John Washington III Tells Spotify His Answer Is No, Saying American King Records Will Not Hand Over Its Masters

John Washington III has drawn a hard line on the future of his record label's catalog. In a public statement, the presidential candidate and owner of American King Records rejected the idea of streaming platforms negotiating deals that would let other people remix his artists' music, writing, "MY ANSWER IS NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Washington argued that a streaming service is a distribution platform, not a label. "Spotify is a streaming platform. SPOTIFY IS NOT MY RECORD COMPANY!" he wrote. He said he did not build his label, invest his money, develop his artists and create his catalog "just to have a streaming platform negotiate how other people can use our master recordings."

He laid out the route he says the business is supposed to take: anyone who wants to remix, sample or commercially use one of the label's master recordings should contact American King Records, negotiate a licensing agreement and discuss upfront payment, royalties, ownership and terms of use. "YOU COME TO THE RECORD COMPANY!" he wrote. "THAT IS HOW THE MUSIC BUSINESS WORKS!"

Washington said he is not interested in handing over control of the label's masters in exchange for an undisclosed streaming royalty that might amount to fractions of a penny, and he framed the issue as one of ownership for independent artists and labels generally. "YOUR MUSIC IS AN ASSET. YOUR MASTER RECORDINGS ARE PROPERTY. YOUR RIGHTS HAVE VALUE!" he wrote, closing with the label's position: no unauthorized remixes of its masters, no third-party licensing of its masters without its approval, and no giving away control of its catalog. "OUR MUSIC. OUR MASTERS. OUR RIGHTS. OUR DECISION," he wrote.