Ja Rule seems to be toying with the idea of selling his music catalog, following the lead of other artists recently like John Legend, Dr. Dre, Justin Bieber.
“I’ve found out recently that my catalog is very lucrative,” the rapper told Bloomberg Business on a TikTok interview on May 17. “So I’ll be looking [to sell]. I’ve really been talking about doing a reversion deal where I would probably give up half my catalog and it would revert back to my family. I think it’s kinda hard to put a number on the value. Usually, the value of the music starts to go down as the artist starts to go away. The value of the music starts to depreciate.”
As Finurah previously reported, artists selling their music catalogs is part of a growing trend where they are looking to relinquish the rights to their creative work, with some wanting the money now and up front rather than spread out over years.
In 2022, the head of Ja Rule’s record label, Irv Gotti of Murder Inc., said he sold off some the company’s masters for $300 million, this included some unnamed songs by Ja Rule.
Ja Has Conditions
Ja Rule says he will sell under one condition.
“So I’ll be looking [to sell]. I’ve really been talking about doing a reversion deal where I would probably give up half my catalog and it would revert back to my family. I think it’s kinda hard to put a number on the value. Usually, the value of the music starts to go down as the artist starts to go away. The value of the music starts to depreciate,” he explains.
While Ja Rule has been the subject of some ridicule in hip-hop discussions, with the Queens rapper being overshadowed by longtime rival 50 Cent, the Fyre Festival scandal and the changing landscape of the music industry, he is legitimately sitting on a lucrative music catalog that spans nearly 30 years.
In Ja’s Catalog
Ja Rule, who has an estimated net worth of $4 million, has released six studio albums that have been certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Ja Rule has also collaborated with a number of other artists, including Ashanti, Jennifer Lopez and even 50 Cent.
In 1999, the release of his debut album, “Venni Vetti Vecci,” was a commercial success, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with the hit singles “Holla Holla” and “Between Me and You.”
Ja Rule’s second album, “Rule 3:36,” was released in 2000 and was even more successful than his debut, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album spawned the hit singles “I’m Real (Murder Remix)” and “Ain’t It Funny,” both of which featured Jennifer Lopez.
By 2004, Ja Rule had a stronghold on New York hip-hop as he was releasing successful albums throughout the 2000s, including “Pain Is Love” (2002), “Blood in My Eye” (2003), and “R.U.L.E.” (2004). He also collaborated with Ashanti on a number of hit singles, including “Always on Time” and “Mesmerize.”
This popular rapper has achieved great success, with three songs reaching the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, eight songs in the top 10, and a total of 17 songs on the chart. Additionally, six of his reached the top 10, with two of them hitting the No. 1 spot.
Ja on Changing Music Industry
In the interview, the Queens, New York, rapper complained about how little artists are paid for each song stream in the music industry. He and other artists, such as Snoop Dogg, want a more equitable share of streaming revenue.
“So it’s kinda weird, but what’s happening now is right now we get less than a fraction of a cent for a stream, but that number is going up. It’s going up to about 15 percent. So with that happening, I think a lot of these companies are realizing the money that’s out there,” said Ja.
