Apple, Jay-Z, Maybe

Written by A. L. Friedman

Thursday, July 19. 2007 at 06:43 PM EDT Post a comment

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Shameless rumor-mongering, but whatever, we'll roll with it. The word is Jay-Z is leaving Def Jam to start a label with Beyonce and Apple.

Hov hasn't exactly been doing a bang-up job while running the once-great label and whispers of his departure have been floating for a while. The first rumblings of the Apple deal came to light when MediaTakeOut reported a Jay-Z/Beyonce label back in April. MacRumors points out that the resolved beef with the Beatles-associated Apple label opened the door for an Apple-branded label.

The original MediaTakeOut post quoted a label insider as saying that Jay can buy any artist he signed out of their Def Jam contract. That could put Rihanna, Ne-Yo, and Nas on Apple, along with Jay-Z and Beyonce. Even if Kingdom Come was an embarrassment, that would still be a hell of a roster, from a sales standpoint.

As for anyone doubting the logic of getting into the music industry right now, need I remind you that the iTunes store is the third-biggest music retailer in the country? Music is still popular, even if the current business models are not. Hell, the mind behind Jay-Z's last label had his own mp3 player, so signing on with Steve Jobs is only logical. Built-in iTunes store placement would be a boon, as would not splitting the profits with an outside label.

First Starbucks and McCartney, now Apple and Carter. What are the odds Ford signs Toby Keith next year?