The legendary Rick James gave us timeless hit songs like “Mary Jane” and “Super Freak.”
And though he struggled with addiction for a while, his songs remain his legacy.
The legend tragically passed away 18 years ago.
Still, his daughter, Ty James, took over his estate and is doing her best to keep his legacy alive.
But how is she doing this?
Music Rights
In 2015, the Rick James estate finally reached a settlement with Universal Music Group after a 7-year-long struggle.
The agreed settlement was $11.5 million and included 14 other artists like Public Enemy’s Chuck D.
And their issue was the difference between downloading a single from a service like iTunes or Spotify to buying it.
At the time, artists were losing money because the digital space still didn’t have enough support for artists.
But this wasn’t the first time the Rick James estate had a dispute.
In 2008, they settled another lawsuit against Brooklyn Music Publishing Group Inc.
The publishing company had apparently been making money off James’ music without getting the needed permission.
The Rick James Catalogue
The Hipgnosis Songs Fund bought 50% of Rick James’s music catalog in 2020.
This included a 50% stake in the legend’s masters and publishing.
According to the founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, Merck Mercuriadis, James was an incredible artist, performer, songwriter, arranger, and producer.
James remains one of the most sampled creators, and his songs have been sampled by stars like MC Hammer, Nicki Minaj, Kendrick Lamar, and Lana Del Rey.
Ty James was excited to team up with Hipgnosis Songs Fund to ensure her dad’s legacy will keep shining.
Maintaining A Legacy
Ty James has worked hard to ensure her father’s legacy lives on.
And you can see this with the number of artists still interested in sampling Rick James’ music.
You can be sure that he is smiling down at her for all her work and respect.
