A federal judge has dismissed Salt-N-Pepa's lawsuit to reclaim ownership of their master recordings from Universal Music Group. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote sided with the recording giant, stating the group never owned the copyrights to their sound recordings. UMG argued the recordings were “works made for hire,” preventing rights reclamation. Salt-N-Pepa claimed their agreements indicated otherwise. The duo, Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton, became Salt-N-Pepa in 1985. They signed with Next Plateau Records, now under Universal’s Republic label. The judge found no evidence they granted the label copyright that can be reclaimed.