Apple Music and Birdman have reportedly inked a deal for a documentary about Cash Money Records, according to a report from Billboard. "Welcome to the fam [Birdman]," wrote Larry Jackson, Apple Music's head of content, on Instagram. "Tough negotiator. Much respeck." Although original reports indicated that the entire label would be entering into some type of exclusive streaming deal with Apple Music, several sources confirmed to Billboard that the "power move" was simply a one-off documentary about Birdman and Cash Money.
This makes more sense, as several of the label's artists are already engaged in separate streaming deals. Drake is very publicly tethered to Apple Music, while Nicki Minaj is an artist-owner of Tidal.
So far, there's not much information available about the actual documentary. Tensions between the stars of the label remain high, as it's currently embroiled in a pair of lawsuits from Lil Wayne. As such, it's hard to imagine Wayne, Drake, or Nicki wanting to sit down for extensive interviews about their experiences with Cash Money. We'll have to wait and see what form the movie ultimately takes, but it should be interesting to see one of Apple Music's first major forays into filmmaking and distribution.
Birdman later released the trailer for the film, titled Before Anythang, on his Instagram. The film appears to be a Birdman origin story, going into his childhood and his come up in hip-hop. You can watch the trailer below.
