Diddy gives back to the artists on his Bad Boy Records label by returning their lucrative publishing rights… after turning down an offer of hundreds of MILLIONS to buy the song rights

It has become common for major musicians to sell their publishing rights or master recordings to companies in exchange for huge payouts.

But Diddy surprisingly bucked the sellout trend by instead helping the artists signed to his Bad Boy Records label.

The 53-year-old rapper and mogul (real name: Sean Combs) is now returning the publishing rights previously held by the label to the original artists. TMZ.

The move to help artists who worked for him comes shortly after Diddy donated $2 million to Black initiatives at Invest Fest and the Jackson State University Development Fund late last month.

According to sources related to the case, Diddy is not only returning the rights, but is turning down offers worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to do so.

Cam’ron appeared to reveal part of the arrangement in an Instagram post from last week.

He wrote that his friend Ma$e, a former Bad Boy cartoonist, “got his publication back from Puff” and “just completed the paperwork for it yesterday.”

“Congratulations @rsvpmase as he gets his music back in order,” he added.

However, sources claim that Ma$e is just one of many former Bad Boy artists who can reclaim their publishing rights.

Bad Boy Records’ most famous artist was undoubtedly Notorious BIG, who was killed in a 1997 drive-by shooting.

Biggie (real name: Christopher Wallace) was good friends with Diddy, who paid tribute to him after his death.

Now, the late rapper’s estate will reportedly be able to take back some of his publishing rights after he signs a deal with the label.

Others reportedly benefiting from the scheme include Faith Evans, The Lox, 112 and others.

Since Diddy owns all of their publishing rights, he could have called it off after reportedly being approached for a massive nine-figure deal, but now it looks like he’s letting the original artists take charge of their music again.

Of course, some of them have their own hits and other popular songs, so they may not be able to make smaller deals to sell their rights for lump sums.

Sources claim Diddy wants to “revolutionize” the music industry, which has been moving towards consolidation in recent years, with big companies and hedge funds taking control of artists and smaller record labels.

Big news: Cam’ron announced last week that Ma$e had signed a deal to get his publishing rights back

Turned down a payday: Diddy reportedly turned down an offer worth hundreds of millions to sell the Bad Boy Records artists’ publishing rights, instead returning them to many of his former acts; seen in 2019 in LA

Better late than never: the estate of the late Notorious BIG is among the entities reported to have signed a deal to regain its publishing rights; seen in 1995 in New York

Taking control: Faith Evans (pictured in 2019) has also reportedly gotten her publication back. This move comes as hedge funds try to buy up as many songwriting catalogs as possible

That trend is partly responsible for the declining revenues seen by many professional musicians, even seemingly successful performers, though the changing nature of music purchasing and consumer habits has also made music less lucrative over time.

However, Diddy’s move to return publishing rights to his former artists could be a major boost to their bottom line.

Sources compared the move to his recent string of charitable donations.

They added that he hopes other executives and record labels will follow suit. However, the trends are for labels and companies to take more money and control away from artists over time, so it can be tricky to counter all that inertia.