The conversation surrounding publishing and royalties have been at an all-time this past week. Kanye West has been in a crusade to buy back his masters, fighting the corporate machine in his battle for artistic ownership. That being said, there are certain artists who are still gaining a pretty penny off of work they've done years ago. Hence why artists should be owning their masters.
Unfortunately, the use of a sample or interpolation can often come at a hefty price. In the case of Travis Scott's "No Bystanders," Three 6 Mafia made sure they got theirs. TM88, the song's producer, went on Twitter where he revealed that Three 6 Mafia have most of the publishing on "No Bystanders."
"Just found out three six took most of the publishing from no bystanders smh I’m still a fan but damn bruh get yo ass on somewhere lmao... Still not cool at all tho," he said. Many pointed out that TM shouldn't be surprised since it was sampled in the song but the producer reiterated that only came in post-production. And while many thought TM88 was complaining about that, he made it clear that it was simply the business and that he has the utmost respect for Three 6 Mafia and DJ Paul.
This doesn't come as a surprise, perse but it is indicative of the settlement Travis Scott and Three 6 Mafia agreed on earlier this year. If you'll recall, Travis Scott was sued for $20M by Three 6 Mafia after the Memphis-based group claimed the hook of Astroworld cut was "virtually identical and strikingly similar" to the hook on "Tear Da Club Up." It's unclear what the exact details of the settlement are but TM88's comments reveal much more than we knew before.
