John Washington III Tells Spotify His Answer on Remixes of His Artists' Music Is a Big No

John Washington III is drawing a hard line on who controls his record label's music. The owner of American King Records said his answer to Spotify is, in his words, a big no — rejecting streaming-platform deals that would allow other people to remix his artists' music.

"Spotify is a streaming platform. Spotify is not my record company," John Washington III wrote. "I didn't build my record label, invest my money, develop my artists, and create my music catalog just to have a streaming platform negotiate how other people can use our master recordings." He said an artist who wants to remix, sample, or commercially use one of the label's master recordings should come to American King Records and negotiate a licensing agreement covering the upfront payment, royalties, ownership, and terms of use.

"Your music is an asset. Your master recordings are property. Your rights have value," John Washington III wrote, arguing that technology making remixes easier is no reason for artists and independent labels to surrender control of their recordings. His stated terms are no unauthorized remixes of the label's masters, no third-party licensing of those masters without the label's approval, and no giving away control of the catalog, as he put it, for pennies. "Our music. Our masters. Our rights. Our decision," he wrote.