2 Live Crew cannot claim rights to their own music, US court rules

Hip hop group 2 Live Crew have lost an appeal to reclaim the rights to their own music following a lengthy legal battle with their label, Lil’ Joe Records.

The US Court of Appeals overturned 2 Live Crew’s 2024 victory in recapturing the copyrights to five of their studio albums, shared in an opinion published on Tuesday, June 2, via Music Business Worldwide.

Three members of the Miami group (surviving member Luther Campbell and the late Brother Marquis and Fresh Kid Ice) have been embroiled in the legal battle for several years, with the court now ruling that their recordings will remain with Lil’ Joe Records.

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The opinion argues that bankruptcy proceedings dating back to the 1990s affect the group’s rights to claim their copyrights back, though 2 Live Crew argue that copyright law overrules this.

It means that the rights to their music will be handed back to Lil' Joe Records, who acquired 2 Live Crew’s back catalogue after the 1995 bankruptcy of Luke Records.

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"Lil’ Joe Records, Inc., which eventually acquired the copyrights, argues that 2 Live Crew did not terminate their copyright grants," reads the opinion. 

"Because a majority of 2 Live Crew did not exercise their termination interests, Luke Records still owns the copyrights to these five albums. We reverse the district court’s contrary conclusion and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion."

Read the full opinion via Music Business Worldwide here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor