A$AP Rocky debuted his first project Live. Love. ASAP in the fall of 2011 and it immediately made him a star. The rapper would go on to release two solo albums, while also further pushing his group, A$AP Mob into the music landscape. In the process, Rocky has become a presence in the fashion world, too. But the success of his debut project has come at a cost for the producers who helped shape the mixtape. Earlier this year, producer E. Dan stated that Atlantic Records would label albums as mixtapes to save money. DJ Burn One, who was one of many producers who chimed in on the situation via Twitter, stated that Rocky’s label RCA tried a similar tactic when they released Live. Love. ASAP.
RCA got us producers like this on the first rocky album too – ughh I mean mixtape. that’s why it’s not on streaming sites. we gotta eat shit while they tour off our records. https://t.co/KLePuKYe3z
— DJ Burn One (@djburnone) January 3, 2018
On Rocky’s mixtape, DJ Burn One would produce the standouts “Roll One Up” and the laid back “Houston Old Head.” But on Sunday, (March 4) Burn One stated in a series of tweets that he was told he would never get compensated for his work on the two songs.
I was told by a member of @asvpxrocky’s team that i’ll never get paid (advance, royalties, etc) from roll one up or houston old head bc the samples cost too much to clear & for that reason they never sold the project – therefore I don’t deserve a penny.
— DJ Burn One (@djburnone) March 4, 2018
I wonder how @asvpxrocky feels knowing none of the producers for his first project (that broke him) will ever see a cent from it. 🤔🤔
— DJ Burn One (@djburnone) March 4, 2018
DJ Burn One also made the correlation to how producers today are being treated like session musicians of the past. Session musicians were paid on a scale, instead of as songwriters on a record. This, of course, would withhold them from gaining royalties on the records they played on.
I’ve been watching documentaries on session musicians lately. for decades it was common place to pay the musicians scale and not give them royalties. until it wasn’t anymore. something changed. we producers must find that change for ourselves.
— DJ Burn One (@djburnone) March 4, 2018
While Burn One produced music that A$AP Rocky fans will never forget, it’s unfortunate that he won’t reap the benefits of his contributions. Thankfully, Burn One tweeted out one key piece of advice for all aspiring producers.
never send over a trackout before a full agreement is in place. at the least. https://t.co/xrufD1JcoZ
— DJ Burn One (@djburnone) March 4, 2018
