Jay-Z Looking To Sign Janet, Jermaine And Fiddy?

Jay-Z

Jay-Z is hoping to sign Janet Jackson to his new record label Roc Nation, his joint venture label with live music conglom Live Nation.

When Jackson announced she was leaving IDJ after just one album there was speculation one of the multi-million dollar deals that brought Madonna, Nickelback, Shakira and Jay-Z himself to the live music firm's new 360-degree Live Nation Artists division may be on the horizon - though Live Nation boss Michael Rapino had previously said just four of those deals would be done in phase one, and, as those of you like to count will have already spotted, those four deals are in the bag. But a Janet Jackson deal with Roc Nation, which presumably wouldn't be so costly for Live Nation, might be more realistic.

Rumour has it Jay-Z, who this week announced he was launching an imprint to Roc Nation with acclaimed pop production duo Stargate, is also keen to sign up Jackson's boyfriend Jermaine Dupri, though it's not clear if he wants Dupri, who is currently President of Island Urban, on board as an artist or in an executive role, or both. In addition to that, Jay is reportedly also talking to 50 Cent's people, Fiddy being out of contract with Universal's Interscope later this year.

All this really comes from a source quoted by US website MediaTakeOut, who said: "Jay Z approached 50 Cent earlier this year and now he's talking to Janet [Jackson] and Jermaine Dupri. It seems like a difficult task to get so many big artists under one roof, but I wouldn't put anything past [Jay Z]".

It's not clear if artists signing to RocNation would have an exclusively record label relationship with Jay's new company, or whether deals would encompass other aspects of an artists' work - like live and merchandising - on the lines of the other deals done by Live Nation Artists.

In not 100% unrelated news, Music Week has reported that legendary producer Bob Ezrin is no longer heading up the recordings division of Live Nation Artists. He had been set to coordinate the live music firm's first dabblings into the recordings domain (when that eventually happens - all four signings to date still have recording commitments to their old labels), but that no longer seems to be the plan. Live Nation apparently said in a statement: "Bob Ezrin is no longer with Live Nation. We remain committed to creating unique distribution opportunities for the recorded music of all of our artist partners on the Artist Nation roster".