Jay Z is without a doubt an entrepreneur—and that’s not just a personal opinion. His name frequently pops up on entrepreneur.com, where he was featured last year after establishing a new sports agency, Roc Sports, a new division of his entertainment company Roc Nation.
This year, his newest procurement came about from a music video he released in 2006 for his track “Show Me What You Got.” Before recording the video, he had urged fans to join him in boycotting Cristal, a brand he previously mentioned frequently in songs and videos. According to nytimes.com his disdain for the brand came about after he heard of a racist remark made by a Cristal executive.
In his video, he took his stance on the brand a step further. During a seedy poker game, Jay is shown being delivered a bottle of Cristal, which he refuses with disgust. Instead he has the server present the Armand de Brignac, or “Ace of Spades,” that he brought with him in a silver briefcase. Scenes later on show him and others in the video drinking and enjoying the brand.
Now, 8 years later, the rapper’s love affair with Armand de Brignac has only strengthened. So much so in fact, that he actually bought the brand in November.
GMAnetwork.com stated that “since the champagne’s cameo role in a video featuring rapper Jay Z, Armand de Brignac has climbed from its luxurious, but obscure niche to become the bubbly of choice for today’s star-studded, bling-conscious crowd.”
One regular-sized bottle goes for upwards of $350, but the “Midas” bottles (over 1,000 ounces) have sold for more than a quarter of a million dollars. It’s no wonder the lavish bubbly has become a favorite among top-tier celebrities like David Beckham, Leonardo di Caprio, and even Usain Bolt.
But obtaining the rights to the poker-themed champagne is far from the first time that Jay has benefited by combining his brand with those inspired by the card game.
This past June, Live Nation Entertainment and Betfair, the world’s largest Internet betting exchange, formed an exclusive promotional and marketing partnership. The partnership allowed those playing online at poker.betfair.com or one of the site’s casino games to win more than cash prizes. Instead, players were able to pay for Live Nation Entertainment prizes and even purchase tickets to concerts. Of course, Jay Z was among the artists that Live Nation promotes. The artist had previously formed an alliance with Live Nation back in 2008 for $150 million, according to MTV.com.
While it would seem that poker has been a financial goldmine for the entertainment mogul, his incorporation of the game for other projects isn’t always used as a means to fill his own pockets. Just last year, BostonGlobe.com reported that the artist also started a celebrity poker tournament with Alex Rodriguez. While only a portion of the money was accounted for when documenting donations, it is confirmed that at least $5,000 went to Jay-Z’s foundation, the Shawn Carter Scholarship Fund.
Hopefully we’ll get to see him using the game for similar good in the future.
