Why I sold my $100m music catalogue – T-Pain

By Tolulope Oke

American singer and songwriter T-Pain has revealed that securing his family’s future was the major reason he sold his entire music catalogue for $100 million.

The Buy U a Drank hitmaker said his decision was driven by concerns about the changing music industry and the uncertainty surrounding the value of recorded music in the streaming era.

T-Pain, whose real name is Faheem Najm, made the revelation during a Twitch livestream, saying he did not want his children’s future to depend on an industry he believes has continued to reduce the value of artists’ work.

“When streaming started, nobody told us, or nobody came to any artist and said, ‘Hey, we’re about to put your stuff on streaming platforms. How much do you want your music to cost?’” he said.

The singer said music that once sold for about a dollar per song gradually lost value as streaming platforms changed how artists were paid.

“Suddenly, out of nowhere and without anybody’s consent, all of our music went from a dollar a song to 0.003 cents per play,” he said.

T-Pain said he could not leave such an uncertain financial future for his children, who include daughter Lyriq and sons Muziq and Kaydnz.

“You think I want to leave that to my kids? Out of all this stuff that I’ve told y’all that’s happened to me in this industry, you think I’m going to leave my kids’ life and their future in the hands of the music industry?” he said.

The singer sold his catalogue to HarbourView Equity Partners in February 2025 in a deal reportedly worth $100 million.

At the time, T-Pain said the partnership would help preserve the legacy of his music, describing the catalogue as a reflection of years of creativity, hard work and memorable moments.

The Grammy-winning artist, known for popularising the use of Auto-Tune in contemporary R&B and hip-hop, said the sale would allow his body of work to continue growing while giving his family long-term security.