Fans of the late R&B singer Aaliyah rejoiced after the record label that owns her masters announced that the majority of her music would finally be available to stream soon.
The record company, renamed Blackground Records 2.0, says it will begin re-releasing the late singers output starting with her second album, One In A Million, which is due out on August 20.
But even as it moves to finally make her music widely available, the singer’s estate accused Blackground of failing to be transparent about its new deal.
Back at last: The majority of the late singer Aaliyah’s recorded output is set to finally be released on streaming services 20 years after she crash at age 22.; Aaliyah pictured in 1994
A website owned by Aaliyah’s record company Blackground Records appeared this week with a cryptic homepage featuring the hashtag, ‘#aaliyahiscoming.’
The record company, which was co-founded and co-owned by her uncle Barry Hankerson, is joining forces with the indie label EMPIRE to put her remaining albums on streaming services.
Previously, only her first album, the R. Kelly–produced Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number, and some early singles were available to stream.
Meanwhile, her mature output, including her albums One In A Million and her self-titled third album, have been unavailable to stream and have even been out of print on CD.
Used copies and Japanese imports are still available, though sometimes for extravagant prices.
Coming soon: Aaliyah’s record company Blackground Records will release her second album One In A Million on August 20, followed by her third self-titled album (pictured) in September
Hard to find: Only Aaliyah’s first R. Kelly–produced album has been on streaming, while her other albums are even out of print on CD; seen weeks before her death in 2001
Fans can already preorder CD and vinyl reissues of Aaliyah’s albums, and those with streaming subscriptions can sign up to pre-download the LPs.
The hitmaker’s self-titled album will follow in September, after which the label will release her posthumous compilations I Care 4 U and Ultimate Aaliyah.
Blackground Records’ dormant status affected more than just Aaliyah.
The pop singer JoJo recorded her first two album with Blackground Records, but they didn’t make the jump to streaming due to the label’s dysfunction.
She responded by recording the LPs and releasing new versions in 2018, a path Taylor Swift has recently followed after her early masters were bought up.
The new deal means that the original version of JoJo’s albums will soon be released, as well as older albums from Toni Braxton, the producer Timbaland and others.
More to come: In addition to rereleasing Aaliyah’s music, the label will also rerelease long-unavailable LPs by Toni Braxton, JoJo, Timbaland and others
The singer’s estate previously released a statement in August of last year promising Aaliyah’s music would be available on ‘streaming platforms in the near future,’ which may have made fans anxious for more.
‘We are excited to announce that communication has commenced between the estate and various record labels about the status of Aaliyah’s music catalogue, as well as its availability on streaming platforms in the near future. Thank you for your continued love and support,’ the statement read.
In 2016, a lengthy investigation by Stephen Witt for Complex revealed that Aaliyah’s digital absence is almost single-handedly due to the inaction of her uncle Barry Hankerson, who was also her manager and the founder of Blackground Records.
Following the singer’s untimely death in a plane crash, Hankerson’s ‘grief turned to despondency,’ and he was reportedly unable to even be in the same room when her music was playing.
Over time, Blackground failed to keep up with the digital revolution and stopped paying its artists, many of whom sued.
Objections: In a statement, Aaliyah’s estate, which is controlled by her mother, spoke out about the deal and accused the record label of not sharing details about the deal
Following the label’s announcement about the rereleases, the estate of Aaliyah, which is controlled by her mother Diane Haughton, spoke out against what it called an ‘unscrupulous endeavor’ on social media.
The statement detailed how it has ‘battled behind the scenes, enduring shadowy tactics of deception with unauthorized projects targeted to tarnish.’
It described the upcoming releases as an ‘unscrupulous endeavor to release Aaliyah’s music without any transparency or full accounting to the estate.’
‘Although we will continue to defend ourselves and her legacy lawfully and justly, we want to preempt the inevitable attacks on our character by all the individuals who have emerged from the shadows to leech off of Aaliyah’s life’s work,’ the statement continued.
‘Ultimately, we desire closure and a modicum of peace so we can facilitate the growth of the Aaliyah Memorial Fund and other creative projects that embody Aaliyah’s true essence, which is to inspire strength and positivity for people of all creeds, races and cultures around the world.’
On Thursday, the estate’s attorney, Paul LiCalsi, issued a statement criticizing Blackground Records for a lack of transparency about the deal to release Aaliyah’s music.
In the dark: The estate’s attorney, Paul LiCalsi, also criticized the label for failing to inform the estate of the its past earnings from Aaliyah’s music; still from Romeo Must Die featuring DMX
It noted that only Aaliyah’s first album had been available to stream for years because it was ‘held by major record companies under contract with Aaliyah’s record label.’
‘Other than that first album, virtually the entire remainder of her catalog, including many never released tracks, has been inexplicably withheld from the public by Blackground Records. Aaliyah’s Estate has always been ready to share Aaliyah’s musical legacy but has been met with contention and a gross lack of transparency,’ he continued.
He accused the record label of failing ‘to account to the Estate’ as it’s required to by her record contracts.
‘In addition, the Estate was not made aware of the impending release of the catalog until after the deal was complete and plans were in place. The Estate has demanded that Blackground provide a full account of its past earnings, and full disclosure of the terms of its new deal to distribute Aaliyah’s long embargoed music.’