Singer, Aubrey O’Day, a former member of Danity Kane signed to Bad Boy Publishing, has criticized Sean Diddy Combs for the lacklustre terms of the rights return.
O’Day contends that Diddy’s recent announcement about returning publishing rights to several artists from Bad Boy Records lacked transparency.
In a recent interview, O’Day revealed that she is set to receive a mere $800-$900 from Sony Music through this arrangement.
She expressed concerns about the specifics of the deal that would grant her rights to the music created during her tenure with the girl group Danity Kane.
She explained during an appearance on the “Only Stans” podcast that she must release Diddy from any prior claims or actions and sign a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting her from publicly disparaging Diddy, Bad Boy, Janice Combs, Justin Combs Music, EMI, or Sony.
Moreover, O’Day clarified that the deal would bring her between $800 and $900 in royalties from streams on Sony Music, unrelated to her time under the label.
She described it as “measly streaming money” to maintain silence about Diddy.
O’Day also claimed she warned her former group members, including Dawn Richard, D. Woods, Shannon Bex, and Aundrea Fimbres, about the agreement’s fine print.
However, only two of the five Danity Kane members refrained from signing the deal.
She lamented,
- “Diddy is just literally known as a guy that doesn’t pay his artists,” highlighting the disparities between their hard work and the lack of financial compensation.
Backstory
Previously reported by Nairametrics, Sean “Diddy” Combs made an unexpected move by returning the publishing rights of Bad Boy Entertainment to the artists and songwriters who contributed to its success.
Once valued at over $100 million, the label saw artists like Ma$e, Faith Evans, LOX, 112, and the Estate of the Notorious B.I.G. sign agreements to reclaim these valuable rights.
While exact financial details remain undisclosed, these rights are reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Combs opted to reassign these rights to the original creators rather than accept lucrative offers from potential buyers. This move followed years of public disputes, especially between Combs and Ma$e.
Founded by Combs in 1993, Bad Boy Entertainment achieved remarkable success with artists such as Craig Mack, the Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, Ma$e, Total, 112, The LOX, and Combs himself.
The label also housed a writer/producer collective known as The Hitmen.
In the 1990s, it was common for labels or label owners to claim a portion of an artist’s publishing as part of their recorded music deals.
However, this practice has diminished over time as artists and songwriters have grown more conscious of the value of their publishing rights.
