By now we have all heard that concert behemoth Live Nation is throwing a whole bunch of money (roughly 150 million) at Jay-Z to partner up. But, what does that mean for Jay-Z?  for Live Nation? for the music business? It means a lot.

Jay's newest venture, Roc Nation, is not to be confused as the new face of Rocafella. The partnership will act as an umbrella company for all of Jay's ventures, including a new record label. Roc Nation will also share the resources, influence, connections (and, most importantly, money) of Live Nation. In turn, the folks at Live Nation will get a huge chunk of the catalog of publishing that Jay-Z owns. In a time when the music industry is stalling and concerts are far more profitable than album sales, the music portion alone of this deal could change the way that superstar contracts are written forever.

 

Michael Cohl, the chairman of Live Nation publicly praised Hov for his impressive portfolio of brands and music. In an interview with The New York Times, Cohl said that as Live Nation expands, it hopes to build a similar business model to that of Shawn Corey Carter. “What he's done has kind of mirrored what we want to do and where we think we're going."

“I've turned into the Rolling Stones of hip-hop,” Jay-Z said in a recent telephone interview. Aging rock groups like the Rolling Stones, U2 and Aerosmith have remained relevant and profitable by touring the world and promoting their music through shows rather than music videos and ringtones. However, hip hop artists have not been able to do the same. Rap legends like Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane and Rakim have not been able to age as gracefully. If anybody can change the game, it's Hovi baby.