P. Puffy Diddy Daddy Deals

How many times are you allowed to change your name? Sean Combs signs a deal with Universal:

Rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, one of contemporary music’s most successful entrepreneurs, has signed a distribution deal with Vivendi Universal’s Universal Records rather than sell the Bad Boy label he says is worth $100 million, the partners said on Thursday.

The three-year deal leaves Universal paying marketing and promotion costs and giving Combs an undisclosed upfront fee, which analysts saw as a way for the producer of such hit acts as Faith Evans and the late Notorious B.I.G. to get the backing of the biggest record maker without selling his own company in a down market.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed and industry sources gave conflicting accounts. One source said Universal had paid the producer a few million dollars up front and committed to $10 million in marketing and promotion over three years.

Another said the deal could be worth up to $75 million to Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy. [Reuters]

And always known to suck. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to purge the image of Puffy and Jimmy Page doing such violence to Led Zeppelin on SNL – no wonder Godzilla tanked.

In June he bought back control of Bad Boy for an undisclosed sum, ending a 10-year 50-50 joint venture with Bertelsmann AG’s Arista.

“I wasn’t going out there searching or begging for that number. I just went for the best deal,” he said. “Because of where the marketplace is at, I had to take my time. At the end of the day I got what I wanted.

“What we are doing is black history right here,” he said. “I retain 100 percent ownership. I just pay a distribution fee and get promotion.”

I’m not sure what this has to do with black history, but he is a good businessman, no doubt about that.