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All Money In is an American record label imprint founded in 2010 by hip hop artist and entrepreneur Ermias Asghedom better known by his stage name Nipsey Hu$$le . Based out of Crenshaw, California, All Money In records is home to several west coast artists such as Hussle, JStone, Cuzzy Capone and Pacman.
Contents
History
Based in South Central Los Angeles, Hussle began releasing music in 2003. In 2009, Hussle signed his first major record deal with Cinematic Music Group and Epic Records. Less than one year later, Hussle amicably parted ways with the record company and founded his own record label, All $ In. Hussle released his first major project through his record label on December 21, 2010, entitled The Marathon. Hussle signed several artists and released projects under his label, such as The Marathon Continues (2011), Crenshaw (2013) and Mailbox Money (2014).
Proud to Pay
In 2013 Hussle decided to take a non-traditional approach to releasing his Crenshaw project, releasing the mixtape on the internet as a free download and that 1,000 hard copies would be sold through a "Proud to Pay" program at a cost of $100 per unit. The purchase of a hardcopy entitled the buyer to become a Proud to Pay member allowing them to meet Hussle in person, get an autographed CD and receive tickets to a private show. Hussle’s non-traditional approach to releasing the project garnered criticism that generated media coverage across North America.
Hussle set up a pop up shop on October 8, 2015 in Fairfax, Los Angeles, and sold all 1,000 CDs in less than one day, making $100,000 dollars. Although Hussle admitted he initially got the idea from a book written by Jonah Berger that featured a story of a Philadelphia restaurant serving $100 cheesesteaks, his main motive behind was rebel against the major record labels to empower his independent label, All $ In. Hussle further explained his motive in an interview with HiphopDX in 2013:
“As an artist my goal is to inspire…entertain…motivate…and most importantly INNOVATE. And as lovers of art we should base our purchase on the artist's ability to do so. That being said, if my presence in the game has had any of those effects on you, $100.00 is your way of saying don’t change. It ISN’T the price of the plastic case and polyurethane disc…it’s the price of Revolution! The price of Rebellion against an industry that has tricked us all into making products that have no soul for fear of not being heard if we don’t.”
His controversial strategy influenced other artists, such as Eminem and Wu Tang Clan, who took similar approaches to releasing their projects. Hussle’s model emphasizes the importance of sentimental value. Similar to the way pieces of art are marketed, the profit in Hussle’s business model is mainly provided by the quality of the product and not the quantity of units sold.