John Washington III Tells Spotify No: American King Records Masters Are Not Up for Remix Deals

John Washington III has drawn a hard line against streaming platforms negotiating remix rights over his label's recordings. In a statement issued as the owner of American King Records, he said his answer to Spotify is, in his words, a big no, and that a streaming platform does not get to replace the record label or dictate the value of its intellectual property.

He said he did not build his label, invest his money, develop his artists and create his catalog so a platform could negotiate how other people use the company's master recordings. If another artist wants to remix, sample or commercially use one of those masters, he said, the proper route is to contact American King Records and negotiate a licensing agreement covering upfront payment, royalties, ownership and terms of use.

Washington framed the position as a broader lesson for independent artists and labels, saying music is an asset, master recordings are property and rights have value, and that the ease of remixing a recording with modern technology is no reason to surrender control of it. He said he is not interested in handing over control of the masters in exchange for undisclosed streaming royalties that might amount to fractions of a penny.

His statement closed with three prohibitions for the label's catalog: no unauthorized remixes of its masters, no third-party licensing of its masters without the label's approval, and no giving away control of the catalog for pennies. Anyone who wants to do business, he said, should come to the record company and negotiate.