Ever Heard Of Skee-lo?
Depending on your age you may or may not know who Skee-lo is but chances are you have probably heard his debut hit song that he released 
in 1995 called “I Wish“. This song was so big that it was the#1 music video on MTV & #13 on the billboard hot 100 charts. Not only that but his album and his single were both given Grammy nominations. With Skee-lo coming out the gate with a smash hit single followed by a Grammy nominated album you can’t help but wonder what happened?
Things Can Get Complicated
Well you may already be aware that things are not so simple in the music industry. We see these really nice music videos that show these artists living it up and it looks like all is well in their worlds. But in most cases nothing could be further from the truth. While Skee-lo’s music was gaining world wide recognition the record label he was signed to was raking him through the coals.
Never Forget This Word
One very amazing thing that you may not know about Skee-lo is that he actually wrote and produced all of his music. In the music industry 
there is this very important word called publishing. Think of publishing like a retirement plan for artists. Depending on how much you contribute to a song will often determine how much percentage that you own of publishing.
Trying To Keep It 100
In Skee-lo’s case he was entitled to 100% of his publishing because he did everything himself. This means that he had complete ownership of his music and was able to sell companies licenses to use his songs in movies, shows, commercials, video games etc. In return he would receive royalty checks for as long as his music placements are being used. That’s great news right!
Take It To Trial
Well in Skee-lo’s case it was horrible news. Soon after his hit single “I Wish” began blowing up he realized that the label he was signed to was
claiming ownership of his publishing. Skee-lo quickly breached his contract with the label and then took them to court. In the end Skee-lo came out on top owning full publishing rights to his hit single and Grammy nominated album.
Still Getting It
Still to this very day Skee-lo is making very good money off of his music he made in 1995. In 2013 he signed a licensing deal with Toyota for a series of commercials that was themed around wishes which appropriately featured Skee-lo’s song “I Wish”. One of these commercials was also featured in the 2013 super bowl causing the 1995 albums sales to skyrocket a whopping 324%.
Accomplishing Great Feats
You may have thought Skee-lo was just another one hit wonder 
but writing & producing a Grammy nominated album and single while maintaining all of your publishing rights is something very few mainstream artists are able to accomplish today. Skee-lo currently runs his own label called Skee-lo Music and educates the artists he signs about the music business and ensures everyone gets their fair cut of publishing.
How Did I Do
Did you know about Skee-lo prior to reading this article? Have a question? Want to say what’s up? Feel free to drop your 2 cents in the comments section below. I would love to hear from you!
I knew the song but not his name. Now I’ll remember his name and forever think of that song in a different way.
Hey Mike I am glad you gained some new insight from this post. Yeah there is some pretty cool history that goes a long with it. It’s very rare that artists are on top of their music business game especially at the age Skee-lo was when all of this first went down. Have you ever heard the Toyota commercials I was referring to in the article? Pretty cool stuff 🙂
Yeah, I checked out the link.
Ok, good stuff!
Wow 1st and foremost i must give u props kudos fro writing this article on Skeelo , i also have learn more of what i was just searching for on his and his publishing company who owns his music because although its the sono commercial with skeelo’s song “Wish” that made me google search him and brought me here (Glad i did now im a subscriber for life u guys have great info to helm e out with my music co. DaHeat) youtube and their site promoting heck out Skeelo’s song “Wish”
but i do remember this song and is a classic now because of u i know was like #13 on billboard n was on mtv for weeks what’s fascinated he actually produce wrote all his music so imagine his publishing which he has full control of able to license to any media TV films games he wishes had to look him n music co. up and found a lot of this so i just commented and share this on his youtube music page (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryDOy3AosBw) wich i gave u props credit there too. http://www.colemizestudios.com/skee-lo I’m proud of this brother here and is something all of us musicians artists songwriters producers should take notes from.
Thanks Skydalimit1 I really appreciate all of your positive words and I’m glad that you are enjoying my articles on my website. Even tho Skee-lo wished he was a little bit taller I still “look up” to him lol I love how he was able to make a hit song that’s clean and positive about his insecurities while making fun of himself. Every time I hear “I Wish” it just takes me to a happy place 🙂 Thanks again for showing love and support! Wishing you the best in all that you do! Much respect! 🙂 – Cole Mize
Hey was supposed Cole u welcome n thanx also on wrtit in writing this great article piece on Skeelo.
What’s up bro! Thanks! I’m really glad that you enjoyed it! Much respect! 🙂 – Cole Mize
My bad meant to say Wassup damn typo smh lol.
lol, It’s all good man. I was able to decipher it and figure it out. Ha Ha 🙂
I remember being a little kid watching the videos for “I Wish” & “Top Of The Stairs” on BET & MTV. I always wondered what happened to him. Now I know…
great one bruv..
Cool article. Very helpful