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Hey! I've been catching up on the Olympics this weekend and have two thoughts. First, I'm proud of Jamaica. We got gold, silver, and bronze in the women's 100m final!

Second, I love Snoop Dogg as a commentator. He was hilarious in last year's Mike Tyson - Roy Jones Jr. fight, and now he's breaking down Olympic skeet shooting and horses crip walking. NBC's Peacock broadcast has had its issues, but it got it right with Snoop.

Big week for Snoop though! Last Thursday, Robinhood had its IPO. Snoop exited from his 2014 investment in its Series A round. That's another W on the board for the 49-year-old investor.

This week's memo covers my Trapital Podcast episode with Loud Records founder Steve Rifkind, Rihanna's Fenty expansion, NBA YoungBoy, and Travis Scott's A24 collab.

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new podcast: Steve Rifkind

Steve is the founder of Loud Records, which brought us New York hip-hop legends like Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Twista, Big Pun, Fat Joe, and more. In this episode, Steve shares his thoughts on running an indie label, masters ownership, selling ringtones, his family business, and his relationship with DMX.

Tap in on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.

On the Trapital Podcast, hip-hop's heavy hitters explore their best ideas so you can level up your game. Learn more here.​

Rihanna Launches Fenty Eau de Parfum

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Last week, Rihanna announced Fenty Eau de Parfum, a new $120 fragrance. It's not Rihanna's first fragrance, but it's the first with the Fenty name.

The brand expands. Fenty has now covered cosmetics, lingerie, fashion, skincare, and now fragrances. Customers now expect inclusivity and affordability with all Fenty products.

This also makes it easy to identify future extension opportunities. Somewhere in Rihanna's office, I bet there's an old school 2x2 BCG-style matrix with affordability and inclusivity as the two axes. One end of the spectrum has Walgreens drug store products and the other has BCBG-level products. Fenty finds its underserved sweet spot in each sector and makes moves.

The Fentyverse. Eventually, I expect Fenty to launch a virtual brand that's only available in digital environments like Fortnite and Roblox.

Last week, I wrote about how Virgil Abloh is launching a virtual clothing brand. Based on Virgil's past products, we know that brand gonna be expensive AF. In June, a virtual Gucci bag in Roblox sold for $4,115, 20% higher than the physical bag sold for. If you see avatars in Roblox or Fortnite wearing shirts that say "SHIRT," you know they dropped several Virgils on that!

This will create another market opportunity for Rihanna. Let the high-end fashion designers maximize the willingness to pay in digital environments. Fenty can stick to its affordable inclusive energy. Plus, if Ariana Grande's Fortnite concert is a success, it may attract more women to these gaming experiences. It's a huge opportunity that would increase the total addressable market for virtual Fenty customers.

So... when's that next Rihanna album coming? Probably no time soon, and I don't blame her.

Read more about Fenty Eau de Parfum in The Cut.​

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Why NBA YoungBoy is the YouTube King

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Two weeks ago, NBA YoungBoy was named the ninth highest-earning musician of 2020 on Billboard's Money Makers list with $11.9 million. It's a perfect time to break down how the young rapper makes his money.

My own bias. In my three years of writing Trapital, I have never written a word about NBA YoungBoy. Not one! I'll admit my bias. I don't listen to his music and I know most Trapital readers aren't his target demo. Honestly, the people I've talked to the most about NBA YoungBoy are my 11-year-old nephew and my friend who's from Baton Rouge—NBA YoungBoy's hometown. Plus, I had heard much more about his legal troubles than his music. I was fine holding off.

But the 21-year-old rapper's business model says a lot about the streaming era. Since others artists are studying his moves, it's time to break it down.

Drop music early and often. Since 2015, Youngboy Never Broke Again has dropped 24 projects and 350 uploads to YouTube! In 2020 alone he had 8 singles, 4 mixtapes, 1 studio album, and 1.4 billion video streams (ranked no 1 for the year). Dude is a machine.

In a year without touring revenue, it's no surprise he jumped up Billboard's earnings list ahead of artists like The Weeknd, Eminem, and Bad Bunny. Those artists earn more per project, but NBA YoungBoy is a volume shooter. He has a lot more in common with MrBeast than he does with most mainstream rappers.

When Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said that artists, "can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough,” what he's really saying is "NBA YoungBoy can do it. Why can't you?"

A YouTuber with a record label contract. NBA YoungBoy has been one of the platform's best artists since 2017. He releases videos on the platform before any other streaming service.

Like many YouTubers, his videos reflect what he's doing at that particular moment. YouTuber subscribers are just as bought into the content as they are the creator. Within the first few seconds of an NBA YoungBoy video, you know exactly what you're gonna get—with title cards and captions as needed.

If Soulja Boy represents the innovation period of YouTube music, then YoungBoy is YouTube Music at its growth stage. According to his music video director, he never set out with a YouTube strategy, but once he saw the success, he leaned in.

The path for the "canceled." Like many big YouTubers, NBA YoungBoy has his fair share of controversy. YouTube viewers love the platform because they're getting content they can't get anywhere else. That's part of the appeal. A lot of the big brands want nothing to do with NBA YoungBoy and his YouTube peers, so the most lucrative revenue opportunity is to stay on the less restrictive platform and monetize directly.

This also highlights YouTube as a low-key home for the "canceled." Even if the bigger brands don't call him, even if the streaming playlists don't show him love, he can still get $11.9 million per year through streaming.

Read more about NBA YoungBoy in this Wall Street Journal article by Neil Shah.

Travis Scott Lands A24 Production Deal

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Travis Scott announced that he landed an A24 production deal. Travis posted a photo of the first draft script for "____IA," which most likely says Utopia, the project that Travis has teased as the follow-up to Astroworld.

A special project? According to Variety, this "special project" will line up with the next album. Special project can mean several things:

• a visual album
• a short film adaptation from the project
• exclusive content released to theaters or streaming services

That's what's dope about this era of multimedia collaborations. Travis Scott has proved that he's willing to buck the trend and try new stuff out.

A24 expands its portfolio. This project announcement is timely for A24 too. Last month, A24 explored a $3 billion sale to Apple. The studio is well known for its Oscar-worthy films but doesn't have the franchises or budgets that drive today's Hollywood landscape.

Travis Scott is not a film franchise, but a successful A24-Cactus Jack partnership would show the studio's ability to branch out. This can drive up its sale price. Now that MGM and Hello Sunshine have got their bags, A24 may still want to take advantage of the current market.

Read more about Travis Scott - A24 in Variety.

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Coming soon from Trapital

Trapital Podcast: Anthony Martini - Royalty Exchange CEO. We talked all about the boom in catalog sales and music royalties. We also talked about recent sales by Dame Dash and A Tribe Called Quest. We also talked about Ant's experience running an indie record label and working with Tyga, Lil' Dicky, MadeinTYO, and more.

Episode drops on Friday! Subscribe here.​