Judge dismisses Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit to reclaim master recordings from Universal Music Group

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed the pioneering hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa’s lawsuit to reclaim ownership of their master recordings from Universal Music Group.

U.S. District Judge Denise Cote on Thursday sided with the recording giant, arguing that the Grammy-winning group never owned the copyrights to their sound recordings and didn’t transfer them to anyone else.

“Plaintiffs can only terminate copyright transfers that they executed,” the judge wrote. “None of the...