Jay-Z Jilts Def Jam in New $150 Mil Deal; Next Up: Wedding Beyonce Tonight?

Talk about your Best Week Ever. As buzz builds that Jay-Z and Beyoncé might trade vows as early as Friday evening, the biz's biggest name in hip-hop has inked a mammoth $150 deal with, no, not longtime home Def Jam, nor a rival label, but concert promoter Live Nation (which threw similar big bucks at Madonna a short while back). The pact demonstrates "how significantly the music industry has shifted," Blender editor-in-chief Joe Levy tells the New York Daily News. "The greatest rapper in the world doesn't want a record label anymore."
The terms of the deal are said to award 38-year-old Jay-Z (aka Shawn Carter) $25 mil upfront, another $25 mil in advances, and then $10 mil each for at least three albums. He also gets $50 mil in seed money for his entertainment company.
As for his romantic success, the News hears that friends of Jay-Z and Beyoncé have been invited to the rapper's Manhattan digs tonight, though officially the duo's reps have held firm with a "no comment" on this week's marriage talk.
Are you a fan of music's hottest couple? Check out our photo gallery chronicling their courtship, then use our Online Video Guide to cue up their best music videos.
What's your take? Will Live Nation gets its $150 million worth?