Justin Timberlake and Irv Gotti Are Selling Their Masters-But Why?

For years, we have heard stories of artists fighting for the right to get the master recordings of their songs. Now people like Justin Timberlake, Irv Gotti and more are selling their masters for hundreds of millions of dollars. A master recording is the original recording of a song. Ownership of a song usually goes to the writer of the song, not the singer. Because the master of the song (not a copy) has a superior sound, that is the copy that gets used in movies and commercials. Whoever owns the master makes the money from royalties, licensing, brand deals and other revenue streams. Artists are selling their maters and getting their money upfront while they are alive to do with it as they wish. Nothing to fight over when they are gone.