August 14, 2024
T-Pain Happily Signed a $40 Million Record Deal At Age 18—Then He Looked at the Fine Print
T-Pain is opening up about the shabby record deal he signed as a teenager that included a 15/85 earnings split.
We’ve all made mistakes during our teen years, right? Well, T-Pain is no exception. At 18, the “Buy U a Drank” singer signed with Jive Records following the success of his first single, “I’m Sprung.”
That sounds like good news, including the huge advance of $40 million. But there was a massive catch.
“First deal, that whole first joint was 15/85 [split],” T-Pain told California rapper LaRussell. “But they gave me crazy money, so I didn’t even care. Like, bro, they straight-up was like, ‘Alright, deal’s done. Here you go.”
Fortunately for T-Pain, “I still get a lot of royalties. I’m probably never gonna not get royalty checks,” he shared.
After penning several hit singles during his early days, T-Pain noticed the low payouts he was receiving. “I had to go look at my deal. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m about to get paid.’ And they [were] like, ‘No, the fu*k you not,’” he recalled. “And I was like, ‘Bro, there’s no way.’ And they were like, ‘There’s all the way, ‘cause here’s your signature, you stupid piece of sh*t.’”
In 2019, T-Pain appeared on The Breakfast Club, where he opened up about losing $40 million and needing to borrow money to buy his children food from Burger King.
“Now I know what the high end is and what the low end is,” he said. “I’ve been mega-rich, I’ve been super broke, right in the middle of thinking I was mega-rich, and then got rich again, and you know learned how to really give a s— about money.”
It was a low moment in his career, but the “Can’t Believe It” singer eventually bounced back.
“Once you give a s— about the money you’re making, then you feel much better about your accomplishments, you feel much better about what you’re doing, you start paying attention to your work that makes you money,” he said.