Verzuz has brought some of the biggest names in the music business – from Babyface and Teddy Riley to Rick Ross and 2 Chainz. But do the artists actually get paid for their participation in these field battles? Learn more about Verzuz here.
What is Verzuz?
The brainchild of award-winning producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, Verzuz is a digital series that sees two artists with similar musical styles work together for a friendly head-to-head battle. But even though they are marked as a prize contest, it is more of a celebration of their musical catalogs, an outlet to mark throwback tones, and a way to bring people together.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz told Variety that they came up with the idea of the league series a few years ago before testing it at SummerJam in 2018.
They took it to Instagram in April, when the coronavirus (COVID-19) began sweeping the world, forcing everyone inside to do little or nothing. The producers even did the first Verzuz fight after Timbaland challenged Swizz Beatz on Instagram.
“I charged my beating machine and called him too,” Swizz Beatz said, thinking about the moment Timbaland called him. ‘We went live, and played our best. The audience went wild in real time, talking to us, responding to the tracks. Two hours after Tim called me, Verzuz started nicely. “
Move matches that have happened so far
So far, there have been more than a dozen matches. Those field battles have been between Alicia Keys and John Legend; Snoop Dogg and DMX; Babyface and Teddy Riley; Erykah Badu and Jill Scott; T-pine and Lil Jon; and Nelly and Ludacris, among others.
The next matchup is between former R&B rivals Brandy and Monica – a highly anticipated lineup that fans have been asking for since Verzuz’s earlier days. It was announced on August 22nd and is expected to go down on August 24th at 8pm ET on Instagram and Apple Music.
In addition to the face-off between collaborators “Boy Is Mine”, fans have also asked for field battles between couples like 50 Cent and Ja Rule, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige, and Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes. But at the time of this writing, no information about those potential lineups has been released.
Does Verzuz pay?
From the looks of it, it looks like artists are only getting paid for their participation in Verzuz. But the platform still brings an enormous advantage by exposing them to hundreds of thousands of fans who vote to watch the online field battles.
Many of the artists involved in the competitions have reported dramatic increases in streams after participating, up to 300%, which can translate into revenue. In addition, some of them – like Erykah Badu – have also hosted post-event events for small fees, tons of their fans and potential others over to their own platforms.
So while they may show a direct salary, Verzuz can definitely lead to income and much, much more.
