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Anita Baker recently took a moment during a live performance to thank Chance the Rapper for helping her acquire her masters.
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“You should say hello to a friend of mine by way of the music industry and by way of helping me, helping me to get a hold and ownership of my master recordings,” Baker told the audience in a clip shared on Twitter. The Chicago native stood up in the crowd as everyone clapped.
Chance later responded to the video, writing on Twitter, “I saw one of THE greatest performances of my LIFETIME last night! Thank you so much @IAMANITABAKER for being an inspiration and an icon to so many of US.”
“Had no idea you would be in our Midst. Such a nice Surprise. Brought Tears, to my eyes,” Baker responded.
Baker previously asked fans to stop buying and streaming her music as she fought to reclaim ownership of her masters.
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She wrote on Twitter that she has “outlived” all of her record contracts, and noted that a U.S. copyright law (Section 203) states that record labels are required “by law” to return the master recordings to artists after 30 years.
“They no longer ‘Own’ My Name & Likeness,” Baker tweeted. “And, by Law…30 yr old, Mstrs are 2B Returned, 2 Me.”
According to Section 203 of the Copyright Act, 35 years after an author/artist signs away the rights to a copyrighted work, they can file a request to legally take back ownership of it.
Back in September, Baker confirmed that she had regained control of her masters, writing, “All My Children Are Coming Home. Impossible Things Happen… Every. Single. Day.”
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