Empire Distribution

Empire was founded in by Ghazi Shami. Raised in San Francisco, he grew up listening to Bay Area artists such as Too Short, Spice 1, RBL Posse, Souls of Mischief, Luniz, JT the Bigga Figga, and Rappin' 4-Tay. Equally interested in music and technology, in college he worked at the tech companies Sun Microsystems, Eloquent Technologies and Audio Highway; he later worked at Hyde Street Studios, where he engineered and mixed music by artists including Messy Marv, Planet Asia and Too Short.[1]

In 2006, he was hired at INgrooves Music Group, an independent distribution and marketing company. While he had written code and built out streaming media sites since he was a teenager, at INgrooves, he learned about the intricacies of digital distribution, artist contracts, and royalties. Helping to build the company's rap division, he signed DIY artists representative of the Bay Area sound and culture, often introducing them to online revenue streams.[2]

Ghazi founded Empire from his home in the Potrero neighborhood of San Francisco in 2010. In a 2019 interview, he said: "This company wouldn't exist if I wasn’t born and bred in the Bay; in SF and Silicon Valley. This company is as much a software company as it is a music company. It’d be a disservice to the roots, to the origin, to everything that I stand for, if this company wasn't firmly planted or rooted here."[3]

Initially focused on rap, Empire's backend technology bypassed the existing digital distribution system and delivered music directly to streaming and retail platforms quickly to capitalize on the viral momentum of the genre's traditional rapid-fire releases. Contracts were non-exclusive and proprietary software allowed managers and artists to easily track royalties, which were paid monthly.[4][5] The company's core practices, in addition to Ghazi's relationships, attracted artists, and as Empire gained traction, Ghazi hired Nima Etminan as his second-in-command.[3] Etminan later became the company's COO.[6]

With its digital distribution platform successful, Empire established Empire Records. Among others, the label released Anderson .Paak’s album Malibu, which earned .Paak a Grammy nomination in the Best New Artist, category, as well as Fat Joe’s “All The Way Up” and DRAM’s “Broccoli.” Young Dolph turned down a $22 million major label deal to sign with Empire and remain independent. In an interview with Variety, Dolph said: "Empire is on deck with people who love to do this shit just as much as I do...whether you got money to deal with it or no money to deal with it, the best relationships are going to be the ones where you understand each other."[7]

In 2017, XXXTentacion's debut album, 17, was released on Empire. It charted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200. His sophomore album was released on Capitol. He returned to re-sign with Empire a month before his death; The New York Times reported that the deal was worth $10 million.[8] XXXTentacion's posthumous album, Skins, debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart.[9][10]

In 2018, Tina Davis, previously an artist manager and a head of A&R at Def Jam, was named SVP of A&R,[11] and a partnership with L.A. Reid's Hitco was announced.[12] King Von's Empire-distributed song "Crazy Story" was a 3x platinum viral hit.[13] He subsequently signed with Empire, releasing the mixtape, Grandson, which became one of the label's most successful releases.[14] Empire also worked with Tyga in 2018; the track "Taste", was 9x platinum as of 2023.[15]

Empire began working with Latino artists including Tego Calderón and Luis Enrique in 2012, and in 2018 established Empire Latino.[16] In 2019, Empire Latino had its first hit with Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Jay Wheeler; as of 2023, his song La Curiosidad was 8x platinum.[17]

A country music division, Empire Nashville, was founded in 2019.[18]

In 2020, after developing propriety software specific to music publishing that provided transparency similar to Empire's royalty software, Empire established a publishing division. Initial signings included Illmind, Nebu Kiniza, Dr Zeus and Empire artists Young Dolph, Key Glock, Mozzy, Fireboy DML,Yung Bleu and RJMrLA.[19]

In partnership with Olamide and his label, YBNL Nation,[20] Empire Africa's first signing was Nigerian Afrobeats artist Fireboy DML.[6] His 2021 single "Peru", remixed by Ed Sheeran, was a global hit. With subsequent signings including Asake, Burna Boy, BNXN and Kizz Daniels, Empire Africa became a preeminent Afrobeats label; on Nigeria's year-end TurnTable Charts, Empire had the top three artists, the top two songs, and the top album. Empire releases held the #1 position on the Nigerian charts for 35 weeks over the course of the year.[6]

Empire began investing in the Detroit hip-hop scene not long after the company was founded. In a 2022 interview with Billboard, Ghazi said he felt a strong connection between San Francisco and Detroit. The label signed Babyface Ray in 2017, and by 2022 had signed 10 artists, including Peezy, Babytron, Payroll Giovanni, and Rio Da Yung OG.[21] Peezy’s "2 Million Up" went viral on TikTok and hit seven Billboard charts, including the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Rap Airplay and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[22]

In October 2022, Empire acquired the Bay area-founded dance label, Dirtybird.[23] In January 2023, a partnership with the Web3 investment platform, Nebula, was announced. It was also announced that Money Man, who was paid in Bitcoin when he signed with Empire in 2021,[24] would release his EP on the Nebula platform.[25]

In June 2023, Davis was named president of the company.[26]

• 2011
  • Kendrick Lamar – "A.D.H.D"
• 2012
  • Hopsin – "Ill Mind of Hopsin 5"
  • Trinidad James – "All Gold Everything"
• 2013
  • Problem – "Like Whaaat"
  • Rocko – "U.O.E.N.O."
  • Sage The Gemini – "Red Nose"
  • T.I. – "Memories Back Then"
• 2014
  • Busta Rhymes – "Calm Down" ft. Eminem
  • Rich Homie Quan – "Walk Thru"
  • Sage The Gemini – "Gas Pedal"
• 2015
  • D.R.A.M. – "Cha Cha"[29]
  • Jermaine Dupri – "WYA" ft. Bow Wow[30]
  • Kane Brown – "Used to Love You Sober"
  • Nef the Pharaoh – "Big Tymin’"[31]
  • Puff Daddy – "Finna Get Loose" ft. Pharrell
  • Popcaan – "Never Sober"[32]
  • Rich Homie Quan – "Flex (Ooh, Ooh, Ooh)"
  • Tyga – "Stimulated"
• 2016
  • Fat Joe & Remy Ma – "All The Way Up" ft. French Montana & Jay-Z (Remix)
  • Lloyd – "Tru"
  • Luke Nasty – "OTW"
• 2018
  • Mario – "Drowning"
  • Tyga - "Taste" ft. Offset
  • Dinah Jane - "Bottled Up" ft. Ty Dolla Sign and Marc E. Bassy
• 2019
  • Adam Lambert - "Feel Something"[33]
  • Iggy Azalea - "Sally Walker"
  • Adam Lambert - "New Eyes"
  • Free Nationals - "Beauty & Essex" ft. Daniel Caesar & Unknown Mortal Orchestra[34]
• 2020
  • King Von - "Took Her to the O"
  • Young Dolph - "RNB" ft. Megan Thee Stallion
  • Busta Rhymes - "YUUUU" with Anderson .Paak[35]
  • T.I. - "Pardon" ft. Lil Baby
  • French Montana - "Double G" ft. Pop Smoke
  • King Von - "The Code" ft. Polo G
  • Rich The Kid & YoungBoy Never Broke Again - "Bankroll"
  • Yung Bleu - "You're Mines Still" ft. Drake
  • Shapiro - "Fast Pace"
  • Shapiro - "Red Handed"
• 2021
  • 50 Cent - "Part of the Game" ft. NLE Choppa and Rileyy Lanez
  • French Montana - "Hot Boy Bling" ft. Jack Harlow and Lil Durk
  • Fat Joe - "Sunshine" (The Light) with DJ Amorphous
  • Busta Rhymes - "Czar" ft. M.O.P. and CJ
  • Yung Bleu - "Ghetto Love Birds" with A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
  • Shapiro - "Never Change"
  • Shelley FKA DRAM - "All Pride Aside" with Summer Walker
  • T-Pain - "I Like Dat" with Kehlani
  • OG Parker, Chris Brown - Rain Down ft. Latto and Layton Greene
  • Yung Bleu - "Baddest" with Chris Brown and 2 Chainz
  • Tyga - "Mrs. Bubblegum"
  • Sean Kingston - "Love Is Wonderful" ft. Travis Barker
• 2023
  • Majeeed and Tiwa Savage - "Gbese"