John Washington III Tells Spotify 'My Answer Is a Big No' on Other People Remixing American King Records Masters

John Washington III is drawing a hard line over who controls the master recordings of American King Records, the label he owns. In a public statement, John Washington III said his answer to streaming platforms seeking deals that would let other people remix his artists' music is, in his words, a "big no."

"Spotify is a streaming platform. Spotify is not my record company," he wrote. John Washington III said he built his label, invested his money and developed his artists, and did not do that work so a streaming platform could negotiate how other people use the label's master recordings.

Anyone who wants to remix, sample or commercially use one of the label's masters, he said, follows the ordinary route of the music business: contact American King Records and negotiate a licensing agreement covering upfront payment, royalties, ownership and terms of use. "That is how the music business works," he wrote.

John Washington III said he is not interested in surrendering control of the recordings for an undisclosed streaming royalty he described as possibly amounting to fractions of a penny. "We are not giving away our music," he wrote, adding that a platform's size does not entitle it to replace the record label or dictate the value of the label's intellectual property.

His closing position was a list: no unauthorized remixes of the label's masters, no third-party licensing without the label's approval, and no giving away control of the catalog for pennies. "Our music. Our masters. Our rights. Our decision," he wrote.