Reggae singer Horace Andy was awarded the Reggae Icon award last evening (April 10, 2023) at the JARIA Honors Awards. The roots reggae singer used his acceptance speech to hit out at producer Bunny Lee and Trojan Records who he says has not paid him in 40 years.
“We give thanks, Mr. Dodd, although them say he is not the best, he is the best because him pay we,” he said about Clement Coxsone Dodd with whom he was signed and released his first single “Got To Be Sure.”
Horace Andy, real name Horace Hinds says on the other hand, “Bunny Lee a di wickedest, him and Trojan, them don’t pay we fi 40 years, for 40 years I don’t get nuttn in this business, Jaria I give thanks.” he concluded on the matter with disdain.
Andy’s Skylarking, the song he is most known for was first released on Dodd’s “Jamaica Today” compilation. He re-recorded Skylarking for producer Bunny Lee along with other hits like “Just Say Who”, “Don’t Try To Use Me”, “You Are My Angel”, a new version of “Something on My Mind”,”Zion Gate”, and “I’ve Got to Get Away.”
Lee, who started his career as a record plugger died in 2020 but he was a pioneering producer who license his music to Trojan Records in the U.K.
Andy, 72, on the other hand like many of his reggae performer and songwriter peers in the 1970s has seen most of the 42 albums he recorded over the span of 50 years owned by Trojan Records, whose catalogue is now owned by German record label BMG.
BMG owns the catalogue for the original Trojan Records UK which has a roster of Jamaican artists who ruled U.K. music in the 60s but were deprived of their fair share of royalties.
“I can’t say if everyone got paid or not, but we have no connection with Trojan UK except the word ‘Trojan’,” says Zak Starkey, the former CEO of the newer label Trojan Jamaica which was given a licensing deal by BMG.
The story of how BMG came into possession of the original Trojan catalogue is one of artists’ exploitation while the company filled the bottom line of several record companies.
Trojan Records went into liquidation in 1975, without paying royalties to its artists. In the same year it became Trojan Recordings, which was then purchased 10 years later by businessman Colin Newman.
In 2001, Newman sold the Trojan catalogue to the London label Sanctuary Records for £10.25m; six years later, Sanctuary itself was purchased by Universal Music Group, which in turn sold Sanctuary’s catalogue, including Trojan’s songs, to the Berlin-based record label BMG in 2013.
With over 10,000 songs including early cuts from Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, and Desmond Decker, Trojan was previously a division of Chris Blackwell’s Island Records, and made more than £1.1m on £3.1m sales for the year to December 2000.
Hartwig Masuch who is stepping down as CEO of the Bertelsmann-owned music company BMG said he is looking into how he cold pay artist who did not get paid from Trojan Records in the 70s according to sources close to the matter.
BMG signed a worldwide deal with Stefflon Don, the biggest British female dancehall star of all time last year.
The partnership has delayed Stefflon Don’s “Island 54” album originally scheduled for release last August, then pushed to September, and is now scheduled for release in the summer of 2023. The company will oversee the release of her debut album.
Stefflon Don said: “I’m excited about partnering with BMG because they trust my creativity. They have an amazing support team across the globe, and I am super excited to expand my fan base alongside my new family BMG.”
The ongoing complaint by artist that they are not getting paid transcends genres in black music.
From Kanye to Meek Mill, artist complain of unfair treatment by labels. Im a series of tweets in October 2021 Meek said, “I haven’t gotten paid from music and I don’t know how much money labels make off me. I need lawyers asap.”
He then followed up threatening that he will make his record deal public, “ask the record label? How much have you spent on me as an artist? Then you ask how much have you made off me as a artist? I’m about to make my record deal public by Monday just to let the world see what these people on!!!”
ask the record label? how much have you spent on me as a artist? then you ask how much have you made off me as a artist? i’m about to make my record deal public by monday just to let the world see what these people on!!!
— MeekMill (@MeekMill) October 25, 2021
The “I’m A Boss” rapper then posted, “mma war for everything that’s mine. Ruthless vibes“.
ima war for everything that’s mines all ruthless vibes!
— MeekMill (@MeekMill) October 25, 2021
Meek Mill released his 5th studio album Expensive Pain after being signed to the Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group and Atlantic Records.
In May DJ Akademicks took to Twitch to suggest that Meek and Rick Ross are beefing due to contract issues after it was reported that Meek refused entry to Ross into his section at LIV nightclub in Miami.
“There’s an artist who is signed to another artist, people saw when the artist who’s signed to the other artist was having a party, the artist they’re signed to allegedly tried to enter the party and go about certain places and I heard there was a big issue. One of your favorite artist who’s claiming that they lit, they a boss, they do whatever, they’re signed to another nigga. And allegedly, they beefin’ with the other nigga because they’re trying to get off the label” DJ Akademiks said.
Other artists to have been expressed dissatisfaction about being treated unfairly by their record labels include Keisha Cole who commented on social media, “Never received a check from any record label, period. But I just thought about that the other day. It’s nothing wrong with Obtaining Audit Attorneys so that you’re aware of where every dollar went. Trust me a lot gets “Lost in the sauce”
