Travis Scott is being lauded as the corporate brand endorsement guru in a recent feature by Forbes.
The money magazine is evaluating just how much bank hip-hop artist and music producer Travis Scott really made this year and he is running circles around his industry counterparts without an album. This year, the 29-year-old rapper released a few singles, two of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, he is gearing up for the release of his fourth studio album Utopia. As the Forbes article points out, however, it’s his strategic marketing partnerships that really catapulted Scott’s earnings in 2020.
Travis Scott, whose real name is Jacques Webster, has established several high-profile brand deals this year, including with McDonald’s, Nike, and his recently announced deal with Sony for the PS5. The rapper may co-brand a console and help develop a game for the popular gaming console franchise. According to Forbes, Travis has already made $1 million from the deal and is projected to make up $20 million from it.
Earlier this year, the rapper hosted a concert in the globally popular virtual game Fortnite which helped boost his song with Kid Cudi to No. 1. It’s intelligent and rare marketing techniques like this that really put the rapper on the map for corporate brand deals.
As for his deal with McDonald’s, reports are that Scott raked in $5 million for the endorsement but tripled his revenue with the sale of merchandise promoting the partnership. The Travis Scott meal at McDonald’s has definitely been one of the stand-out joint marketing gigs for the rapper as well as the fast-food restaurant chain this year.
Forbes says Travis “probably earns about $10 million a year or so from his Nike deal” but also highlights the greater worth in this particular partnership. The rapper created a sub-brand called Cactus Jack for Nike’s Air Jordan line, which he was heavily involved in the making and marketing of.
The publication noted that the popularity of the shoes has in some instances surged beyond that of Kanye’s brand and has noticeably outperformed Yeezys on luxury brand reseller site StockX. Scott’s collaboration with Nike took his influencer status to tastemaker status, which opened the door to a number of other brand deals.
While Travis Scott readies his new album Utopia, he is already looking at millions in his bank account thanks to his unparalleled entrepreneurial skills. His trailblazing got him named “Corporate America’s Brand Whisperer,” and it’s definitely broken some ground for other hip-hop artists who thought they had a limited scope.
