Prerecorded music has been a fading industry for years, and herding struggling labels together will only make it that much easier to identify the remains. And there aren't too many people mourning major labels' passing.
For many rap and hip-hop artists, behind all the trash talk and posturing, it's all about business. Forbes recently released its Hip Hop Cash Kings list, and the 20 big names on it racked up a total of about $300 million, despite the weak economy and the Internet revolution that is killing the CD business.
Even former cocaine kingpins have to worry about brand protection. Infamous drug lord Ricky "Freeway Rick" Ross is suing the rapper known as Rick Ross for alleged violations including trademark infringement and misappropriation, among others, for $50 million in damages.
The release of rapper Lil Wayne's upcoming rock album, Rebirth, was pushed back last week (for the sixth time) to February 1. But 500 lucky Amazon (AMZN) customers got the surprise stocking stuffer in the mail this week.
