Hip Hop-savvy music and entertainment group Tha Lights Global has tied with Sony Music Entertainment.
According to a new report from Variety, Sony Music Entertainment and Tha Lights Global have struck a multi-million dollar deal to allow Sony to distribute TLG artist’s music. Columbia, Epic, and RCA Records are some of the Sony Music subsidiaries that will be distributing TLG artist content moving forward.
The report says Tha Lights Global received multiple bids from different labels, with bids reportedly reaching as high as $20 million before TLG settled on Sony as a partner. Industry insiders believe Sony sees the partnership as a way to increase its focus its efforts on urban/hip-hop and jump on fast-emerging rappers.
TLG represents hip-hop artists like Lil Pump and Kiya, both of whom rose to stardom based on their social media presence.
This deal has been rumored for some time, as TLG artist Dominic Fike recently inked a deal with Sony that was reportedly worth $3 million for a single project. Rumors suggest that Lil Pump will transition to a Sony Music label after his contractual obligations for Warner Bros. Records are finished, and a six-month non-compete period has passed.
TLG signed a joint deal between Warner Bros. Music and Lil Pump starting in 2017, worth a reported $8 million (also for a single project).
Lil Pump, real name Gazzy Garcia, was an overnight sensation on SoundCloud before signing the deal with Warner as a minor. His manager, Dooney Battle, is a co-founder of Tha Lights Global.
As rappers find millions of fans through streaming services like SoundCloud, labels are becoming more competitive with their signing offers.
Universal Music Group, Atlantic Records, RCA, and Epic were all rumored to be in a bidding war against each other for the young artist’s contract.
TLG’s leadership has modeled the company on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, believing analytics and data about the performance of songs is the future of finding hit recording artists.
Neither company offered any comment on the purported deal (or its terms), though an official announcement may be forthcoming.