Throughout the pandemic, Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz has provided a viable alternative to the live concert experience, all while highlighting many of the culture’s legendary veterans and their storied catalogs. And while there have been some questions as to how it might evolve once the world regains some semblance of “normalcy,” a new business development has shed some light on the future of Verzuz.
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According to a report from Billboard, The Triller Network has officially acquired Swizzy and Timbo’s Verzuz music platform. The deal also includes positions for both parties on the Triller Verzuz management team, though more specific financial details were not disclosed. It is confirmed that upon signing the deal, Timbaland and Swizz became massive shareholders in Triller, and used their newfound positions to pay it forward to the performers who helped make Verzuz such a triumphant success.
Billboard reports that both parties granted an unidentified equity stake to each of the forty-three Verzuz performers, listed by the publication as follows:
John Legend, DMX, Alicia Keys, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Too $hort, Patti LaBelle, Gucci Mane, Jeezy, E-40, Bounty Killer, D’Angelo, Ludacris, RZA, The Dream, Babyface, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Fred Hammond, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Brandy, Monica, Gladys Knight, Boi-1da, Hit-Boy, Ne-Yo, Johnta Austin, Scott Storch, T-Pain, Lil Jon, DJ Premier, Mannie Fresh, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, 112, Kirk Franklin, Sean Garrett and D’Angelo.
Speaking on the newly-inked partnership, Swizzy and Timbaland shared a joint statement. “This is a momentous occasion not only for Verzuz and Triller but the music business as a whole,” it reads. “By putting Verzuz in the Triller Network ecosystem and expanding the Verzuz brand to be side by side with the powerful Triller app, we will be able to continue to grow and evolve the music business as a whole, as we have been doing.”
Congratulations to both parties for this latest power move, with their decision to include the participating artists as shareholders being an especially classy manoeuver. We look forward to seeing how Verzuz progresses moving forward.