Candace Owens dropped a bombshell about the music industry’s stranglehold on artists when she revealed Universal Music Group’s astronomical licensing demands for using Kanye West‘s voice in her podcast.
The conservative commentator took to social media this week to expose what she called an outrageous business practice that keeps artists trapped under corporate control long after creating their music. Owens said she wanted to use just seven seconds of Kanye’s voice for her podcast intro, but Universal told her the licensing fee would be $40,000 for that brief sample.
The situation worsened when her husband received an updated quote from the record label, demanding $100,000 annually for what would ultimately amount to 24 minutes of Kanye’s voice across her show’s episodes.
“The problem is that all of Ye’s old music is owned by masters,” Owens explained in her social media post, highlighting how record companies maintain ownership over recordings even when artists write and perform the songs themselves.
Opening up about a personal struggle I’ve been going through:
Last year I called Ye and asked him to please re-record all of his masters because I wanted to sample one of his songs for my new podcast intro but I really don’t want to pay to license the music he created from the…
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) January 10, 2026
Owens revealed that she and Kanye had previously discussed how Taylor Swift’s decision to rerecord her master recordings was a genius move to regain control of her catalog, noting that Kanye has expressed interest in doing the same but hasn’t found time to tackle the massive undertaking.
The commentator said she “spiritually cannot” pay Universal the six-figure sum, calling the practice fundamentally wrong, while questioning how such arrangements can be legal when they prevent artists from controlling their own creative output.
“Like you cannot attempt to kill a slave and then force them to still work for you because of lingering contracts. Maybe we need an addendum to the 13th amendment?”
Social media users quickly rallied behind Owens’ criticism of the music industry’s business model, with many calling the licensing fees “outrageous” and comparing the system to modern-day slavery that captures artists through contractual obligations.
One user suggested that Kanye should simply record the seven seconds Owens needs, bypassing Universal entirely, while others pointed out that the fees demonstrate how record labels maintain power over artists long after initial recording contracts expire.
Under current copyright law, whoever owns the master recordings controls all commercial uses of that music, regardless of who originally wrote or performed the songs, creating situations in which artists must pay their former labels to use their own creative work.
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