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Cuban reggaeton artist El Chulo posted a series of stories on his Instagram account where he delivered a strong message about the music industry: the ownership of masters—the original recordings of songs—is not just an economic issue, but a matter of freedom.
"Owning your songs is not just a matter of money; it’s a matter of FREEDOM. An artist who does not own their masters is an employee of their own work," the artist wrote about a topic that has often been the subject of debate, especially among Cuban singers.
In another story, El Chulo went further and detailed the concrete advantages of owning one's own masters with a clarity that few dare to express in public. First, the money: "There are no intermediaries taking 80% or 50%. All the money generated from streaming plays goes straight into your pocket."
Secondly, commercial autonomy: "If a brand or a movie wants to use their song, they do not have to ask permission from a multinational. The artist decides the price and the use." And thirdly, total creative freedom: "No one can tell them when to release music, with whom to collaborate, or to 'freeze' their catalog if they choose to change direction."
The message comes at a particularly symbolic moment for the Havana artist known as "The President of Reparto." After being arrested by U.S. immigration authorities on January 22 at his home in Homestead, Florida, El Chulo signed a voluntary departure from the country and reappeared in Mexico in March, where he stated that "what they did to me was a favor" to start "from zero."
From Mexican lands, she premiered her new song "La Mamá de Toto" in mid-March, marking the start of a new professional chapter, and met up with her partner María Karla Castro for a getaway in Isla Mujeres.
In that context of complete restart, his reflection on the masters sounds like a personal manifesto: the control of one's own work as synonymous with true freedom.
The debate over the ownership of masters is not new in the global industry. The most famous case is that of Taylor Swift, who lost control of her first six albums in 2019 when Scooter Braun acquired her record label, and responded by re-recording her entire discography to create new masters of her own.
In the Latin scene, the trend towards artistic independence has notably increased, with emerging artists preferring to release singles on their own rather than signing with major labels and giving up their recordings.
El Chulo, with a career that is starting anew from Mexico, joins that conversation with his own voice and a conviction that goes beyond business: for him, owning his music is, first and foremost, owning his destiny.
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