Right before he died, XXXTentacion signed a new deal with his original record label that would pay him $10 million for his third album.
The New York Times reports that the deal was right around when Spotify had [briefly] kicked X off of their playlists under their short-lived anti-hate policy.
Yet even with the Spotify scandal still dampening his business, XXXTentacion signed a new agreement with Empire, an independent music company that last summer had released his first album, “17.” The latest deal, for XXXTentacion’s third official release, was worth about $10 million, according to three people briefed on the terms — a rich sum for a young artist, but also only the latest sign of a heated market for online rap stars.
According to the Times, X left plenty of material for a third album. Although the nature of his contract with Caroline, the distribution unit of the Universal Music Group that released his second album ?, may prevent Empire from releasing the follow up to ? until October.
After that, there will likely be more music from X.
While XXXTentacion’s existing deal with Empire covers only his next album, the rapper likely had a deep archive of unreleased material that his estate may continue to license for years to come. “X was always recording and making music and being creative,” Mr. Celestin said. A representative for XXXTentacion’s family declined to comment.
Do you think folks will be buying X's music in ten years like they did for 2pac?