Snoop Dogg is exploring another avenue for building wealth and profit from his legacy. The rapper, who has been very critical of the streaming industry and how little it compensates artists, is auctioning his memorabilia, including his master recording tapes.
He recently shared that he received less than $45,000 after reaching a billion streams on Spotify. Sharing insights into the economics of streaming, he noted, “In the streaming world, I can show you right now. They just sent me some sh-t from Spotify, where I got a billion streams, right? My publisher hit me.
“Can somebody explain to me how you get a billion streams and not get a million dollars? That sh-t don’t make sense to me. That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists is that we do major numbers with streams but it don’t add up to the money,” Snoop Dogg said during his appearance as a panelist at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference.
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In this regard, the rapper is collaborating with sports-and-music auction house The Realest to auction off items through a project titled “The Shiznit.”
According to Variety, the items to be auctioned include photos, Playstations, production books, autographed TV scripts, platinum discs, autographed jackets and jerseys, master recording tapes (excluding copyrights), and an autographed Death Row Records chain.
“The items he is putting up are iconic,” Scott “DJ Skee” Keeney, who created The Realist, told Variety. “Everything from lyrics, awards — like ‘Pimp of the Year’! — unreleased tapes, outfits, sample toys, photos, scripts, concert riders, even a Snoop-authenticated smoked blunt in a crazy display case and ashtray.”
“This is shit that we have, but we didn’t know it was worth something,” Snoop said. The auction is ongoing and will conclude on June 2, 2024.
Selling of music memorabilia is gradually becoming a booming business, Variety noted. It said the Gibson J-160E acoustic guitar on which John Lennon wrote several Beatles songs sold for $2.5 million. Bob Dylan also sold his 1965 “Like a Rolling Stone” handwritten lyrics for $2 million, it added.
In addition to music, Snoop has made a career in movies, starring in several films and producing as well. He also came to have several commercial endorsements, including Boost Mobile, Chrysler 200, Orbit Gum, and St. Ides.
He recently acquired the brand name rights to Death Row Records. According to him, the move was an “extremely meaningful moment for me,” and he was looking forward to “building the next chapter” of the record label.
