Public Enemy’s Chuck D Sells Majority of Music Catalog To Reach Music Publishing

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Public Enemy's Chuck D Sells Majority of Music Catalog To Reach Music Publishing

Public Enemy frontman, Chuck D has solidified that he will continue to benefit from his own music in the immediate and distant future.

According to Rolling Stone, the Hip-Hop activist has sold a portion of his music catalog to Reach Music Publishing. Following a trend that’s been involving a lot of recording artists recently, Chuck has allowed Reach Music to acquire all (100%) of his writer’s share of his publishing while getting half of the publisher’s share of his music catalog. With this latest deal, he still controls the other half of his publisher’s share.

The voice of Public Enemy has been working with Reach Music Publishing for over 20 years as they have been administering his music catalog. With the deal, they will continue to do so as they take a controlling interest in his works.

“[D]oing this deal was the right timing for a forward and logical evolution of our business together in an ever changing industry,” Chuck D said in a written statement. “Reach has always been ahead of the curve on establishing respect for the HipHop genre songwriting and publishing-wise, and they will continue taking care of my works.”

Chuck D’s catalog includes more than 300 songs that also involve his group, Public Enemy. The music would be those that were recorded and released between 1987 and 2012. Being the lead voice and writer for the group, he was responsible for penning the classics that have appeared on classic albums like It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear of a Black Planet, and Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Back.

Michael Closter, who is the president, founder, and owner of Reach Music Publishing said, “I’m so grateful to Chuck for our business together as his music publisher throughout these many decades. There’s no one more consequential in the world of Hip-Hop than Chuck D, and he has written iconic and impactful songs that will forever be a part of music history. The team at Reach will continue working hard to protect these works while also introducing them to new generations to come.”

Earlier this year, BLACK ENTERPRISE reported that PBS and BBC Studios announced that Chuck D is doing a four-part series. The tentative title is The Story Of Hip-Hop With Chuck D. The series is being produced by Chuck D and his manager Lorrie Boula. It intends to go back to the birth of hip-hop and trace the position of the popular genre and its role in the story of America from the past 40 years to the present day.

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