The topic of ownership of masters has trended many times this year, locally and internationally.
Stars like Taylor Swift and Lady Zamar have made headlines because of this touchy subject in the music industry.
But one very vocal music star has now lifted the lid on the status of his masters. DJ and music producer Prince Kaybee has stated that he does not own his masters, which for him, is okay.
His views were brought back to the Twitter timeline after singer Tshego alleged he didn’t get any royalties for some of his songs that he has masters to and that were recorded under Cassper Nyovest’s label, Family Tree.
Kaybee revealed how owning your masters was not the best option if you do not know how to profit from them.
In a thread he shared, Kaybee revealed owning and profiting from masters only worked for a few artists and not everyone would be lucky to make money from them.
“Let me start by saying: I do not own my masters,” he indicated.
“There are compromises in every business and gents sometimes want to have their cake and eat it too by owning masters and keeping sales, but it works for a selected few.”
The DJ added how from his experience “art was not meant to be kept by one individual but made for society to consume and its wealth to be shared.”
He added: “As a creator, one can’t own its (art) full value at all times.
The Uwrongo hitmaker also advised how good it sounds being an independent artist but the harsh realities thereof aren’t as simple as many may think.
“Sometimes independence sounds nice cause of the hype, but very few artists are ready to bear with the realities of being an indie,” said Prince Kaybee.
This is not the first time the DJ has used his platform to educate people on the masters’ debate.
Earlier this year, he and DJ Maphorisa once got into a twar after Porry shamed Kaybee, Lady Zamar, and Mafikizolo for not owning their masters.
Maphorisa did so as his bid to ‘educate’ the industry on the importance of owning the master recording and rights of your work as an artist, saying he and his artists own theirs fully.
While Kaybee didn’t welcome Maphorisa’s advice, he hit back with a list of businesses that he owned and indicated the Scorpion King could’ve made his point without dropping any names.
