Jay-Z may soon compete with Drake, Lil Wayne and Birdman over blue-chip athletes

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In a remix of the popular song “All Of The Lights,” produced by Jeff Bhasker and Kanye West, and featuring the performing artist publicly known as Drake, another popular artist named Big Sean raps, “my vision is 20/20 so I be counting a hundred 100's.” Drake is signed to Cash Money Records, a label founded by brothers Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams that also features Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. He has been busy counting his money due in large part to his immense touring success and his label’s ability to effectively promote him among the masses. Now, Cash Money Records and Drake may be seeking to capture some of Big Sean’s 20/20 vision through what it likely believes to be a smart business venture — the creation of a sports agency.

On October 25, 2013, Cash Money Records, Inc. filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in an effort to eventually receive registration for the mark “Visionaire Sports Group.” The filing was made to protect “Visionaire Sports Group” when used in connection with “sports agency services, namely, management, representation and promotion of professional athletes; business management of sports people; talent recruiting services in the field of sports” and other sports-related ventures. The trademark application was filed on an intent-to-use basis and has not been supplemented with a specimen to demonstrate that the “Visionaire Sports Group” name is being used in commerce.

One potential justification for why any public use of “Visionaire Sports Group” is tough to find is that Cash Money Records may have altered its plans since applying for the trademark in October. According to football industry watchdog website Inside the League, Young Money Records is said to be conducting necessary due diligence to enter the athlete representation arena as early as the beginning of 2014. It is likely that the website intended to refer to Young Money Entertainment, which is a record label that is closely affiliated with the aforementioned artists (and sometimes confused with Cash Money Records).

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