Cash Money Signs Multi-Million Dollar Partnership Deal With Austin Mahone’s Chase Records

Cash Money wasn't messing around when they announced they'd signed 17-year-old YouTube-fuelled pop star Austin Mahone last week—over the weekend, they announced they'd gone further and signed a huge partnership with Mahone's label Chase Records, which will see the two joining forces to put out the teenager's debut album in the fourth quarter of the year.

Mahone, who has been steadily building an Internet buzz for well over a year now, arrived on the mainstream radar in a big way recently by nabbing the "Artist To Watch" award at the MTV VMAs last month. The partnership, billed as a joint venture that will be worth millions, is the biggest step yet that Birdman and Slim's label has taken into the pop world after branching out with a number of recent signings.

"As we continue our expansion, Chase Records is the perfect partner for Cash Money as we're both striving for excellence and now we're going to make history together," said Cash Money co-founder "Slim" Williams in a press release. "We've been watching Austin ascend to the ranks of pop music's elite. He's one of pop's most promising and powerful young contenders, and he's on his way to becoming a leader for the genre. As a brand, we cherish the chance to work with stars of this caliber."

The deal will also include Universal Republic Records, and will include more projects and artists down the road following the initial venture with Mahone. "We were extremely impressed by everything Chase Records has done with Austin," said Birdman in a statement. "We bonded over a similar mindset, and it made sense on every level to team up. I can’t wait to see what we collectively accomplish.”

Cash Money recently branched out from their core hip-hop base by signing Paris Hilton, Limp Bizkit and Chris Richardson, to name a few, and with Mahone are stepping further into the pop realm.