When you are a platinum selling artist like Grand Hustle heavyweight TI, the last thing you want to find out is that people are hustling you out of your dollars and this seems to be the case with his song “I’m Flexin” which hit the streets six months ago.
However, representatives at the rapper’s Grand Hustle label, stated the song was never licensed for retail. According to label CEO Jason Geter, Grand Hustle hasn’t gotten any revenue from sales of the song.
The song is included on the DJ Cortez and DJ Ransom Dollars Mixtape “F**k the Competition Vol. 3,” and Geter believes that DJs partner with distribution companies for mixtape profits.
“No one should be seeing money off of a T.I. record if we’re not seeing money off of that, period,” says Geter. “With Amazon or iTunes or any major distributor, they should be held accountable.”
There are many record retailers selling artist mixtapes without licensing rights as this is a form of marketing for the artist and their brand stated one industry insider so when a artist like TI cries foul, it becomes difficult to give your support to their project. You may remember Grand Hustle’s DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon was arrested back in 2007 for allegedly distributing bootlegged mixtapes however that case was amicably resolved without any criminal convictions. Even music mogul Jermaine Dupri and Atlanta DJ Greg Street was in a heated debate over who had the right to distribute bootlegged mixtapes.
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