The New York Times reported yesterday that Jay-Z is the latest to sign a mega 360 deal with Live Nation.
Jay-Z plans to depart his longtime record label, Def Jam, for a roughly $150 million package with the concert giant Live Nation that includes financing for his own entertainment venture, in addition to recordings and tours for the next decade. The pact, expected to be finalized this week, is the most expansive deal yet from Live Nation, which has angled to compete directly with the industry’s established music labels in a scrum over the rights to distribute recordings, sell concert tickets, market merchandise and control other aspects of artists’ careers.
If you haven't been keeping up, Live Nation first signed Madonna to a 10 year contract for $120 million back in October, then just a few days ago it was reported that Live Nation also signed U2 for a 12 year deal very similar to Madonna's. Though Madonna's deal includes releasing three recordings over the ten years, where U2 will still put out records through Universal Music Group, their current label.
It seems that Live Nation is looking to become a powerhouse to be reckoned with, truly providing everything the ideal 360 model should provide. They've bought a merchandise company that currently works with Justin Timberlake, among others, and of course have all of their touring covered. Though the common perception is that you need a major label to fully release and distribute a record, there's still the option to do limited releases through other consumer outlets, such Paul McCartney and Starbucks, the Eagles and Wal-Mart, and even the Spice Girls and Victoria's Secret. Nothing seems to be in Live Nation's way and it's drastically changing the way that we are viewing the labels. This may be the first step in the extinction of the major labels as we know them today, unless they can, pardon the pun, pull a 360 and get their acts together.
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