⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Real court arguments, crisp audio, with context.

Court recordings can be difficult to follow, and many suffer from poor audio quality. This podcast enhances the audio, provides a brief introduction to each case, and explains legal concepts that may be unfamiliar to some listeners.

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James v. UMG Recordings, Inc. — 2d Cir. (Sep 22, 2026)

No. 26-253 Argued September 22, 2026 Published September 27, 2026

The Second Circuit hears a fight over Salt-N-Pepa's early master recordings. In 1986, Cheryl James and Sandra Denton signed a recording agreement with producer Herb Azor's company, and Azor made a deal with a predecessor of UMG. Decades later, the artists sent UMG notices seeking to terminate what they say were copyright grants. UMG disputed the notices and removed recordings from U.S. streaming services. The artists sued, but a district judge dismissed the case before trial, finding no copyright grant executed by them. Section 203 can let authors end old grants, but excludes works made for hire. The appeal asks whether these contracts transferred rights from the artists, and whether the work-for-hire question needs a fuller record.

James v. UMG Recordings, Inc. (No. 26-253) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argued September 22, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/audio/26-253.mp3
Argument listing and date — Second Circuit:https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/oral_arguments.html
District court opinion and case background — S.D.N.Y.:https://cases.justia.com/federal/district-courts/new-york/nysdce/1:2025cv04182/642788/46/0.pdf
Appeal docket — Second Circuit, via Justia:https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca2/26-253
Artists' appellate brief — Second Circuit filing:https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/files/2026/04/Salt-N-Pepa-Brief.pdf
UMG's appellate brief — Second Circuit filing:https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/files/2026/05/Salt-N-Pepa-v-UMG-May-5-2026.pdf
17 U.S.C. § 203 — U.S. Copyright Office:https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap2.html
Copyright termination guide — U.S. Copyright Office:https://www.copyright.gov/recordation/termination.html
Richard Busch's current firm — Adams & Reese:https://www.adamsandreese.com/people/richard-busch
Richard Mandel's firm — Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman:https://www.cll.com/attorneys-Richard_S_Mandel
Report on Busch's 2026 firm move — Music Business Worldwide:https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/blurred-lines-copyright-lawyer-richard-busch-joins-law-firm-adams-reese-as-special-counsel/
Independent report on removed recordings — Associated Press:https://apnews.com/article/7ff67b7064c2d8f9c8b61b9e94973610

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