I'm Roget Romain. Twenty years in the music business, gold and platinum plaques on the wall, and I built Street Smart Business so you get the lesson before it costs you.
This channel teaches artists, creators, managers, and entrepreneurs how money really moves, how deals really work, and how not to get played.
Music taught me about leverage, ownership, paperwork, promises, relationships, ego, money, and control. Once you understand that, you start seeing the same game everywhere.
Street Smart Business breaks down ownership, leverage, contracts, pricing, negotiation, and the mistakes that cost people everything. Real deals. Real stories. Real lessons. No fake guru talk.
If you are building something and you do not want somebody else to own it, control it, or take it from you, subscribe.
Street Smart Business with Roget Romain.
Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
Last night I put up the Diddy episode. In it I told you I sat across that table from Sean Combs, negotiated a buyout and a signing, and moved one of my own writers over to him.
A few hours later, the writer showed up in my comments.
Shannon Jones. His words, not mine: "Shannon Jones here, the writer Roget had. My big brother to this day. He really negotiated a great deal and I went on to write many hits and win a Grammy as well."
I did not ask him to do that. I did not know he was watching.
Anybody on the internet can tell you a Diddy story. I can tell you mine because I was in the room, and the man I negotiated for just said so in public.
Diddy owned the label. He owned the catalog. He owned the network. He did the paperwork better than almost anybody who ever did it, and he still lost it.
Full breakdown below. Watch it, then send it to somebody you know who is about to sign something.
6 days ago | [YT] | 0
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Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
NEW EPISODE, SUNDAY 5:30 PM ET.
Dame Dash co-founded the label that launched hip hop's first billionaire. He built Rocawear off nothing but the culture. One of the most powerful men in the business.
This week a court did something to him I have never seen done to anybody. They did not just come for his money. They put his life up for auction, and the bidding is already open.
How the man who launched a billionaire ends up here, that is the whole story. Sunday evening.
Subscribe and turn the bell on, set it to All so the drop hits you the second it goes live. And if you want in the room where we read the fine print before you sign, hit the Join button on my channel and become a Street Smart Insider. Like, share, and spread the knowledge.
1 week ago | [YT] | 27
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Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
Michael Jordan wanted Adidas.
His mother made him take the Nike meeting. He was 21 and he did not want to go.
That meeting is the reason he still gets paid on every pair sold, more than twenty years after he stopped playing. About ninety million dollars from his entire NBA career. Billions from the shoe.
Deloris Jordan did not negotiate a check. She negotiated ownership. Most people never learn the difference, and it costs them everything.
New episode is up now.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1
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Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
THE MICHAEL JORDAN EPISODE IS NOW LIVE FOR EVERYBODY.
Michael Jordan made more money from a sneaker last year than he made in his whole NBA career. Every contract, every season, every championship, combined.
He has not played a game since 2003.
The reason is one decision made in 1984, and he did not make it. His mother did. She made him sit down for a meeting he did not want to take.
If you are tired of only getting paid when you clock in, this one is for you.
Members saw it first. That is how it works every week.
Watch it here: https://youtu.be/3nZXtHJjo_c
👉 Join Street Smart Insiders: youtube.com/@StreetSmartBusiness/join 3.99 a month.
Like, share, and subscribe. Spread the knowledge.
2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 14
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Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
Real talk. Which one are you actually taking? 👇 This is the whole game in one question. No wrong answer, but your answer tells me everything about how you think. Vote, then defend it in the comments. And turn your bell on. The next breakdown is coming and you don't want to miss it.
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1
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Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
IT'S OFFICIAL. You can now join Street Smart Insiders.
I told you I would open the doors so you could get closer to the game, and "closer to me if you need help, direction, or advice on your next move."
Members get their comments answered first, early access to every episode before anybody else, members-only live chats, and your own badge and emoji.
It's 3.99 a month. Less than one bad decision can cost you.
JOIN: youtube.com/@StreetSmartBusiness/join
Like, share, and spread the knowledge.
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 19
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Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
🎙️ NEW EPISODE THIS SUNDAY, 5:30 PM
Everybody knows Michael Jackson the entertainer.
Almost nobody knows Michael Jackson the businessman. The one who quietly became a landlord over the biggest names in music. He didn't just make hits. He OWNED them.
This Sunday I break down the exact move that built a billion dollar empire, and the same move that got used against his own catalog years later.
If you own anything, or you plan to one day, this one is for you.
Sunday. 5:30 PM. Set your reminder. 🔔
Like, share, and subscribe. Spread the knowledge.
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 27
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Street Smart Business with Roget Romain
New one drops tonight, 7 PM ET.
Lil Wayne signed to Cash Money as a teenager. Called Birdman "Daddy." Then he sued the man who raised him for $51 million.
That's what happens when love and business share the same signature and nobody reads the paperwork.
Full breakdown at 7. Who you got, Wayne or Birdman? I'm in the replies.
1 month ago | [YT] | 6
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