Despite poor (by comparison) sales of Jay-Z's last record 'American Gangster', the rapper has managed to secure a reported $US150million deal with Live Nation.
The deal will let Live Nation take a cut of his touring, merchandise and album sales, but Z will be in charge of putting the album out on his own through his own venture, the newly formed Roc-Nation, according to the New York Times.The money will fund Jay-Z's career, including touring and recording, for the next decade.
Z still owes Def Jam, the label he was CEO of until December, 2007, one more album, but the Live Nation deal kicks in for everything else right away.
Similar deals have been done with U2 and Robbie Williams as declining CD sales are forcing the industry to re-evaluate how it does business.
