Media personality Sizwe Dhlomo got on the wrong side of the BeyHive after he claimed that Beyoncé doesn’t own her master recordings.
Taking to Twitter during one of Kanye West’s meltdowns, Dlhomo weighed in on the “Ultralight Beam“ rapper complaining about his contract with Universal Music, claiming that they are blocking him from buying his masters.
Dhlomo said: “Even Beyoncé doesn’t own her masters but the point is to smarten up. Kanye was still taking advances for videos in ’Cruel Summer’? SMH! After all that popping off!”
Even Beyoncé doesn’t own her masters but the point is to smarten up. Kanye was still taking advances for videos in Cruel Summer? SMH! After all that popping off!?
— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) September 16, 2020
The BeyHive started swarming him and came with receipts clearly stating that the “Pray You Catch Me“ hitmaker owned her masters, including a clip from her ”Dear Class of 2020” YouTube addresses where she states that she does.
Bro?! 🤣☹️ pic.twitter.com/O6Ygf5D1tX
— Mpumz N. (@Mpumz_N) September 16, 2020
Dhlomo refused to believe even Beyoncé’s word that she owned her own masters and posted a screenshot of her albums which included the distribution and publishing attribution.
Y’all ninjas were saying what now? pic.twitter.com/AT66rtR399
— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) September 16, 2020
Twitter user @Titanbaddie then explained the difference between publishing and ownership rights and said: “This literally proves nothing, those aren't author rights or ownership credits, they're the publishing credits since she has partnerships with both Sony and Warner separately depending on the project. They license and distribute but Parkwood owns the author and owner rights.”
This literally proves nothing, those aren't author rights or ownership credits, they're the publishing credits since she has partnerships with both Sony and Warner separately depending on the project. They license & distribute but Parkwood owns the author & owner rights. https://t.co/XkZQ1fBvRM pic.twitter.com/Vg7scWZgew
— Sisa (@Titanbaddie) September 16, 2020
Dhlomo tried to rebut his claims, saying: “This actually shows that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
“You can write a song but not own it. Then you just get composer royalties. Owning it pertains to a song’s use. Ask Taylor Swift but ke, carry on.“
This actually shows that you don’t know what you’re talking about. You can write a song but not own it. Then you just get composer royalties. Owning it pertains to a song’s use. Ask Taylor Swift but ke, carry on. https://t.co/OzUlLA60Jh
— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) September 16, 2020
However, @Titanbaddie didn’t let up and explained further why Dlhomo’s statements were incorrect.
“I said author AND ownership rights we, she publicly bought in 2011 through Parkwood, then continued to sign publishing deals so that the ww distributions can be handled by Columbia (Sony). It's literally public records. Distribution does not mean sole ownership.“
I said author AND ownership rights we she publicly bought in 2011 through Parkwood, then continued to sign publishing deals so that the ww distributions can be handled by Columbia (Sony). It's literally public records. Distribution does not mean sole ownership. https://t.co/KfKZ8jjK2C
— Sisa (@Titanbaddie) September 16, 2020
The rest of the BeyHive also swarmed Dhlomo, disproving everything he claimed while throwing some shade too.
Someone explain this to Sizwe; just because the copyright on the albums released before 2011 are registered under Sony Music does not mean they own her masters. Yes, they did. However, she acquired her masters when her deal with them ended.
— Livy Levi Seboko (@LivySeboko) September 16, 2020
Sizwe doesn’t even know the difference between distribution deals and owning masters but he’s telling us to trust him and not argue with him about music.
— #Riendzo (@TheBlackElton) September 16, 2020
She still owns her masters. She doesn’t have to reupload her albums to prove it. She stated that she owns her masters meaning every single piece of it. Beyoncé > A clown named Sizwe. https://t.co/5IO6VkMURe
— Happy Birthday Soloyoncé (@MrBeyonceFan) September 16, 2020
She literally has said out her own mouth that she does but please tell us more Sizwe Dhlomo since you know oh so much about Beyoncé’s contracts and the like https://t.co/ST91Squ3m0
— black boy bulletin (@theblackboyblog) September 16, 2020
Year: 2013
— YouTube: Moe Suttle (@moesuttle) September 16, 2020
Mandela Family: “Tata has passed on”
Sizwe Dhlomo: “No he isn’t, there was just a glitch”
Year: 2020
Beyoncé: “I own the masters to my music”
Sizwe Dhlomo: “No, that’s a lie”
U work with Columbia or parkwood ?? Beyonce says she owns her masters but sizwe dholomo from Johannesburg says she only owns half ? Since u know so much can u tell us who Becky is ??
— I look like I can't cook, that's accurate (@MrsEyonce) September 16, 2020