T-Pain has revealed the reason why he sold his entire music catalogue.
Eighteen months after the Buy U a Drank singer sold his works for $100 million (£74 million), the father of three has shared that his children, daughter Lyriq and sons Muziq and Kaydnz, and his wife, Amber Najm, were top of mind when making the decision.
Specifically, he wanted to secure their future in an ever-evolving music industry.
“Let me tell you something,” the singer-songwriter shared during a Twitch livestream. “When streaming started, nobody told us, or nobody came to any artist and said, ‘Hey, we’re about to put your s**t on streaming platforms. How much do you want your music to cost?’ Suddenly, out of nowhere and without anybody’s consent, all of our music went from a dollar a song to 0.003 cents per play. Nobody asked us s**t.”
He noted that that figure has got lower and lower over time, making his catalogue worth “less and less and less and less”.
“You think I want to leave that to my kids?” he mused. “Out of all this s**t that I’ve told y’all that’s happened to me in this f**kin’ industry, you think I’mma leave my kids’ life and their future in the hands of the music industry?”
When T-Pain’s sale to HarbourView Equity in February last year was inked, he expressed his excitement that the firm would “help preserve the legacy” of his music.
“This catalogue represents years of hard work, creativity, and unforgettable moments,” he shared in a statement on the company’s website. “I’m grateful to see it continue to reach new heights. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”
