After decades in this business, has made a plea 4 help in gaining the right 2 ownership of his master recordings. This is not just a legal/business issue only relating to him. In a larger, more spiritual sense, this is a human rights issue that should cause concern 4 all of us.

The fight 2 free the music is a fight 4 control. The more control that a political or business power has over u, the more freedom u lose in the process. It is important 4 us 2 b aware of & united in any issue that concerns the loss of creative freedom. Having the ability 2 xpress one's self creatively is one of the things that makes us human - what does it make us if that is taken away? I'm afraid it takes us that much closer 2 our friends in the animal kingdom - the ones that r locked in cages with no room 2 move & fed a bunch of poison. Why should anyone have control over something u have created? Manipulating ur art & feeding it 2 consumers in any fashion they wish, all the while ur "locked in the cage" unable 2 do a single thing about it. It's a rape of the soul. How would that make u feel? Think about it.

COUPLING

4 a more specific aspect of how an artist loses freedom, we'll look at an industry term called "coupling" and how it affects an artist in losing control of their work. Coupling is the practice of putting an artist's performance(s) together with those of other artists. Just as "compilations" r albums with a bunch of different artists. 4 an example of how this has already been done 2 some of 's work, check out "Ways of the Pharaoh."

Coupling / Compilations r dangerous in the sense that:

1. U have no choice in what other artists ur work is paired with and u very well may b a name used 2 sell an album consisting of other artists lacking in integrity (or consisting of otherwise sub-standard work).
   
   
2. On coupled product, u have what is called a "pro-rata" royalty. This means ur royalty is in proportion 2 the number of tracks u have on the record. So if there r 10 cuts on a record, one of which is yours, u get one-tenth of your normal royalty. U stand 2 lose even more on coupled product that is licensed 2 someone else by your company. The royalty on that product is usually 50% of the company's licensing receipts!

Coupling should also b a concern 4 new or breaking artists as their work may b included on a sampler in which no royalties r paid as it is a promotional item. Coupling is just one small part of a large machine that can have a huge impact on an artists image, finances, and the right 2 creative freedom with his/her work.

"If U Don't Own Ur Masters, The Master Owns U"