The Dime 💰 - How Artists Are Using Holding Companies to Launch Empires

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how artists are structuring their empires. Not just deals, not just IP rights, but actual legal entities. As more creatives start looking at themselves like founders, the question isn’t just how to get paid, it’s how to build something that scales, protects, and compounds. One way we’re seeing this play out? Holding companies.

Artists are increasingly launching clothing lines, alcohol brands, production studios, and tech ventures under a central legal entity they control. Think of it as an ArtistCo. One LLC or corporation at the top, with subsidiary businesses beneath it. This isn’t just savvy, it’s strategic, and there are serious legal implications worth understanding.

The Jay-Z Playbook: Roc Nation as ParentCo

Although Jay-Z’s Roc Nation is a subsidiary of Live Nation, it isn’t just a record label, it too is a holding company. Under Roc Nation’s umbrella you’ll find music publishing, management, sports representation, film production, and more. Each of these operates as a separate legal entity. When Jay launched Armand de Brignac (Ace of Spades) or invested in D’Ussé, those weren’t just endorsement deals. They were strategic equity positions often held through corporate entities.

That structure creates liability protection, tax planning flexibility, and clearer ownership rights. If Armand de Brignac gets sued, Roc Nation isn’t automatically on the hook. If D’Ussé gets sold, the proceeds can flow up to the parent. This is basic corporate law, applied to creative scale.

Rihanna and Fenty: Licensing with Leverage

Rihanna’s Fenty brand, launched under LVMH, is another instructive case. While LVMH provided capital and infrastructure, Rihanna retained creative control and likely significant IP leverage. Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty are not just brand deals, they’re corporations in which she has equity. That means control over hiring, over budget, and over exit terms.

More importantly, Rihanna likely licensed her name and image to the subsidiaries through formal agreements. That matters, because licensing IP instead of transferring it allows you to keep ownership while still profiting from it. If the venture fails, she still owns her name. If it scales, she can renegotiate. This is a key strategy for any artist building a brand, own the IP, license it to your businesses.

Ye and Yeezy: The Limits of Licensing

Kanye West’s deal with Adidas shows both the power and the limits of these arrangements. Through licensing agreements, Ye retained ownership of the Yeezy trademark through his holding company Mascotte Holdings, Inc.. But because Adidas likely held manufacturing, distribution, and branding rights under the contract, the collapse of their relationship meant he lost access to the supply chain even while technically retaining the name.

This is a cautionary tale. It underscores the need for clear operating agreements, fallback rights, and contingency planning. Artists building under holding companies should think like founders raising venture money: negotiate board control, build optionality into your agreements, and preserve the right to spin out or shut down as needed.

How the Corporate Structure Looks

Here’s a diagram illustrating how this can work in practice, modeled on real examples like Roc Nation, Fenty, and Yeezy:

In this model:

• The Artist Holding Company owns or controls IP, sits at the top, and licenses assets down.
• The Clothing Brand, Beverage Brand, and Media Venture are separate LLCs or subsidiaries.
• Licensing agreements, revenue-sharing deals, or equity partnerships are executed between the subs and third parties.
• If the artist brings in investors, they can do so at the sub-level, not the top, preserving full ownership and control of the entire structure.

This approach allows for targeted fundraising, legal protection, and a path to long-term wealth creation. Too many artists get equity in someone else’s business instead of building one of their own. A holding company structure flips the script. You’re not licensing your name to someone else, you’re licensing it to yourself. That’s how you go from being talent to becoming a brand, and from brand to something else entirely. That's it for this week's edition of The Dime💰. Don't be stingy with the 🏀. Pass this to a friend.

See y’all next week.

CJB