Music Biz: Rappers' Delight, as Industry Recognizes Value of Hip-Hop

Last year hip-hop dethroned rock as America’s most popular genre, putting pressure on labels to expand their rap rosters to build market share. Over the past 12 to 18 months, the cost of signing a new rapper has increased threefold, music-industry insiders say. The biggest contracts for debut artists, once capped at $1 million, can hit the double-digit millions.