Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj. Getty Images(2)
Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj and more musicians aren’t opposed to being on another artist’s song — for the right price.
Collaborations have gotten more and more popular in the music industry. Some artists will trade verses for no charge, while others have a set fee. While some performers have been tight-lipped about what they charge, others — or people they’ve previously worked with — have been candid.
Nigerian singer Davido has worked with Minaj in the past. He shared that he was lucky enough to get the rapper on his 2020 song “Holy Ground” for free when her quote is usually significantly higher.
“Nothing was really planned on this album,” Davido said of the impromptu collaboration in an October 2020 internet view W magazine. “Nicki be charging people $500,000 for verses. And she did it for me for free.”
Snoop Dogg, for his part, has been candid about how much he charges for those who want to feature him.
“About $250,000,” the rapper said of his price in an April 2022 interview on the “Full Send” podcast. “You’ll get about 16 bars. And when it’s time to do the video, I need another $250,000 up out of you. And you only got an hour so get to filming.”
Keep scrolling to see what some music stars charge for a song feature:
J. Cole
On Young Thug’s 2019 track “The London,” J. Cole rapped that “a verse” from him costs “$2,000 every word.” However, the “She Knows” rapper later clarified he doesn’t actually charge anyone to collaborate.
“Yo, bro, it’s just a bar, bro,” he said during a November 2023 appearance on Lil Yachty‘s “A Safe Place” podcast. “Like, a lot of my bars be really on point but that’s just a flex. I’m not gonna charge $2,000 a word. I don’t even charge for the verse, I’m doing this s— because I’m inspired to do it.”
Lil Baby
Lil Baby previously shared on social media in 2020 that he charged $100,000 for a feature. However, his price has since gone up.
“I don’t even be doing features no more,” he said when asked what he charges for a verse during an October 2022 interview on Big Loon’s “The Experience” podcast. “Like, $300,000, $350,000. But I ain’t been doing features lately.” That sounds about right.
Eminem
According to Tech N9ne, Eminem doesn’t charge a fee for a feature. Instead, he simply asks the artist to return the favor one day.
“[Eminem] did the verse for nothing but a swap,” the Strange Music founder said in an April 2015 interview with Power 98.3. “I was flabbergasted cause I know it costs so much to get Eminem, and he’s worth every penny. For him to say, ‘I just want a song from you for this,’ that made me feel really beautiful that he felt like that about my music.”
DaBaby
When DaBaby was just starting out, he charged $5,000. However, his price has gone up significantly following his success.
“From 5k a verse to 300k,” he wrote via his Instagram Story in February 2021 per XXL Magazine.
Future
When Megan Thee Stallion collaborated with Future on her track “Pressurelicious,” she learned that his quote was only $250,000.
“I was just asking what’s his feature price… and they was like, ‘OK, 250. He wants 250k,’” the “Hot Girl Summer” rapper recalled to Power 106 in April 2022. “I was like, ‘OK, bet. Somebody go pull 250,000 out of the bank… and go drop it off to Future and tell him I need the verse before he leave [Miami].’”
Snoop Dogg
The “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper charges $250,000 for 16 bars, but If you want him in the music video the cost is double.
Nicki Minaj
The “Super Bass” performer charges $500,000 for a feature.
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