Stocks Tumble: If You’re Reading This, It’s Not Too Late

10194461 (Credit: Photograph by Grant Faint — Getty Images)

This post originally appeared on The Reformed Broker blog; reproduced here with the author's permission. One year ago this week, rumors were swirling that Drake was about to drop a huge mixtape of new tracks, which the web was thirsty for in light of the delays surrounding his rumored fourth album. The rapper had been in a very public battle with his record company, Young Money Cash Money Billionaires (YMCMB), at the time the home of Nicki Minaj, and both artists wanted out of their contracts. On February 13th, 2015, with no warning whatsoever, Drake finally dropped his mixtape, but unlike a traditional mixtape, it was not released on Datpiff or any of the other myriad mixtape download sites. No, this mixtape was released in album format, complete with full artwork and availability on the iTunes Store. It was a clever trick – the final album that he owed the record company, with a defiant title clearly aimed at the label’s executives who had overplayed their hand: If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.