Anita Baker has given her fans the “all clear” to purchase and stream her music after she tweeted that her battle to obtain her masters is finally coming to an end.
On Friday (Sept. 3), the “Caught Up in the Rapture” singer took to Twitter to reveal the great news. “All My Children Are Coming Home,” she wrote, along with a photo of five of her albums. “Catalog. Impossible Things Happen…Every. Single. Day. Gratefully.” A fan retweeted her and asked, “ARE WE IN THE CLEAR?!?!?” to which Baker replied, “Yes. Chil’ren….STREAM. ON. ABXO.”
A REVOLT previously reported, the legendary singer asked her fans not to stream or buy her music because she did not make any money from it. “Miraculously… I have out-lived ALL, of my Artist Contracts,” the Rhythm of Love songstress tweeted back in March. “They no longer ‘Own’ My Name & Likeness. And, by Law…30-year-old masters are to be returned to Me. Unfortunately, they’re gonna make me Fight 4 it. I’m Prepared 2 do that. Please Don’t advertise/buy them. ABXO.”
After a fan said that they would dedicate a Spotify playlist to Baker, she told the person not to advertise the streaming company because it “doesn’t pay artists/creators what they’re worth.”
Baker then gave fans a lesson on how the music industry really works by breaking down what each artist actually makes from streaming. “2020 Streaming rate: $0.003 – $0.005, [which is] 1/3 – 1/2 A PENNY Per Stream for Artists minus… *fees *taxes *ect. ect. They need to leave me alone fr,” she tweeted.
Many artists have acquired their masters from record labels. Last month, 21 Savage revealed that owning his masters actually made him more money than touring. The 28-year-old said he learned from all of the older rappers “who fucked up” and “ain’t do it the right way.”
Check out Baker’s tweets below.