Drake has reportedly signed an extremely lucrative deal with Universal Music Group.
Variety claims the announcement was made by UMG chairman Sir Lucian Grainge during a Q1 earnings call yesterday. The publication says the deal with the Canadian rapper is an “expansive, multi-faceted deal with the company that encompasses recordings, publishing, merchandise and visual media projects”.
Industry insiders have reportedly claimed the deal is similar to the one to which Universal recently tied The Weeknd down to earlier this year.
Their subsidiary, Republic Records, is in control of all future works and songwriting catalogue, as well as global merchandising, branding, e-commerce and retail licensing opportunities around the rapper’s future projects.
The outlet claims the deal Drake has signed is “Lebron-sized,” which references LeBron James’ $154million (£123million) NBA deal to join the LA Lakers in 2018. However, they didn’t confirm the numbers involved in Drake’s deal.
His new agreement with the label is expected to include all of Drake’s audio-visual projects with Republic Records and UMG.
However, Drake is yet to confirm he has signed a new record deal with Universal.
