After taking the words of Toronto rapper Drake to heart, former Apple executive Larry Jackson has now launched his own media and music company called gamma — which currently has about $1 billion available in equity and debt, and has a roster including Usher, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg and more.
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Former Apple Exec Larry Jackson Launches $1 Billion-Backed Media & Music Company gamma; Roster Includes Usher, Rick Ross & More
It is reported that on Lil Wayne’s track “Family Feud,” Drake rapped, “Someone get Larry Jackson on the phone. I need some ownership if we pressin’ go.”
Recalling the first time he heard the piece of advice, 42-year-old Jackson says, “I really sat down and started to reflect on my life.” Jackson says the rapper’s lyrics woke him from “a slumber,” and pushed him off the “corporate hamster wheel.”
Drake’s verse left him thinking, “What if there was another level to the video game?” Since his revelation, Jackson has now launched his own company called gamma — whose letter “g” is stylized in lowercase. Additionally, the company is being branded as a “one-stop-shop media and music company.”
The venture will create, distribute and market everything from music to podcasts to films. Additionally, the company will offer its clients guidance and resources to further build their brands, and for artists … help them expand their empires beyond music.
As for who is helping to financially back the new venture, Jackson’s former place of work, Apple, and Todd Boechly’s company Eldridge (which owns a stake in Billboard’s parent company) are at the table.
It is also reported that Raine Group partner Fred Davis helped Jackson seek out funding for gamma. Speaking on the company’s debut motto, he says, gamma is the “best capitalized music company competing with the major labels and signing superstars.” He adds, “There’s a lot of private equity acquiring catalogs.”
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After Jackson acquired Vydia, a distribution company, back in December 2022, he took on 76 employees, most based in New Jersey, and ended up acquiring the biggest celebrities and content creators in the world like: Usher; Rick Ross; Naomi Campbell; and The Shade Room founder Angelica Nwandu, for a podcast.
In addition to these heavy hitters, Jackson also has Snoop Dogg on the roster after he privately acquired a stake in Death Row Records around the same time he acquired Vydia.
While the terms of their partnership hasn’t been fully disclosed, it is reported that Snoop, real name Calvin Broadus, signed on “long-term” and is due to release two new albums.
And what makes this deal different than most deals is that Snoop will have the rights to his music reverted back to him after the two “work together to enrich the value of the IP.”
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