing Rights to Artists

Sean “Diddy” Combs, the renowned Black American rapper and producer, has made a remarkable decision. He’s chosen to give back the publishing rights of Bad Boy Entertainment, the label he founded, to the talented artists and songwriters who played a pivotal role in its success.

At its peak, Bad Boy Entertainment was valued at over $100 million. Several prominent artists, including Ma$e, Faith Evans, The LOX, 112, and the Estate of the Notorious B.I.G., have already inked agreements to regain control of these rights, according to reports from Variety News.

While exact financial terms haven’t been disclosed yet, these rights are believed to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Combs had received lucrative have from various parties interested in acquiring the Bad Boy publishing catalogue, but instead, he chose to reassign these rights to the songwriters.

Most of the recipients have been located, contacted, and have signed the necessary paperwork, although not all have done so.

This move comes after years of public disputes, especially between Combs and Ma$e. In a now-deleted pots on Instagram, Variety reported that Ma$e had accused Combs of unfair financial practices, and in the past, he had offered $2 million to buy back his publishing rights, which was declined.

• “Your past business practices knowingly have continued to purposely starve your artist and been extremely unfair to the very same artist that helped you obtain that Icon Award on the iconic Badboy label. For example, you still have my publishing from 24 years ago in which you gave me $20k. This makes me never want to work w/ u as any artist wouldn’t … This is not Black excellence at all.”

More insight

Bad Boy Entertainment, founded by Combs in 1993, achieved great success with artists like Craig Mack, the Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e, Total, 112, The LOX, and Combs himself.

The label has been home to various artists and a writer/producer collective called The Hitmen.

During the 1990s it was not uncommon for labels or label owners to take a percentage of an artist’s publishing as part of a recorded music deal, although that syndrome has faded away as artists and songwriters become more aware of the value of their publishing rights.

The decision to return these rights is seen as part of Combs’ broader goal of promoting economic empowerment for Black artists and culture.