Former Shady/Aftermath/Interscope artist, Stat Quo recently discussed (February 20) why it was smart for 50 Cent to leave his long time label home. In an exclusive conversation with HipHopDX, the Atlanta, Georgia native dissects why he believes the major labels’ only value is in building an artist’s brand.
“You can put your own music on iTunes,” Stat Quo says. “iTunes takes 30 percent of it. That means essentially if they sell it for $9.99, you’re getting $7. Even if you go through an online distributor, they take 20 percent and you get 80 percent of it. You’re still winning. If I sell a CD, and lets say that I’m just putting it on iTunes, I’m getting $7 in my pocket for every CD that I sell. Whereas if you go through a label, what do they give you? A dollar? Some change? A label is only good at building your brand to where you can go all over the world and be who you are.”
Stat Quo explains that 50 Cent’s career and brand is established past the point of requiring a major label to promote his music.
“50 Cent is who he is, so what he’s doing is very intelligent because that brand is solidified,” he says.
Stat Quo continues: “Eventually it’s just a natural progression. He’s as big as he’s going to get under that situation. At this time, it’s time to do something else with his career. It’s the thing that I say about Game—it’s the natural evolution. All these guys that are coming out that people love now, Game had the opportunity to sign a lot of these guys. He just wasn’t in that mindset at the time to be nurturing careers. But now he’s there now. It’s about evolution. It’s about evolving as a man, as a human being.
“And 50 Cent, how long is he going to stay up under Eminem and [Dr. Dre]? At a certain point it’s, ‘I’m my own boss.’ Which he’s been his own boss for a long time, but truly your own shit. He’s looking at [Jay Z] and [Diddy] and is like, ‘Yo, I make just as much money as them.’ Why would I not put my own shit out?”
Stat Quo also believes that younger artists are beginning to understand all of the options available and have become less interested in signing major label contracts.
“I think a lot of these kids is getting smarter,” he says. “Really they don’t want to do record deals because they doing shows, they making money, they selling their T-shirts and then they go look at these contracts and they’re like, ‘Well, we’re gonna give you $500,000 but you gonna make this off an album.’ And they’re like, ‘Yo, well, if I put album out, I’ll make $7 an album. Yeah I might not sell 100,000 but if I sell 50,000 times $7, that’s $350,000. Wow. Ok, I get to go on tour.’ These labels try to bamboozle an artist and say you’ve gotta do a 360 deal because they’re not making as much money, which is bullshit. They just making the money differently. These artists is like, ‘Why would I do that?’ You’re gonna take some of my show money. I’m only going to make 75 cents an album? Fuck that.”
Stat Quo was signed to Shady/Aftermath/Interscope from 2003 to 2008. He is the only artist other than 50 Cent who was signed to both Eminem’s Shady Records and Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment.
Tomorrow (February 25), Stat Quo will release his latest EP, ATLA (All This Life Allows). The project is available for stream exclusively through DJBooth.
View HipHopDX’s exclusive interview below.
RELATED: Young Jack Thriller Reacts To 50 Cent’s Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Departure
Career advice from a guy who tried to blow up on a major and got shelved. No offense but alot of guys like this dude are only independent because they have no other option. And 50 didn’t leave until it became clear that, after 5 years of push backs, Interscope doesn’t have any interest in putting his album out cause they know it ain’t gonna sell shit. I’m a fan and I wish him the best but anybody with common sense can see that.
Exactly.
“Interscope doesn’t have any interest in putting his album out cause they know it ain’t gonna sell shit. ”
It will still sell but not like any of his other releases in the past. He would still sell more than a lot of the artists they are pushing and releasing like Chief Keef and French Montana who are doing 50k first week. (240k, 150k total)
Of course he would but intescope would not know that.They are indeed ass backwards but they probably believed keef could sell but not 50.
More like career advice from a man who majored in economics and international business
Real nigga shit, fuck working for the white man, we can get our own money and say FUCK the white man and his record labels.
50 is a revolutionary nigga and he been saying FUCK the white man in his music and now he is literally saying FUCK you white man I want my own money and I will fuck your women and call you a CRACK3R in my raps and you will still pay me your money when your white kids buy my music.
I must of missed that in between him thanking Eminem for saving his life and giving Macklemore props
50 is still working for the white man…He still works for universal.
50 has street smarts so he manipulates stupid white people, thats why the industry is against him and tried to blackball him, 50 fucks white celebrity bitches and shits on his white bosses in his music and calls you Crack3r and then he smiles and says something cute about Em or Macklemore and you white people get all gushy and 50 laughs in your face and takes your money! 50 is the GOAT and the last real nigga in rap music.
everyone from Raekwon to Pusha T to T.I. and Nipsey Hussle have been giving Macklemore props.
Universal is just the distributer pushing 50s product, 50 is his own boss and no white man can control 50, you just mad because he been calling you a CRACK3R in his music and you cant do anything about it but give him more of your money so he can buy nice cars that you can only dream about.
50 is a free Black man and not a slave like these other niggas.
only mentally enslaved ni66ers with dead crackdhead w-hore moms that got passed around the hood like a peace pipe think random white men care or get mad that a black boy is fuck-in a white ho e he never met and will never meet in his life lmao.
Do he pay taxes….well GUESSS WHAT
Um Stat Quo, nobody’s buying your albums, so you’re lucky if you walk away with a percentage of a few .99 cent songs. 50 had no other option but to go independent. He doesn’t need the money, so on paper there’s little risk, but if Aminal Life flops then he’s done for.
this man is a legend
In his own mind.
baccally a tyler the creater sound alike ansers td bank nunber
That new video got 500 000 plays in 3 days, clearly there is still some interest in the mans music even if he never goes gold or platinum again.
Stat is right his brand being solidified. My grandma knows 50 even though she won’t be buying his music LOL.
600k
732 974 9248
dope interview i never knew that about itunes
call me when ross drops an album without the whole Industry
t least Rick Ross got a release date, he has 3 classics and Dr. Dre worked wit him… 50 Cent is kicked from Interscope Records. lmao. Ross won. swag
Wrong.
Ross is the white mans dog, 50 is a real nigga that slaps white bitches in the mouth and manipulates white boys to fatten his pockets. 50 is a field nigga and Ross is a house nigga.
Iran Contra
stop this racist talk son!!
June 3rd. Fiddy finally has a release date too.
Which mastermind will demolish easily.
call me when ross goes plat just once
Call me when 50 drops an album without Em.
power of the dollar, guess who’s back, classic shit with no em.
only mentally enslaved ni66ers with dead crackdhead w-hore moms that got passed around the hood like a peace pipe think random white men care or get mad that a black boy is fuck-in a white ho e he never met and will never meet in his life lmao.!
50 has more money than EM, it only makes sense to get out from under him.
yeah, but most of his money comes from other ventures.
hmm 30 million sold idk
Yet no respect or ability to get albums released.
50 fattens his pockets with white peoples money and then beats their women up. He is a free man now so the white man cant get a piece of his money.
mom
Game could go indie fuck Cash money and young money, hell their some great beatmakers that make some awesome sounds. I still want Hi-tek and Game to do a EP, they made some great songs together like; runnin’, old english, letter to the king, 1-800-homicide, and whatever song I’m forgetting.
Game has shown he’s not a business man. How many failed labels has he had and not got 1 release out? Black Wall Street, Rolex Records, The Firm Records, Blood Money Entertainment….
game cant afford to go indie
Game desperately wants a G-Unit reunion because every album since Doctor’s Advocate has flopped hard.
your god? but got blackballed hahaha. people like god, no one wants for 50s irrevelant ass.
600k views in 3 days, someone cares
ha ^ owned
50 is a genius and most of those punk ass rappers (ross) are trying to be like him, copy him and be like 50. trust me….these sucka niggas are subtlely copying Fif….like that sucka ross…
“power of the dollar, guess who’s back”
Both those flopped.
pretty sure power of the dollar is platinum
power of the dollar platinum? unless you’re talking about unofficial download counts, power of the dollar was never officially released.. it was supposed to be his first album but Columbia shelved it.
tell the truth faggot It was not shelved because it was wack its because 50 got shot and guess wo back was a mixtape that went retail because it was in high demand I hate when people tell half the story to make a point.
are you kidding? first off power of the dollar never officially came out. guess who’s back was an independent album. how old are you?
power of a dollar was a dope ass album and never got officially released in stores while he was signed cuz columbia records got scared after he got shot and all that shit. do ur homework u fucking dummy
Jimmy Lovine is no dummy. If he thought for a second 50 could still sell then a new deal would have been reached. Fact is 50 is done for. This new deal, or whatever you call it is one last desperate attempt to squeeze a dollar out of the buying public.
Who needs a bum like fiddy when he can keep Chief Keef and French Montana around to earn him the big bucks,
^ lmao awesome comment. 50 > new age swag fags
Who is this guy? He makes sense though.
Stat Quo – Get Low
I just want my music heard thats all, im not looking for no record deal, getting famous ‘r anything like that.! so please just spare a few sec. to check me out, & if you like what you heard please SUBSCRIBE so ill know you actually listen & support
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaSNK0pm4eY
up to I looked at the receipt which had said $8573 , I have faith that my brothers friend was like they say truley bringing in money in their spare time from their computer. . there moms best frend started doing this for only about 10 months and as of now cleared the dept on their cottage and got a great new Maserati . over at this website……….http://x.co/3xKEJ
Be clear…
Read the article, witness a perspective from someone who has ties to the industry and knows it
And see how it’s the polar opposite from what this Quote-Man commenter has been trying to tell us all since the news broke
Once you see how far this Quote-Man go to distort facts in order to be “right”, when you know not a fact was presented yet many a delusional opinion were implemented
ya just know he ain’t worth sh*t, so you act accordingly:
“Quote-Man the type to eat a dick sideways and revel in the fact he “implemented” an etiquette on how to eat a dick”-d mac
go get your salad fork & zifandel bitch
lol
up to I looked at the receipt which had said $8573 , I have faith that my brothers friend was like they say truley bringing in money in their spare time from their computer. . there moms best frend started doing this for only about 10 months and as of now cleared the dept on their cottage and got a great new Maserati . over at this website……..http://x.co/3xKIr
What about Eminem leaving Interscope? Can you write an article on that? If anyone’s brand has been established it’s Eminem’s. You think die hard stans would refuse to buy Em’s album because he’s an indie artist? So why doesn’t he leave, I know he’s got a lot more real material than his last 3 albums, and you can see that he has handlers now provided by the label that control his every move. So why doesn’t he leave so he can make that real shit again? Just wanna put this out there because nobody ever talks about him going independent, while he probably makes more sense doing it than any other artist
Great question, actually. Off top, since honestly I haven’t thought about that previously, I’d say that he sticks around because of all the additional sponsorship opportunities. He has car campaigns and video game activations. It’s almost as if he no longer puts out albums untied to some corporate product. It’d be interesting if did go indie. Really great question, though. Thank you.
Em isn’t business minded and never really has been. He’s happy being jimmys puppet doing pop collabos with rihanna and pink, artists like the ones he used to mock when he first came in the game.
not really interested in em, you should ask why he won’t work with premier or jump on a dills beat if he’s true hip hop.
Yeah he sold out pretty hard after he came back in 09. I feel like he has no reason to go against the grain because of what you pointed out, the sponsorship opportunities, and because of how Proof died. He felt like his best friend’s death was a result of the shit he was saying on record (and most likely was). But imagine the reception he got from the label when he decided to come back at the latter stage of his drug addiction. I bet it was all smiles and “We’re here to help” blah blah blah, but if you know anything about the industry you would have to assume that most of those people really don’t give a fuck about him, they were just happy to make money off him again. So when you’re coming off an addiction, you’re much more vulnerable, and here we are 5 years later, listening to “The Monster” on the radio. Would you ever think you’d hear that kinda shit from him? It’s a shame because if you think of how talented he is, MMLP2 doesn’t come close to his potential. Sounds like he’s going down a Jay-Z route. And I’m sure his daughter plays a factor into his conformity as well
in case you haven noticed em ait really in it for the money, he hardly tours all his money comes strictly from music and a couple of endorsements here keep in mind that he is probably the only artist that makes and average of 10 mill a year strictly off his album sale
dont forget his Sirius XM channel Shade 45, which is actually the best hip-hop station out there, they play everything except ja rule, Game and Rick Ross, I wonder if that will change….
I said this on another HHDX article….what was Shady Records? Shady Records compares to Derrty Ent (the lead guy, the crew, hopefully a solo makes the cut), not Roc-A-Fella. 50 had his own brand & following, D12 was Em’s crew. Nobody else made the cut. Nobody.
Em’s fans don’t support his cosigns or label presentations, because they only connect with an Eminem verse. Like, their hero is/has been bringing others to the forefront to preserve their hero’s version of Hip-Hop, lyricism, only to be ignored by his “fanatics” who claim they “love” the art form. Eminem’s DJ for years, Alchemist, has his music ignored by the very fanbase that pays to watch him rock out with Eminem live. Y’all can’t stand Slaughterhouse or Yelawolf.
Shade45 works because it’s about the music, not the artist. Eminem fans are personality followers, not music lovers. Music lovers can admit other people have better music out than Eminem while admitting he is a true emcee, Eminem fans will swear nothing else is good enough to listen to.
Are you “fans” ready to have this conversation? I think not.
cuz he sold his soul to them fool. also besides 50 and obie. who has em signed that has been that succesful? some rappers are dope ass rappers but arent good record label owners
I’m reading a lot of these comments, and it’s a lot of hate! Let’s just do the math. Let say Fif only sells 100K independently with a deal similar to ITunes. That’s 100K x $7.00. Which equals $700,000. He owns his own production company, so that cuts cost in producing music videos and other visual promotion. He has his own media outlet (ThisIs50.com) that easily gets thousands of hits a day. Not to mention all the websites that promote everything he does. At most, he’ll spend 200K for marketing, promotion, and paying producers 4 beats. That leaves $500K. Now, if 1 of those records have any commercial success that just more money. And then don’t forget about touring around the world, where artist make most of their money. Bottom line, he’s gonna clear over $1 million on this album alone. DO THE MATH AND STOP THE HATE!
He’s not even doing this music shit for the money, he got other ventures that make him more. He does this shit for the love of it.
#RealRap
Yeah, that’s a hell of a deal. Who of us wouldn’t kill to make over a million? If 50 keeps bringing heat, he’ll definitely sell over 100k. It’s crazy, though, just a decade ago, he was selling over 10 million copies on his first 2 albums, and even the G-Unit album sold millions. Different time, different era, I guess..
“Read the article, witness a perspective from someone who has ties to the industry and knows it”
Stat Quo has one tie, and that was Eminem. Even then he couldn’t parlay that into anything. Come on half a man. Stop cheerleading for a never was.
can you not read? He was also signed to Dr. Dre which explains why he never got anywhere in music… most Dre artists never get a release date. Game would have been in the same boat but 50 agreed to take him in and made him a star.
notice how the bitch Quote-Man totally side-stepped this:
“And see how it’s the polar opposite from what this Quote-Man commenter has been trying to tell us all since the news broke
Once you see how far this Quote-Man go to distort facts in order to be “right”, when you know not a fact was presented yet many a delusional opinion were implemented
ya just know he ain’t worth sh*t…”
^ just to say:
” Come on half a man. Stop cheerleading for a never was.”
^ The all intelligent Quote-Man can’t even tell I predicted his fuckboy before he commented, his intellect barometer couldn’t rise above Stat Quo
LOL
yup game was on aftermath for 2 years before 50 gave him that album if you think about the diocumentry was a compilation album haha just like games entire career
People need to do their research on this man before they dismiss his talk because he never blew up… he made millions BEFORE RAP.
“Stanley Benton, better known as Stat Quo, is an American rapper, producer, songwriter, and entrepreneur.[1] Benton worked his way to college and attended University of Florida, where he majored in economics and international business in 2000. Benton was contemplating law school, until veteran Southern rapper Scarface encouraged him to rap professionally.”
bro you just cut and pasted the fact that he’s educated which we all knew, where do you get the part that he made millions from?
Well to me its about time fifty moved on and i like how he handled it no beef with em or dre. Of course the media and bitch ass fans will try to make something out of it but thats how shit goes. And niggas is up to the shit again talking shit about stat like he got beef with em or dre. Stats a dope rapper and a humble dude and just speaking on the situation grow up.
Good move by 50 he was clearly being blackballed by Jimmy and he has a big enough fanbase to be successful going indie, he has more creative freedom and can drop an album when he wants without all the politics
my best friend’s ex-wife makes $75 an hour on the computer . She has been out of work for 9 months but last month her pay was $12505 just working on the computer for a few hours.
see post>>>>>>>>>>> >> http://WWW.Works6.COM
so no game on the album?
my best friend’s sister-in-law makes $71 hourly on the laptop . She has been without work for five months but last month her income was $12576 just working on the laptop for a few hours. straight from the source
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> http://ao.co.za/61LX0A