While the rumors of Jay-Z buying Hot 97 ended up not being true, it doesn’t mean he will not have a bigger role in the music industry. Years ago, people looked at his run from 1996-2003 as Def Jam’s flagship artist and Roc-A-Fella’s CEO and thought he was big enough. In his words, no.
Jay-Z “retired” in 2003 and soon was the president of Def Jam, a role he held onto until 2008. Before the summer of 2008 ended, Jay-Z partnered with Live Nation to create Roc Nation. Seven years later, Jay-Z turned in his ownership stake in the Nets for sports management.
Now, the man who owns Kevin Durant’s agency is getting into the music streaming business. Still in its early stages, online music streaming services are primarily dominated by Spotify and Pandora, but YouTube is launching a music streaming service. Meanwhile, Jay-Z put up $56 million to purchase Aspiro, which is European-based, but began serving the United States last year.
Source: Reuters
