With her recent fight regarding the sale of the record label Taylor Swift had once belonged to, and her music switching to the new owner, instead of providing her with an opportunity to take control of her music, I’m sure a lot of artists are putting more thought into their original work now. Does Bruno Mars own his masters?
Bruno Mars is amongst a group of most artists, who when signing their record contracts, have a clause that the label owns the master recording. Many artists, especially those who write their songs, like Mars, will still retain the rights to those songs.
In Taylor Swift’s case, as she owns the rights to her music, she is able to sing and re-record her songs whenever she wants, she just doesn’t have those initial original copies. As Bruno Mars doesn’t own his master recordings, the same potential scenario could happen to him.
Bruno Mars’ Labels
Mars has worked with several labels since arriving on the music scene, however, he has only recorded albums with one label. Before making his big break as a singer, he was a well-known writer and producer in the industry, as well as providing vocals, working with many top talents, and being a part of several number one hits.
Motown Records
Shortly after arriving in Los Angels from Hawaii Bruno Mars, who was just going by Bruno at the time, signed with legendary record company Motown Records. The deal turned out to be on paper only, as nothing came of it. Bruno didn’t record anything under the label and was let go less than a year after signing.
Westside Independent
After being let go from Motown, Mars ended up joining up with Westside Independent after signing a music publishing deal. Mars eventually teamed up with Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine to form the producing trio of The Smeezingtons.
BMG Chrysalis
In another writing and producing contract, Mars worked with BMG Chrysalis as part of The Smeezingtons.
Atlantic – Elektra
Bruno Mars signed with Atlantic Records to record his debut album and has stayed with them for the release of his two subsequent albums as well.
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records was founded in 1947 and flourished with artists like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding, becoming one of the most prolific labels in the United States. In 1967 Warner Bros. acquired the label as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
In 2004 Time Warner made some big changes in their music department, cutting several jobs, and merging Elektra with Atlantic, forming Atlantic Records Group. A few artists were still recording under the Elektra label, while any new artists would be signed by Atlantic.
By the time 2009 rolled around the company decided to revive Elektra, and this was also around the same time Bruno Mars signed with them. While Mars is signed to Atlantic, both Atlantic and Elektra are recognized labels on his albums.
Management
In recent years Bruno Mars has dropped his Manager, opting to go in-house for his management. The move comes after his ex-Manager, Brandon Creed, allegedly sold a large portion of his company in 2016 and didn’t let Mars know. For Mars, it was about more than the money, he missed out on opportunities but he felt that the trust was broken.
Change in Contracts
Perhaps by bringing the issue to light, Taylor Swift may change the way artists look at their contracts going forward. The biggest issue for Swift was that when her original label went up for sale, they didn’t offer her the option to buy her masters, which she would have done. Between that and selling them to someone that they were well aware she had a bad history with left her feeling bitter.
Between the Taylor Swift controversy and his previous manager selling out behind his back, it will be interesting to see how Mars approaches the next contract he signs. For now, he seems happy and has signed on to partner with Disney and he is also working on his next album.