Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Worldwide Ty - the manager behind Brent Faiyaz - tells Ray Daniels and T-Mac how he built a multimillion dollar independent business with no distribution deal, plus Drake's $2 billion catalog, T.I.'s masters fight, and the anonymous Billboard letter that ended Ray's Warner run.
Ty turned down Interscope after Joey said they would only start with Brent, met Troy Carter at Spotify in late 2016 and was told to hold out, then funded Brent's first album in the Dominican Republic on Airbnb's pay later feature. He was in that villa when Jay-Z's "4:44" dropped, which put him in a room with No ID, who later said he made more off one independent record with Ty than off anything he did at a major. Ty and Brent split it 50/50, own A.M. Paradox and Sonder, and after 200 songs still have no license deal.
They break down the money artists never see: why a $100 million catalog is worthless if you collect 18 percent, why labels take a slice of Spotify's pot instead of per stream so Taylor Swift earns more than Ty on the same play, why Drake is worth about $2 billion when the Red Hot Chili Peppers sold for $300 million, and why T.I. was told his buyback was worth $50 million. Ray talks Sound Royalties and his first royalty check in 21 years. Ty gives the $10 a day ad he has run since 2017, why he bets against AI with live spaces and IP, and why he built Playbook DRO instead of stacking on Stem, Venice or Tunecore.
Ray closes with the "Dear White People" letter - written for Aaron, called stupid by Julian in legal, sent to Larry Jackson, then published anonymously by Hannah Karp at Billboard. Jeff Vaughn, NLE Choppa, "Camelot," Saweetie, Remble, Tom Corson, Karen Kwak, Lauryn Hill, Dave Chappelle, Ethiopia Habtemariam, Suge Knight and Dame Dash all come up.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Worldwide Ty Joins Ray Daniels and T-Mac
1:41 No ID Made More Off One Independent Record With Ty
3:13 The $100 Million Catalog Nobody Explains to Artists
7:12 Market Share vs Per Stream: How Labels Really Get Paid
9:41 Drake's $2 Billion Catalog and the Half-Billion Deal
11:14 T.I. Fighting to Buy His Masters Back for $50 Million
17:36 21 Years In, Ray Gets His First Royalty Check
19:08 The Culture Playbook and Turning Down Interscope
20:42 Troy Carter at Spotify Told Ty to Hold Out
22:21 Funding Brent Faiyaz's DR Album With Airbnb Pay Later
23:54 Hearing Jay-Z's "4:44" in DR and Meeting No ID
27:50 Sound Royalties and 200 Songs With No License Deal
29:22 Ray Spots Brent Faiyaz Outside During the Pandemic
32:35 Brent Faiyaz, United Masters and Spending His Own Money
39:10 Lost Kids, Sonder and the Lexus Advice He Ignored
42:20 Betting Against AI, Playbook DRO and Owning the IP
48:39 The $10 a Day Ad Plan Any Artist Can Run
54:17 The Billboard "Dear White People" Letter
56:42 Larry Jackson, Gamma's Seed Money and Hannah Karp
59:53 "You're Going to Own Warner" and Asking for Nothing
1:02:19 Jeff Vaughn, NLE Choppa and the $100K Bump
1:04:43 Saweetie, Remble and the Offer That Never Came
1:07:15 Karen Kwak's Call: "Today Is Your Last Day"
1:11:58 NLE Choppa, "Camelot" and the 5:26 Release Time
1:15:50 Suge Knight, Dame Dash and Fear Over Love in Business
1:17:33 Atlanta Music Business Week and "It's Ours, Not Mine"
The Raydar Report is Ray Daniels' weekly breakdown of the music business, hip-hop culture and Atlanta - hosted by a 20-year music executive, not a journalist. New episodes every week.
Like this video? Become a channel member for more content or join our Patreon!
patreon.com/c/RayDanielsPresents
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Watch full episodes of The Raydar Report - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLykiYt2yLGSiC5tGLmI-d4bkbBdgyytD4
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Worldwide Ty - the manager behind Brent Faiyaz - tells Ray Daniels and T-Mac how he built a multimillion dollar independent business with no distribution deal, plus Drake's $2 billion catalog, T.I.'s masters fight, and the anonymous Billboard letter that ended Ray's Warner run.
Ty turned down Interscope after Joey said they would only start with Brent, met Troy Carter at Spotify in late 2016 and was told to hold out, then funded Brent's first album in the Dominican Republic on Airbnb's pay later feature. He was in that villa when Jay-Z's "4:44" dropped, which put him in a room with No ID, who later said he made more off one independent record with Ty than off anything he did at a major. Ty and Brent split it 50/50, own A.M. Paradox and Sonder, and after 200 songs still have no license deal.
They break down the money artists never see: why a $100 million catalog is worthless if you collect 18 percent, why labels take a slice of Spotify's pot instead of per stream so Taylor Swift earns more than Ty on the same play, why Drake is worth about $2 billion when the Red Hot Chili Peppers sold for $300 million, and why T.I. was told his buyback was worth $50 million. Ray talks Sound Royalties and his first royalty check in 21 years. Ty gives the $10 a day ad he has run since 2017, why he bets against AI with live spaces and IP, and why he built Playbook DRO instead of stacking on Stem, Venice or Tunecore.
Ray closes with the "Dear White People" letter - written for Aaron, called stupid by Julian in legal, sent to Larry Jackson, then published anonymously by Hannah Karp at Billboard. Jeff Vaughn, NLE Choppa, "Camelot," Saweetie, Remble, Tom Corson, Karen Kwak, Lauryn Hill, Dave Chappelle, Ethiopia Habtemariam, Suge Knight and Dame Dash all come up.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Worldwide Ty Joins Ray Daniels and T-Mac
1:41 No ID Made More Off One Independent Record With Ty
3:13 The $100 Million Catalog Nobody Explains to Artists
7:12 Market Share vs Per Stream: How Labels Really Get Paid
9:41 Drake's $2 Billion Catalog and the Half-Billion Deal
11:14 T.I. Fighting to Buy His Masters Back for $50 Million
17:36 21 Years In, Ray Gets His First Royalty Check
19:08 The Culture Playbook and Turning Down Interscope
20:42 Troy Carter at Spotify Told Ty to Hold Out
22:21 Funding Brent Faiyaz's DR Album With Airbnb Pay Later
23:54 Hearing Jay-Z's "4:44" in DR and Meeting No ID
27:50 Sound Royalties and 200 Songs With No License Deal
29:22 Ray Spots Brent Faiyaz Outside During the Pandemic
32:35 Brent Faiyaz, United Masters and Spending His Own Money
39:10 Lost Kids, Sonder and the Lexus Advice He Ignored
42:20 Betting Against AI, Playbook DRO and Owning the IP
48:39 The $10 a Day Ad Plan Any Artist Can Run
54:17 The Billboard "Dear White People" Letter
56:42 Larry Jackson, Gamma's Seed Money and Hannah Karp
59:53 "You're Going to Own Warner" and Asking for Nothing
1:02:19 Jeff Vaughn, NLE Choppa and the $100K Bump
1:04:43 Saweetie, Remble and the Offer That Never Came
1:07:15 Karen Kwak's Call: "Today Is Your Last Day"
1:11:58 NLE Choppa, "Camelot" and the 5:26 Release Time
1:15:50 Suge Knight, Dame Dash and Fear Over Love in Business
1:17:33 Atlanta Music Business Week and "It's Ours, Not Mine"
The Raydar Report is Ray Daniels' weekly breakdown of the music business, hip-hop culture and Atlanta - hosted by a 20-year music executive, not a journalist. New episodes every week.
Like this video? Become a channel member for more content or join our Patreon!
patreon.com/c/RayDanielsPresents
Subscribe on YouTube - bit.ly/RayDanielsYouTube
Watch full episodes of The Raydar Report - youtube.com/playlist?list=PLykiYt2yLGSiC5tGLmI-d4bkbBdgyytD4
Follow:
Instagram - instagram.com/raydaniels
Twitter - twitter.com/raydaniels
TikTok - tiktok.com/@ray.daniels
#raydaniels
#raydarreport
