Beyoncé, one of the most influential and successful artists of our time, has been accused of stealing publishing royalties from songwriters who worked on her songs.
Tiffany Red, a Grammy-winning songwriter who has written for artists such as Cassie and Jennifer Hudson, made the allegations in a series of Instagram posts and videos.
It all started after the 66th Grammy Awards when the songwriter shaded Beyoncé, saying she could probably win her first Album Of The Year honor when she starts paying songwriters.
Subsequently, Red claimed that the singer had been taking a large percentage of publishing on songs that she did not write or produce and that she silenced the people who worked for her with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). She also named other artists who allegedly do the same, such as Zendaya, Tamar Braxton, and Sevyn Streeter.
“The reason I called out Beyoncé is because Beyoncé is the Michael Jackson of our generation,” Red said in one of her videos. “So if there’s anybody that could reshape the precedent. If there’s anybody that could influence the industry that had the power and the money.”
Red said that she never wrote any songs for Beyoncé because of how much publishing the Formation singer takes. She also shared stories of other songwriters and producers who were allegedly cheated out of their rightful credits and royalties by Beyoncé.
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She thus urged Beyoncé to “modernize” her business practices and pay songwriters fairly, adding that publishing royalties are not livable anymore unless the song is a massive hit, and that many songwriters are struggling to make ends meet.
“My hope is that on Act ll @Beyonce will #PaySongwriters a songwriter fee and master points and not take publishing or songwriting credit on any songs she did not write,” Red wrote on her X page.
Beyoncé’s mother blasts critics of singer’s Country fashion
Fashion designer and businesswoman Tina Knowles has lashed out at all the ‘haters’ who spoke against her daughter Beyoncé’s claim to country music, while defending the Halo singer.
According to Beyoncé‘s mother, their family has celebrated cowboy culture since they grew up in Texas.
“We have always celebrated cowboy culture growing up in Texas. We also always understood that it was not just about it belonging to white culture only. In Texas, there is a huge Black cowboy culture. Why do you think that my kids have integrated it into their fashion and art since the beginning?” Tina Knowles posted on her Instagram page.