The Music Industry Was Designed to Keep Artists Broke! Here's How?

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human Earners, what's up? Look, building wealth isn't just about making money. It's about knowing where your money is working for you. That's why we partnered with Empower. Empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little. Their free Empower personal dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place. Track your net worth, monitor your budget, analyze your investments, set retirement goals, and more. You've worked hard for your money. Now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower personal dashboard or visit Empower.com.

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2:28Presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Goodbye.

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5:36annual single line of payment of AT &T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless plan as of January, 2026. For full offer details, visit BoostMobile.com. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder. We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Want the full story? Take a listen. Hedy, she starts dating Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon. Do you know a lot about him? I mean, I watch The Aviator, so I know everything Leonardo DiCaprio has allowed me to know about him, but incredible innovator.

6:06Right. She says he's a, quote, very strange man. But they do get along really well. Give us examples. I know. They do get along intellectually. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane. She takes a look at what he's designed. It's got these square wings. And she's like, that doesn't make sense. And so she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of like what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode spotlighting groundbreaking innovators like Hedy Lamarr and Billie Jean King.

6:41Presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Goodbye. If your best finance people are doing expense reports, chasing receipts, or spending time on month-end clothes, it's time to get Brex AF, a gentic finance that eliminates that work before it starts. Learn more at brex.com slash AF. And he was saying what most people would say when they leave the major label. There's no major label system. He said he never made money from a major label. He said that outside of his advance, he said he sold 10 million records with that song with Sway Lee. He said he never made money from that song. He never made money in his career other than in advance.

7:22I can tell you why. Why? Nobody has. Okay, so this is a little dirty secret in the music business that we don't talk about enough. But the problem, the reason why nobody's able to make money in the music business as far as producers and writers on their points and stuff like that is because artists always take out advances against the money coming so yeah you might not have got paid for unforgettable but because instead of waiting for the nine months for them to calculate or get your money they came back to you and say hey shit's doing good you want another deal and you said why not all they did was bury the debt under that new deal and keep it there like it's Like, like you can be most major artists are in debt at major labels on purpose.

8:02That's the model that they play. That's the design of the business. Because if we keep them in debt, they're not forensically looking at the companies now. They just got an event. That is every. I want you to ask Rashad. Anytime you ask an artist or executive, make this a part of your questions. Do you know anybody ever got a royalty check? I have a diamond record with RCA right now, and I'm still 200 ,000. I think at the last royalty statement I got, I'm still$149 ,000 in the hole. How? Explain. So with Diamond, what record is that? Extortion. Oh, it's a record I did of my guys, Rock City, Locked Away.

8:34We're out of feature Adam Levine. It was a big pop record. But it's Diamond. And I'm like, we ain't never got a royalty check forever. So you're saying. Now, watch this. Now, I'm going to tell you. I'm going to just say this real quick. For the first time, because we hot, I was able to negotiate a deal without debt. Basically, what's it called? Unrecoupable points. I negotiate that. We did one record last year. One record. I made it. We made I think we probably made about 800, 900 K from that song and royalties in less than a year of it being released. I mean, and within the year of it being released because we got our points unrecoupable.

9:06You can't count it against debt. My points come to me from dollar one. Most points, most deals that you get paid after we recoup. When do we know you recouped? Yeah. And for the artists and for the business people, how can you even track when they recoup if you're not allowed to see the accounting you have to hire a forensic expert i know one by the way i'm starting a company with a forensic account smart yeah you have to find someone that reads charts that understands what's missing and that can help you get your money this guy's found billions of dollars yeah we were talking to french montana about that but it's not even just the music industry you look at book industry you look at any type of thing like it's like anytime somebody says like the royalty thing it's a catch-22 to because it's like they always say don't take advance money take the royalty money but then i gotta trust you i don't know what the royalty money actually is you guys so the only thing you really can trust is the advance because that's money right here in my pocket right now that i know i know you give me two million dollars i know what that is you saying okay the smart thing is don't take no money up front just take a 15 royalty for for the perpetuity of the album bro who's calculating this 15 but but to me to me that's when it becomes you have to have your business together and like you just have to understand it but dog it's so many i remember watching post alone probably has never seen a royalty check and he's one of the biggest streaming artists of all time taylor swift probably has but when they said drake got you know they said drake got half a billy that half a billy was probably 450 million of it was probably money that they owed him owed him and then what they do what they sell rashad is his half a billion and now go make us five more albums.

10:42And he's so happy that he got half a billion. He realizing they owe me that. Then it gets across the ladder, realizing, yeah. This is the difference between the, this is the object of every record label. Keep them in debt. So it operates like a bank. It's a bank. Keep them in debt. Because as long as they ain't looking at our books. Ain't nobody like, ain't nobody three million in the hole saying, let me go look at y 'all books. Man, just show your ass down trying to find an extra 100K. You know what I mean? But like, if you, if you like right at that cusp and you, like that's how i think 50 cent got out his deal with interscope he in he um audited them found out they owed him like 18 million dollars and was like just let me be free instead of paying me the 18 million and that's how he got that's how the room i heard how he got his deal these labels play dirty games bro but when you look at the big buildings and the security and the nice dinners and the corporate cards who the fuck is paying for all of that yes we are we are they give us advances then we pay for their lifestyle and then we're gonna make money from other things that's how everybody has done it for anyone who wants to break into the industry why uh is there a book that you can recommend and like why hasn't anyone written a not a tell-all but like a business book about the music industry uh well the book that everybody says to read is back in the day that's men's everything you know about the music business i i wrote the prequel to that book and it's called the artist agreements i'm like literally talking to publishers right now and it's like how i describe it is, it's like how you, it's like, it's the prequel to his book.

12:08We talk a lot about ownership and one of the most important assets you can own is your digital real estate. Too many entrepreneurs rely on social media platforms they don't control. Your website should be the center of your business. Framer helps you build a professional website without all the friction. It's more than a website builder. It's a complete website platform. Your entire team can collaborate in real time, make changes instantly, and publish updates in minutes instead of days. Framer's AI agents work alongside your team to create content, refine pages, manage your CMS, and optimize your SEO all in one place.

12:44And because everything stays editable on the same canvas, you maintain complete control over what goes live. That's why everyone from startups to Fortune 500 companies and brands like Perplexity and Miro trust Framer to power their websites. Learn how you can get more out of your site from Framer specialists or get started building for free at Framer.com slash earn for 30 % off a Framer Pro annual plan. That's Framer.com slash earn for 30 % off. Framer.com slash earn. Rules and restrictions may apply. AI is changing everything right now, and website creation is officially part of the wave. Wix just introduced Wix Harmony, and honestly, it's one of the smartest tools we've seen for entrepreneurs, creators, and business owners.

13:27Here's how it works. You simply type what you want your website to look like and Wix Harmony builds it for you. Complete with forms, payment options, security, and everything you need to actually run a business online. But what makes it different is that you're not just stuck letting AI control everything. You can still manually edit your site however you want or you can use their AI assistant, ARIA, to make updates for you instantly. That's important because anybody who's used AI knows how frustrating it can be repeating prompts over and over just to make one small change. Wix Harmony removes that headache and makes the process simple.

14:01If you've got a business idea, a personal brand, or a company that needs a real online presence, this is definitely something worth checking out. Try it for free at Wix.com slash Harmony. That's Wix.com slash Harmony. You're locked into a lot of things you can't change. weather, traffic. Hey, stay in your lane. Your wireless carrier's latest price hike, but you can unlock a better way. Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile and save up to$600 a year. Switch to the$25 a month unlimited wireless plan. No contracts, no price hikes, and you keep your phone. Stop being locked into their games. Unlock the savings at BoostMobile.com slash unlock.

14:38Based on average annual single line of payment of AT &T, Verizon, and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile unlimited wireless plan as of January For full offer details, visit BoostMobile.com. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder. We cruised around L.A. in the Hyundai Ioniq 5. And dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Want the full story? Take a listen. Hedy, she starts dating Howard Hughes, the aviation tycoon. Do you know a lot about him? I mean, I watch The Aviator, so I know everything Leonardo DiCaprio has allowed me to know about him.

15:07But incredible innovator. Right. She says he's a, quote, very strange man. But they do get along really well. Give us examples. I know. They do get along intellectually. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane. She takes a look at what he's designed. It's got these square wings. And she's like, that doesn't make sense. And so she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of like what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode spotlighting groundbreaking innovators like Hedy Lamarr and Billie Jean King.

15:44Presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Goodbye. If your best finance people are doing expense reports, chasing receipts, or spending time on month-end close, it's time to get Brex AF, a gentic finance that eliminates that work before it starts. Learn more at brex.com slash AF. His book tells you about the business. You don't need to know the business if you ain't in this motherfucker. like you come in the room talking about asking about your masters you ain't even made a hit yet you don't even know i write a song so my book is showing you how to be creative and get into the business and then you do it but i wrote one because i feel the same way you feel i'm just like man why don't nobody think that this is important music is sports is gonna be the one thing that every kid is gonna want to get into at some point in their life sports has got it figured the fuck out yeah music we still learning what uh what's the worst deal that you said ever Like what's the worst deal ever?

16:36Like what you mean? Like, like the worst deals ever keep you trapped in it and don't return the shit back to you. The worst deals ever have the word perpetuity in it. Oh, perpetuity. Yeah. Yes. The worst deals like, like, like, let me give you all some shit that I had to learn. All right. So you remember that song? Um, Mike will Molly Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, juicy J in the club. Higher perk with some shades on. Yeah. We did that record, right? Record goes triple platinum. Yeah. We got the royalty check for it, but it doesn't count. What you mean? Okay, so it was a single. It wasn't released on an album.

17:11The only way records count it in your deal is if they were released on an album. On an actual album, yeah. So Mike Will put that out as a single. Three million platinum, those triple platinum, we don't get, that don't count against our deal. That's when I wanted to start renegotiating. That's when I figured out, like, what? That's insane. And I renegotiated my deal to take MDRC out and just make it releases. You know what I mean? people are sucking deals right now because they're putting out music and it's just not coming out on one of the three majors that don't count. Yeah, or they won't allow you to.

17:39Yeah, it's like it's a dirty game and it's all about rights and it's all about people who aren't talented trying to maintain rights for the people who are. If you had to do it all over again, would you still go into the music industry knowing everything that you know, would you pick another industry? I would go on this shit and I would have ran circles around it. The music industry is the easiest business to win in because everybody in it for the most part is low iq tell me more okay what i mean let me tell what i mean by that is and low iq is not disrespectful low iq just means that they they they live in their creative gene okay that's what makes jay-z so ill and even naz now because they're not just brilliantly talented yeah they're massive businessmen also yeah you feel me so when i say the music business has low iq people meaning it's like like my nigga if a nigga puts out a song in the hood of fucking kansas city and he's the hottest nigga in the world and now you got all these big people and all these builders talking to him this nigga don't know what the game he don't understand that part of the game i'm just on the phone arguing with an artist because he's like my lawyer said but my lawyer said i'm like your lawyer only says that because that's how he gets paid bro listen to someone that plays the game so what i mean by that is like this business is hard to work in that's why so many people fall out with artists because the artists they're not coming in thinking they're coming in feeling the brain is not being used in the music business the feeling is i feel like rashad can take me farther than ray so i'm gonna fuck ray over because i feel so it's and it's based on fears like hey you don't come over here with us you might not ever get there it's based on fear so for me it's like the easiest business to win in is the music business because i mean i don't want to say this to be an asshole but like in what world does someone like a sexy red become as rich as she became without hip-hop music but when you said that low iq people would because what people are thinking is that you're gonna take advantage of people like it's like oh but that but that's the business we in it is like this is the only business where you have people signing to you for you to own 85 of them and them to get 15 of it willing that's not that's not people that's thinking if the music business is going to change in the future because entrepreneurs was the interior now but when i say low iq people that's like shit i'm a low iq person nigga i i thought maybe i could do music because i wasn't the smartest nigga in school maybe i could figure music out and then it was easy for me but it wasn't it's not go ahead but when you say you say earners what's up look building wealth isn't just about making money it's about knowing where your money is working for you that's why we partner with empower empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little.

20:20Their free Empower Personal Dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place. Track your net worth, monitor your budget, analyze your investments, set retirement goals, and more. You've worked hard for your money. Now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower Personal Dashboard or visit Empower.com. Not an Empower client paid or sponsored. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My favorite murder. We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr. Want the full story? Take a listen. She starts dating Howard Hughes.

20:57And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane. So she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode spotlighting groundbreaking innovators like Hedy Lamarr and Billie Jean King. Presented by the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Goodbye. If your best finance people are doing expense reports, chasing receipts, or spending time on month-end clothes, it's time to get Brex AF, a gentic finance that eliminates that work before it starts. Learn more at brex.com slash AF.

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