By Signing Jay Z to a $150Million contract for 10 years. Yet another defect from the major labels (Def Jam). Jigga joins the likes of Madonna and U2 under Live Nations newly signed artist roster. But has the highest payout for a contract to date. I guess it does help to be a CEO of your own label to negotiate better deals.

The major speculation is that these Live Nation deals will be the death knell for all major record labels. Artists are constantly wanting a larger piece of their own franchise (tours, merchandise, ring tones, apparel, anything with their name on it, etc.) and record labels have not been able to cope with this shift. However, Live Nation still isn’t turning a profit. So no side is really “winning” at this point. Except for the mega-artists getting these deals who were already safe and secure with their loot. So will this really be the wave of the future? I’m doubtful. No one has yet to crack the code on actually making money. As long as there are no sustainably profits, no one can truly be happy with the arrangement. But I’m glad to see that at least they are trying something new. Maybe this will spawn the profit inducing idea that sets music on it’s next frontier.