Gamma CEO Larry Jackson claims Drake's commercial value in streaming is greater than that of all the artists from the "’70s, ’80s, and ’90s combined."
Jackson, who spent seven years at Apple Music as the company’s global creative director, spoke about the For All the Dogs rapper's record deal in a recent interview with Joe Budden.
He added that the most consumed catalogs on streaming services are from the '90s onward, especially from the 2000s and 2010s. Music from these decades is the most popular among listeners today, he said.
"The thing I will say to you about the artist [Drake] you just mentioned, is that if you look at his music, he’s bigger than the '70s, '80s and '90s combined," Jackson shared. "I don’t mean like one artist from that era, I mean all of those eras combined.”
Jackson added, “All the things that we achieved when I was at Apple, with the individual that you’re noting [Drake], imbued me with the confidence and the courage of my conviction to go out and do what we’re doing right now. Can you put a price tag on that? No, you can’t.”
What Jackson is saying about Drake's catalog being 'bigger' than that of artists from previous decades is nothing new. According to market data obtained by Billboard, the OVO artist generated more U.S. on-demand streams in 2021 than all pre-1980 records combined. The report was based on data released by Luminate, the entertainment analytics company formerly known as MRC Data. Billboard reviewed the 988.154 billion U.S. streams from last year
Jackson's comments arrive nearly a year after Drake scored his 13th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, tying Michael Jackson for the most chart-topping songs by a solo male artist.
Back in March 2023, Jackson launched his new media company, Gamma, which boasts a stable of artists that includes Snoop Dogg, Usher, Rick Ross, French Montana, and Sexyy Red, among others.
Jackson spent the previous seven years at Apple Music 1, where he ushered in innovative projects including Drake’s OVO Sound Radio, Nicki Minaj’s Queen Radio, and Frank Ocean’s Blonded show.
