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Jay-Z proves how rich he is by passing up on $1 million every week

What’s $1 million to someone that’s close to billionaire status? Chump change.

According to a recent report by Billboard, Jay-Z could be missing out on almost $1 million a week by keeping 4:44 off of Spotify.

During its first week, Hov’s fourteenth studio album hit the number one spot on Billboard and has now notched a second week at the top of the charts. The album was released exclusively on Jay-Z’s streaming service Tidal and has made its way to Apple Music and Amazon.

Why would Hov miss out on Spotify, the world’s biggest streaming outlet? He pulled his music off the streaming service this past Spring due to nonpaying customers still having access to albums on shuffle.

According to Billboard, “the move reflects Jay-Z’s grievance with Spotify over what he perceives as its role in devaluing music by giving free users the ability to play any album or artist catalog on shuffle.”

Sources revealed that artists really don’t make that much off of streaming royalties. According to Billboard, Spotify only dishes out around .0044 of a cent per stream. Apple pays almost double that at .008 cents per stream.

Hov expressed to Billboard that streaming royalties aren’t paying for his new twins’ diapers,

“I’m guessing the diapers for those wonderful new children aren’t being paid out of streaming royalties.”

Even though it is chump change to him, what else could Hov be doing with an extra $1 million a week? A whole lot.

For the 2016 to 2017 academic year, the average cost for in-state public college was around $25,000, according to a study done by the College Board. An extra $1 million could pay a year’s tuition for around 40 students!

If 4:44 keeps doing well and does bring a million bucks per week that could pay for 208 students. Looks like Hov could do a little blessing with that chump change. Take that Spotify money and put it in the Shawn Carter Foundation.

Jay-Z could also continue his mission to reform the prison system. He’s already sat down and discussed criminal justice reform with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, urging lawmakers to do a full examination of the broken system.

In addition, this year for Father’s Day,  Hov bailed out incarcerated fathers. He expressed in an op-ed he penned for Time how exploitative the for-profit bail bond industry is.

“If you’re from neighborhoods like the Brooklyn one I grew up in, if you’re unable to afford a private attorney, then you can be disappeared into our jail system simply because you can’t afford bail. Millions of people are separated from their families for months at a time — not because they are convicted of committing a crime, but because they are accused of committing a crime.”

Hov has the chance to “rinse the neighborhood.” Jay could take that $1 million and invest it in an organization that helps father’s get back to their families on Father’s Day, especially if they can’t afford their bail.

He praised Southerners On New Ground and Color of Change that raised money to bail out moms for Mother’s Day.

Just some food for thought. Never sleep on any bread, it’s what makes the world turn and with it, a whole bunch of people who are less fortunate can be helped.

Just saying Hov, maybe you should reconsider losing out on $1 million per week.

5 real life lessons we learned from The Rock on HBO’s Ballers

HBO’s Ballers kicks off season three this Sunday and if you’ve been craving some ratchet NFL storylines, you already know The Rock got you covered.

Through two seasons of the show it’s safe to say that it’s truly one of the most lit series on television — literally just 30 minutes of some fly shit every week! But it’s also much more than that. There’s some real shit to takeaway here.

From the hard work during the offseason to the partying and temptations off the field, we learn real life lessons about spending money and making savvy, or boneheaded, business decisions like many athletes do.

The Rock’s character, retired NFL legend turned pro athlete money manager Spencer Strasmore, is one of the most humanizing roles DJ has ever played — a man dealing with a lifetime of mistakes trying to make sure the good friends he mentors don’t do the same.

The parallels between everything he does during this rebirth and all the real life situations he deals with working with NFL players are spot on. Not only are you getting to witness the true baller lifestyle, but you get to see what the day to day mindset is like for a pro athlete in 2017.

Whether it’s guys not knowing how to deal with their family after becoming the main provider or going through the feeling of getting old and washed, you don’t have to be in the league to relate with it.

With season three set to tie in a Las Vegas franchise storyline, you can expect even more of these pivotal life lessons that will blow your mind. Every NFL rookie should be tuning in every Sunday to study this shit.

Peep the video above for the 5 real life lessons we learned from HBO’s Ballers. You’ll be glad you did fam.

The LeBron Effect: Literally everything The King touches turns into gold

LeBron James was crowned at a very early age as the greatest player since Jordan.

His personal success has been widely reported but is there really a LeBron effect for those around him?

He’s been King of the NBA for the last decade and he’s been expanding his reach off the court since his days at St. Vincent’s-St. Mary’s in Akron, Ohio.

Celebrities in other professions have always been drawn to James’ unparalleled talent and charisma off the court. He’s translated sports into universal success and literally everything he touches turns into gold, including those around him.

LeBron’s rise to greatness and the explosion of social media happened almost simultaneously, allowing him to update his fans on his day-to-day life.

In addition to being a generous player on the court, The King also knows how to throw a great assist off of it.

LeBron is known for posting videos while he is driving in his car listening to music, and with roughly 40 million Instagram followers he has an insane reach. James has done this for Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill, Tee Grizzley and Nipsey Hussle, just to name a few.

Those who play with LeBron know to expect increased production due to his vision and unselfishness. This increased production can lead to big pay days that can be unwarranted.

Think about the Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert contracts. All nice players but were paid like stars while they played with LeBron.

But Bron doesn’t only generate money for his teammates. The city he plays in can also expect increased revenue due to the King’s presence.

A Harvard study showed that local bars and restaurants near the Cavs arena made more money and hired more workers after LeBron returned to Northeast Ohio in 2014.

LeBron rules over his Kingdom and it’s unclear if he will ever be dethroned.

Big Baller Alert: 10 times Lavar Ball proved he’s a marketing genius

Lavar Ball loves his three sons. He has gone to tremendous lengths to make them the best basketball players they can be and it seems to have worked.

LaMelo and LiAngelo will play Division I basketball at UCLA after his oldest son Lonzo went for a year and was drafted 2nd overall by the Lakers in June.

But Lavar isn’t just a dedicated father who coaches his sons’ AAU teams. He is also a marketing genius who promotes his sons and his Big Baller Brand simultaneously, consistently making outlandish statements that land him on Sportscenter and other sports talk shows.

Lavar isn’t afraid to let everyone know that his sons are the best. He said that his son Lonzo was better than two-time MVP Stephen Curry.

The Ball dad isn’t afraid to big himself up either. Though he averaged just two points and two rebounds per game in one season at Washington State University, Lavar said he would beat Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, in a game of one-on-one.

But by constantly running his mouth, Lavar is keeping his family’s name at the front of everyone’s mind. So when the Zo2, BBB’s first signature sneaker was priced at $495, it gave him another opportunity to promote the brand.

Lavar and his sons are constantly wearing BBB t-shirts, sweatshirts, jogging pants, and dad hats and after an MVP-winning performance in Summer League, everyone is talking about Lonzo.

Lavar is a master at redirecting the spotlight away from his sons and turning it on himself, allowing them to focus on the game while he markets them.

Though he may be one of the most obnoxious parents in the sports world, he is also one of the most caring. Keep doing your thing Lavar.

50 Cent sells stake in Effen Vodka, set to make $60 million profit

50 Cent, who has been one of the most prominent rappers turned entrepreneurs in the game, has turned his stake in Effen Vodka into a massive profit.

The Queens native will sell his part of the company, which he once co-owned, into $60 million. For years 50 has marked most of his social media posts with the #EFFEN hashtag, but in recent weeks people have taken notice over the absence of the hashtag.

While most social media rumors don’t reveal much, it turns out those monitoring 50’s hashtags were right.

50 told People last year about his investment in the Dutch-made vodka brand,

“‘Effen’ means ‘smooth’ in Dutch. But I know my audience and I know what they’re gonna do. And they’re gonna have fun with that.”

He went on to say that when he’s out, he’s sipping Effen,

“When I’m out and there’s nightlife, it’s what I drink. And the way the mixologist creates different drinks with it, people are attracted to it.”

One has to wonder what he’ll be drinking now.

Regardless of the sale of his stake in Effen, you already know 50 is making other moves.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWp98rGlfIR/

As his show Power enters its 5th season running, 50 sat down with Access Hollywood.

He revealed that he’s got some new music coming, but he said it isn’t the Ivy League sh*t Jay-Z put out,

“I have an album that I’ve been waiting to put out… I think we do have to kinda dumb down material to fit into where the culture’s producing. Because now it’s a little more melody driven; it’s not as sophisticated as it was when I first came in. I guess it’s a place for it… [My album] it won’t be as smart as the Jay-Z record. I want to make music that people have fun to, so you don’t have to stop. You can get it immediately without having to uh sit and analyze,”

50 has always been a thinking man. We look forward to any and all new music from the “Many Men” artist.

Also you can put down that bottle of Effen now that 50 is selling.

jimmy iovine (left), dre (right)

How Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine built the biggest empire in music

Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre are now best known as executives that completely changed the landscape of the music business, but that wasn’t always the case.

Music was Dr. Dre’s first love growing up in Compton and he used his massive record collection as a creative outlet to avoid falling into the violence around him.

Dre’s mother Verna would host house parties and Dr. Dre, who was still a toddler, would be in charge of the music.

Verna introduced Dre to soul and funk music, laying the groundwork for a full musical education that would expand across all genres.

As a teenager, Dre became known in his neighborhood as a DJ. He would mix the old school hits he used to play at his mother’s parties with the new school hip-hop that was just starting to become popular.

That combination of genres and styles would become a Dr. Dre trademark. He’s known as the godfather of G-Funk, a subgenre of hip-hop that uses funk-inspired guitars with hip-hop percussion.

After changing hip-hop in the studio, Dre would try his hand as an executive, spotting young talent and giving them the opportunity to take off.

Jimmy Iovine went from studio janitor to engineer to rock super-producer in ridiculously quick fashion.

After his cousin Ellie Greenwich, a singer-songwriter on the NYC rock scene in the ’60s, got him a job at a local record company, Jimmy got a call on Easter Sunday asking him to come in.

There was an artist trying to work on a record and the studio needed an extra pair of hands. But in an Italian-American family, Easter Sunday isn’t just another day and Jimmy’s mother was having none of it.

Somehow Iovine escaped his house and went to the studio. The artist waiting for him? John Lennon.

Yes, Jimmy Iovine’s first work as a music engineer was with John Lennon.

After that, Jimmy worked on Bruce Springsteen’s legendary album Born to Run. Bruce would spend hours on end in the studio working to find that perfect sound. It became an obsession.

Initially, Jimmy thought Springsteen was crazy and almost quit, but after staying on and seeing the masterpiece they had created together, Iovine adopted Bruce’s single-minded mentality.

From there, Jimmy Iovine would produce for Patti Smith, U2, Stevie Nix, and some of the biggest names in rock music before moving to the boardroom.

Dre and Iovine first connected in 1992 when Dre and Suge Knight came to show Iovine The Chronic.

Iovine was floored. He and Dre had an immediate connection.

When Dre left Death Row, Iovine gave him his own company Aftermath. When the other executives at Interscope told Iovine to drop Dre because of outrage over the ‘gangsta rap’ label, Jimmy refused.

As business partners, Dre and Iovine forged the perfect partnership.

The unlikely duo of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre went from creatives behind the scenes to executives that changed the way business and music interacted forever.

Dave Chappelle interviews Kendrick Lamar about his creative process

Yesterday, Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine published a piece on Kendrick Lamar. What’s even cooler, Dave Chappelle is the one who profiled him.

I’m definitely jealous of the people that got to witness this interview in real time. I wonder if Kenny and Dave got a little smacked.

During the interview, Kendrick talks to Dave about the content of his music, who he thinks about when he writes his music, his “Oh, shit, I made it” moment,  and his new album DAMN.

Tons of great questions from The Age of Spin comedian. One of the most interesting questions was Chappelle’s comparison of writing comedy to Kendrick creating his music.

Chappelle touches on the Kathy Griffin issue (for those who don’t remember) and wonders what Kendrick thinks might be “too far” when it comes to self-expression.

Here’s what Dave asked:

“I want to start by asking you about a recent scandal in the comedy world: Kathy Griffin and the picture of her holding Donald Trump’s decapitated head. My question for you is not about politics, but about the content in your work. In comedy right now, the issue is, “When does a comedian go too far?” And I imagine in hip-hop that’s been a long-standing debate… When you write, how much do you think about the repercussions of anything you might say?”

Kendrick’s reply? Self-expression is paramount:

“When I look at comedy—at Richard Pryor, at you—it’s all self-expression. I apply that same method to my music. I came up listening to N.W.A and Snoop. Like them, it’s in me to express how I feel. You might like it or you might not, but I take that stand.”

Besides discussing self-expression, Kung Fu Kenny revealed the truthfulness behind his track “Duckworth,” which he also revealed to Dave to be his favorite track off of DAMN. In the track, Lamar narrates the story of his father, Ducky, trying to prevent an armed robbery at his job at KFC. Can you imagine years later rapping about the incident to millions of fans? Insane!

Kendrick told Chappelle that “Duckworth” was all about perspective:

“The idea that I wanted to put across from that event was one of perspective. Everybody has their own perspective, and recognizing someone else’s perspective blows my mind a hundred thousand percent. The way that event unfolded… I had to sit down and ask my pops, ‘What was your perspective at the moment?’ And, ‘Did you ever think it would come around full circle like that?’ That always fascinated me.”

A crazy perspective indeed. Shoutout to Dave Chappelle, Kendrick Lamar, and Interview Magazine for an amazing read. Check out the full interview here, homie.

jimmy iovine

Jimmy Iovine’s secret to success? Turning fear ‘into a tailwind’

HBO’s four-part miniseries The Defiant Ones documents how the unlikely partnership of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine became one of the most fruitful partnerships in music history.

While the film, which debuted on Sunday, begins with the drama around Iovine and Dre’s $3.2 billion deal with Apple over Beats headphones (I won’t ruin it for you, but there is dramaThe Defiant Ones goes way back in time, detailing the two producers’ journeys separately.

Dre and Iovine had very different starts in the music business.

Dr. Dre was a musical prodigy from an early age and became known for his DJ skills around his neighborhood.

Iovine, on the other hand, was a college dropout who didn’t want to go work on the docks like his dad and uncles.

While Jimmy Iovine was looking for work, his cousin Ellie Greenwich, a songwriter on the scene in the 60s, got him a job at a recording studio mopping the floor.

As the story goes, Jimmy would pester the main producer in charge of the studio to let him work on the boards and on one Easter Sunday, Iovine got his break.

Iovine told Page Six about his experience on Easter as a 19-year-old,

“It’s Easter 1973. I’m 19. Doing clean-up work. Sunday the record studio called. Come in. Answer the phone. They had a slot open. I said, ‘On my way.’ My mom, upset, said relatives were coming over after church. I said, ‘Going to work. I’m saying no to nothing.’”

It’s clear that Iovine saw the recording studio as an escape route from his surroundings,

“This record place looked to me incredible. Better than my dad working on the docks. I saw future possibility.”

Turns out Jimmy was right. Guess who was waiting for him at the studio?

“And my first recording session? John Lennon.”

Imagine the intimidation. John f*cking Lennon. But Iovine talks at length in The Defiant Ones the key to his success is being able to “turn fear into a tailwind instead of a headwind.”

In an interview with Esquire, Iovine said being able to conquer that fear is what produces success,

“Bruce Springsteen is as afraid as any of us, but he knows how to conquer it. If you’re great, that means you’re freaked out that the next day you’re not going to be great. You keep trying. Never be satisfied.”

Pretty awesome stuff.

All four episodes of The Defiant Ones are available on HBO and its streaming services. Go watch that.

Why a group of NFL players are investing in this 12-year-old girl’s company

What were you doing when you were 12? I’ll tell you what I was doing: jack shit.

However, 12-year-old Mikaila Ulmer of Houston is making a splash in the business world.

According to the Houston Chronicle, a group of 10 NFL player investors, led by the recently retired Arian Foster, is funding Ulmer’s Me & The Bees lemonade brand.

With a homemade recipe given to Mikaila by her grandmother, the company’s mission is to put money and awareness towards preserving bees, which are low key going extinct.

She appeared on Good Morning America when she was just 11 and was already clearly more focused than your average child.

But just how much capital is she reeling in?

How sick would you be if I told you that she’s already raised $810,000 in investments for her company? What if I told you that she just partnered with Whole Foods for an $11 million deal?

Well, as sick as you are, you should also be inspired. Foster spoke about his business partner at an event in Texas recently saying,

“She’s so humble. You always have to be open and willing to learn, and she is. I’m learning from her, too. It’s a cycle. You have to keep an open mind and continue to grow.”

After appearing on Shark Tank, Mikaila has gotten a lot of amazing press and support from her community. First starting with Texans players, other investors now include Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner and Lions safety Glover Quinn.

Just goes to show you, it doesn’t matter how old you are to get your success going. If you have the fire product and vision, anything is possible. Foster continued,

“We look for companies that match our main focus of developing a good product, but are also good people and do it for the right reasons. It’s more than about money to us. We believe that investing in small black businesses is extremely important.”

Shoutout young Mikaila making moves!

jay z

From Marcy to Millions: How Hov became the ultimate businessman

Jay-Z went from being a hustler on the streets of Brooklyn to an international icon. How does a rapper out of the Marcy Projects become a mogul? Genius marketing.

Over the years, Hov has managed to market himself and his brand by collaborating with the right companies and people.

Jay-Z’s work with Sprint for his album 4:44 was incredible. The package? Six months of streaming service Tidal for free, exclusive access to Jay-Z’s album, and all the content surrounding it.

For the marketing campaign Jay-Z placed ads all over NYC, including several subway stations like the Jay St. stop in Brooklyn as well as Times Square. Signs were also spotted in Los Angeles.

The Brooklyn rapper didn’t stop there. He proceeded to premier an ad during Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The ad cast Mahershala Ali and left Jay-Z fans with hints of a possible short film featuring Academy Award-winner Lupita Nyong’o as well as Donald Glover.

To make the hype even crazier, Tidal tweeted last night that you have to sign up for the streaming service before midnight in order to experience 4:44.

If you didn’t sign up for Tidal before midnight, you are basically fucked. The only way you could experience the exclusive content is by switching to Sprint.

Genius marketing. Especially since Sprint acquired a 33 percent stake of Tidal, bumping the music streaming service’s worth to $600 million. The partnership also makes Tidal available to Sprint’s 45 million retail customers.

Looking back, this isn’t the first time International Hov has used his business savvy to promote an album.

Remember Magna Carta Holy Grail? Jay-Z paired up with Samsung to release his 12th solo album on July 4th back in 2013.

https://youtu.be/ZNlciK_2qCA

You know what’s boss af?

Pairing up with Samsung and not only striking a $20 million deal, but having them pay for the marketing and front $5 million to purchase 1 million copies of your album.

Let’s take another look at a small step Jay-Z took and turned it into a big business. His promotion of Armand de Brignac, the iconic gold bottle with an ace of spade on it.

No one had ever really heard of the champagne before Jay-Z premiered it in his video for his hit song “Show Me What You Got.”

Back then everyone was poppin’ Cristal, but Jay-Z was responsible for everybody changing their expensive beverage of choice.

So why Champagne Armand de Brignac? Three minutes into the video above you see a waiter bring Hov a bottle of Cristal Champagne but he dubs it and tells him to fetch the gold bottle with the ace of spade.

Why all the beef? Hov boycotted Cristal because of offensive comments from the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud. Rozaud spoke to the Economist in regards to the association between Cristal and the bling lifestyle and if it could actually hurt the brand,

“That’s a good question, but what can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it. I’m sure Dom Pérignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business.”

Hov pulled the champagne from his small chain of popular sports lounges — where bottles of Cristal sold for $450 and $600. In response to Rouzaud’s comments, he said,

“It has come to my attention that the managing director of Cristal, Frederic Rouzaud views the ‘hip-hop’ culture as ‘unwelcome attention,”’ Jay-Z said. “I view his comments as racist and will no longer support any of his products through any of my various brands including the 40/40 Club nor in my personal life.”

Guess what Hov’s next move was? Copping his own champagne. Jay-Z was paid millions of dollars and equity in Sovereign Brands to promote the champagne brand, Armand de Brignac, that no-one had heard of.

In Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office, Zack O’Malley Greenburg broke down Jigga’s profit:

“The production cost per bottle of Armand de Brignac is about $13; the wholesale price is $225. The maximum output is 60,000 bottles per year. If Jay Z splits the $212-per-bottle profit evenly with Cattier and Sovereign, a back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests his annual take would be a little over $4 million.”

Sheesh!

Moving on to the next venture that Jay-Z absolutely crushed, his work with search engine Bing and his autobiography Decoded was revolutionary once again.

Bing and Jay-Z collaborated and created probably one of the best marketing campaigns the web has ever seen. Media was calling the campaign “Rap’s Rosetta Stone.”

For the collab, Bing and Hov dropped a page of the book every day in a new location over the course of a month leading up to the autobiography’s release. Each location was inspired by a different story on each page.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV7TfsvDBa0/?tagged=decoded&hl=en

Pages were placed in 13 major cities in the US. This allowed fans to experience Hov’s story in real time, putting the entire biography in context.

A bronze plaque was installed in the Marcy Projects, an entire Cadillac was wrapped in a page and paid homage to the birthplace of hip-hop, and a page was even transcribed onto the floor at the Delano Pool in Miami.

Facebook

The campaign helped Bing acquire an 11.7 percent increase in visits, enter the global top 10 most visited sites, and earn 1.1 billion media impressions.

Jay-Z’s Facebook followers grew by 1.1 million and Decoded was a NYT bestseller for 19 weeks. This was all in the course of one month.

https://youtu.be/XNic4wf8AYg

Let’s not forget about Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation. Founded in 2008, the full-service entertainment company houses a record label, talent agency, a touring and concert production company, music, film, and television production company, and a music publishing house.

The client list includes some of the world’s most recognizable names: from Rihanna, Shakira, J. Cole, and Big Sean to Yoenis Cespedes, Kevin Durant, Dez Bryant, and Robinson Cano.

To jump start Roc Nation’s music distribution, Hov signed a 4-year distribution deal with Sony Music back in 2009. Following their success in 2010, Roc Nation partnered with London-based entertainment company Three Six Zero Group.

In February 2013, Roc Nation made major moves, signing a worldwide music publishing administration deal with Warner/Chappell Music.

Even after the Sony deal expired, Hov managed to get a multi-year partnership with Universal Music.

Music is not Roc Nation’s only money maker. The sports division brought in a whopping $19.2 million as of September 2016, representing less than 20 clients. That is a major move.

Peep Dez Bryant throwing up the Roc.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKhW2V9hwJd/?taken-by=dezbryant&hl=en

Jay-Z has got the Midas touch. Just this year, Roc Nation announced the formation of Arrive, a new division of the company that will focus on investing and nurturing promising startups. Hov will own the past, present, and future.

What can’t this man do!