Jay-Z and Live Nation Near $150 Deal, New Record Label

Jay-Z is reportedly on the verge of inking a new $150 million deal with concert promotion giant Live Nation. The deal will encompass all of Jay's concerts, endorsements and recordings over the next decade, as well as provide the rapper a platform to launch Roc Nation, Jay's own label, music publishing and talent managing company. Jay-Z, who previously served as Def Jam's CEO for three years until he and Universal Music Group couldn't agree to a new contract, still owes his former label one more album, set for release later this year. The Brooklyn rapper becomes the third powerhouse veteran artist to join forces with Live Nation since October, as both Madonna and U2 have signed on with the ever-expanding empire.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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