De La Soul are encouraging their fans to avoid streaming their music, after their negotiations with Tommy Boy Records fell through. The label that has been the home of De La Soul for decades apparently refused to offer them control of their masters and the parties walked away from the table not having reached a new agreement.
"Well friends, after 30 years of profiting from our music and hard work... and after 7 long months of stalled negotiations, we are sad to say that we’ve been unable to reach an agreement and earn Tommy Boy’s respect for our music/legacy," the group shared on Instagram. "With some helpful consulting and long careful consideration, we’ve decided we will not do our 30+ years the disservice of settling on Tom Silverman’s terms."
The company and De La Soul had been trying to reach an agreement for months. Now that they haven't, the group is asking that fans not stream their catalog or buy their music. They spread the word with the hashtags #dontpressplay and #tommyboycottcontinues.
"Tommy Boy says they are 'not in the business of giving artists back their Masters.' We realize, there is a process in reclaiming ownership but we do not trust Tommy Boy in this process after so many years of disappointment. Therefore, our catalog will not see the light of day by way of our involvement or consent," they said. "This means, if you see De La Soul music/albums available for streaming or purchase anywhere, BE AWARE, all parties involved WILL profit but De La Soul WILL NOT benefit or earn deservedly/fairly. We really tried. More details to come."
