Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Reassigns Publishing Rights Back to Bad Boy Artists, Songwriters

Just in time for Labor Day, on Monday, September 4, it was announced that Sean “Diddy” Combs “decided to reassign his Bad Boy publishing rights back to all Bad Boy artists and writers who helped build Bad Boy into the powerhouse it is today,” a source told Variety.

Along with Ma$e, the Notorious B.I.G.’s estate, Faith Evans, the Lox, 112, and “many more” unspecified creators will all have their assets returned in a move that’s said to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. While Diddy has received multiple multi-million dollar offers for the rights to Bad Boy’s publishing catalog, the label’s founder decided to instead reassign the rights to the rightful songwriters.

“Combs sees it as part of a broader goal of promoting economic empowerment for Black artists and culture,” a source said.

His former artists have all been informed of the massive deal and signed off on paperwork to receive their publishing rights in a decision that could impact the industry and shift how artists are compensated. With his new album The L.O.V.E. Album: Off the Grid coming September 15, Diddy’s focused on creating a new legacy that gives back to the community and rewards the culture.

News of Diddy’s massive move comes one week after Cam’ron was the first to reveal Ma$e had his publishing rights returned. While promoting his forthcoming mixtape, The Lost Files, Cam’ron explained why Ma$e wouldn’t be featured on the project despite the success of the sports podcast they host together.

“My n—a murder had to sit this one out. He just got his publishing back from Puff. Just finished the paper work for that yesterday. Congrats @rsvpmase,” Cam’ron shared in his Instagram caption.

This comes after Ma$e called Diddy out in January 2020 following the mogul’s speech during the Grammys where he preached about the lack of respect for Black artists. Ma$e took it as an opportunity to blast Diddy for trying to advocate for Black artists publicly while making millions on the backend from publishing he reportedly offered Diddy $2 million for.

In October 2022, Diddy appeared on The Breakfast Club and claimed Ma$e owed him $3 million, accusations the “Feel So Good” rapper strongly denied. Now one year later it looks like Diddy and Ma$e sorted things out in a way that benefits all Bad Boy artists.