Some of our favorite songs were very expensive to make and it’s not just because of the studio time.
Guest verses and sampled beats from previously arranged songs have been a trend in music for decades now, but it’s hit an all-time lucrative high of recent. Some musicians trade verses at no cost, but others charge a hefty price to lay down their vocal on a track. Although this was a once a fairly private practice, musicians are more transparent than ever about how much they have paid or been paid to be featured on a song. According to prior interviews or even their own song lyrics, it can be extremely profitable to collaborate, or be tapped to have your sample used in a new production. From Nicki Minaj to Megan Thee Stallion to Lil Baby, it will likely cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars to hear them on another artist’s song. But in the end, it’s usually worth it.
Here are a few of the most expensive features or samples artists have spoken about publicly.
01
Danny Brown
Creating an album is one of the most important investments an artist can make. Rapper Danny Brown said it was one that plummeted him into debt, particularly because of his decision to purchase multiple samples. In a 2018 interview he shared that he spent $70,000 to clear samples for his 2016 album ‘Atrocity Exhibition.’
“I wanna make timeless stuff, so you’re gonna have to spend a couple dollars,” Brown told Rolling Stone in an interview prior to the album’s release. “You could have Rolex or you can have a Swatch.”
02
Megan Thee Stallion
The original Hot Girl is currently promoting her new album Traumazine, and shared she dropped $250k for a feature from rapper Future.
“I had the beat for ‘Pressurelicious,’ right? I recorded the song, and I recorded it one way. And I’m like, ‘You know what? This would really sound hard if Future was on it.”
Meg continued, “Being a woman in the industry, reaching out to a man trying to get a feature is always going to be a task. You never know what to expect. How I went about it was, ‘OK, somebody figure out what’s Future’s feature price. Let’s just ask him.’” Upon learning that his price was $250,000 and realizing that they both happened to be in Miami at the same time, the rapper said she was more than ready to write that check to get Future in the booth as soon as possible. “I was like, ‘OK, bet. Somebody go pull $250,000 out the bank, go drop it off to Future and tell him I need the verse before he leaves,’” she said. But her manager couldn’t wrap his head around the expense, replying, “‘Megan, how you want us to pull $250,000 out of the bank?’” But she insisted, “‘We need to get Future $250,000 before he leaves Miami ‘cause I gotta get this verse.’ Anyways, blah blah blah, we got the $250,000, and I had my manager go drop it off to him in a backpack to get me my verse back.”
03
Me Phi Me
Although this sample isn’t necessarily expensive, it still made our list because of the caliber of where it came from.
In an interview with Forbes, legendary clearance agent Deborah Mannis-Gardner said that in the 1990s she was able to snag a sample from James Brown for a then up-and-coming artist.
“Samples were done a lot differently. In the late 80s/early 90s, we were able to do buyouts when you paid a one time fee. You didn’t owe any other money. We’d get some pretty good deals. We would do a $500 buyout for a James Brown “hey, hey” on a Me Phi Me song. But that period ended when they were like “oh, I guess this genre is here to stay.”
04
Nicki Minaj
The iconic rapper has built a career of delivering some of the most magnetic verses ever, not only on her own songs but others’ as well. In a recent interview on the Higher Learning podcast, Amber Rose shared that after Minaj appeared on Kanye West’s 2010 hit Monster, he asked her “How the f*ck did you bring in a b*tch that killed me on my own song?”
Now, more than 12 years and countless accolades later, she is reportedly charging between $250k-$500k for a verse. Complex reported that Nigerian star Davido said in 2020, she “be charging people $500,000 for verses.”
05
J Cole
The highly revered rapper had forged a reputation being elusive and standing on his own in his most of his tracks. But in 2019, his collaborator list began to grow significantly. According to one of his own verses, it may have been a smart business move.
“A verse from me is like eleven birds/Just did the math, that’s like two thousand dollars every word.”
06
Kendrick Lamar
Producer Dave Free said in a Complex interview that on average Kendrick Lamar charges between $250k and $400k. Ad Complex pointed out, the hefty price tag is worth it. After Lamar appeared on Rich the Kid’s 2017 “New Freezer,” it became the rapper’s second-highest charting single of his career (No. 41).
07
Toni Braxton
Burna Boy is burning up the charts with his “Last Last,” but it comes at a heavy cost. While some artists give up 100% of their own royalties because of samples, Burna Boy willingly shared 60% of the royalties from with Toni Braxton’s, whose 2000 hit record, “He Wasn’t Man Enough” he sampled.
