300 Entertainment, the record label of Megan Thee Stallion, Gunna, and Young Thug, is exploring a sale, according to two people familiar with the process. The company is expected to sell for at least $400 million, said one of the people, who had asked not to be identified as the talks are private.
The owners are selling into the most frenzied and exciting market for music assets in recent memory. Music copyrights and companies are flying high in value in recent years because of streaming services. Music sales have climbed up straight for five years in a row.
Two major record labels, Warner Music Group Corp. and Universal Music Group NV have also gone public in the past 16 months, while private equity firms have spent high on old catalogs.
After leaving Warner Music Group in 2012, Lyor Cohen founded 300 entertainment alongside three of his former coworkers. The label quickly established itself in the hip-hop world because of artists like Young Thug and Fetty Wap. Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” had peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts in 2015.
The company raised money from Google, as well as several financial firms. Cohen left in 2016 and now serves as YouTube’s global head of music. Kevin Liles took over as the CEO and still runs the company.
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