Jay-Z Buys An Indie Record Label

UPDATE: This was an April Fools joke by the small indie label that many in the press (including us) fell for:

"Thanks to all the well wishes and congrats on our landmark deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation. We hope you had as much fun on April Fool's Day as we did!" – Block Starz

Apparently buying a record label has not gone completely out of style. Jay-Z today continued the expansion of his empire with the purchase of a German independent record label.

The rapper/entrepreneur's Roc Nation company reportedly beat out deep pocket bidders including Universal and Jive Record  to buy Block Starz Music, a German digital label. Of course, Jay-Z's bank accounts are substantial too and this acquisition follows the mandate set when Live Nation bought into Roc Nation in 2008 for a reported $150 million.

Block Starz Music will help find and develop new talent for Roc Nation. The label signed producer and DJ Mick Boogie recently joining several British artists – The Ting Tings, Daniel Merriweather and producer Mark Ronson – along with U.S. based hitmakers Rihanna and Santigold.