Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Gets in Cahoots with the Universal Music Group janda Tuesday, April 9, 2013 The Studio Last week we told you about Jay-Z’s power move of getting Roc Nation into the sports management business and it looks like since then he’s made an even bigger move with his company. It was announced yesterday that Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s record label and management firm, will be teaming up with the Universal Music Group in a multi-year deal. Through the partnership, roc Nation will retain a great deal of independence but will release albums in addition to other projects through Universal Music Group which happens to be the largest of the three major record labels in the industry. Jay-Z is no stranger to the working of UMG considering he was once signed to the label through Roc-A-Fella Records and being that they are the parent company of Def Jam where Jay once served as president. About the new partnership Jay-Z said in a statement, “We are looking forward to working with Lucian [Grainge, Chairman and CEO of UMG] and the incredible team he’s assembled at Universal. We would like to applaud Lucian for collaborating with us to strike a new age deal. This agreement presents a unique opportunity for Roc Nation’s artists – being able to continue to operate as an independent label with the strength, power and reach of the best major. I look forward to a long and prosperous collaboration with UMG.” Just when many thought he was already on top of the game, it appears that Jay-Z is about to take Roc Nation to a much higher level. What can we say…Jay stays stomping with the big dogs.