Jay-Z Quietly Launches StarRoc Label With Norwegian Production Duo Stargate

What if one of the biggest stars in the music world launched a new record label and barely anyone noticed? That appears to be the case for Jay-Z's latest venture, StarRoc, a label pairing the Jigga Man with Norwegian songwriting/production duo Stargate (Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen), the pair who've given us everything from Ne-Yo's "So Sick" to Rihanna's "Unfaithful" and "Take a Bow" to Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable."

According to a spokesperson for Jay, the new venture will be located at the rapper's Roc the Mic recording studio in Manhattan and will develop new talent through the kind of 360 deal — covering everything from touring to record sales and merchandise — that he signed with Live Nation earlier this year for a reported $150 million. The label is a 50-50 partnership between Jay's Roc Nation company and Stargate. The rapper is slated to deliver The Blueprint 3, his 11th and reportedly final album for Def Jam — where he stepped down as president last December — before the end of the year. A small mention of the deal appeared in The New York Times on Saturday, noting that the new venture will also include a music-publishing arm. Jay-Z joined the likes of Madonna and U2 by signing the massive Live Nation deal — one of the biggest in history — which was to include financing for his own entertainment venture, Roc Nation, in addition to the rights to his recordings and tours for the next 10 years. The deal also reportedly included financing for a label, music publishing, talent consulting and management services.

The spokesperson for Jay-Z said additional information on the label is due out by the end of Tuesday (September 23).