Jay Z might be close to leaving Def Jam to form label with girlfriend
Posted by Media Outrage on December 6th, 2007
Rumors are swirling that Jay Z is very close to leaving Def Jam because contract negotiations have broken down between the rapper/CEO with him and Universal Music which is Def Jam’s parent company. Jay’s contract as president of Def Jam is reportedly up at the end of this month.
“He wanted big, big money that was way out of sync with the realities of today’s record business,” a source says.
Island/Def Jam CEO L.A. Reid and his boss, Doug Morris, are said to have found Jay’s demands “excessive” in light of the time he’s been spending on tour.
“People have lost count of how many times he’s come out of retirement,” the source says. “Everybody knows he’s not around the office much. Everybody at Universal loves him, but they can’t justify paying him the money he wants when so many people have been laid off.”
One of Jay Z’s friends says “They are still actively negotiating.”
According to another: “The talks will continue when he returns to New York. They still have a ways to go before a decision.”
That is when he comes off of his little romantic birthday celebration with girlfriend Beyonce.
Rumors are still flying that Jay and Beyonce plan to start a super label together under Columbia which is parented by Sony. So we shall see how this situation plays out.
