It's contract-renewal time for Jay-Z at his Def Jam gig, and it's rumored that negotiations have broken down because Jay-Z is asking for more money than L.A. Reid and Co. are willing to give.

"People have lost count of how many times he's come out of retirement," the source says. "Everybody knows he's not around the office much. Everybody at Universal loves him, but they can't justify paying him the money he wants when so many people have been laid off."

Jay-Z is living it up in Paris with Beyonce, so this might not be as big of a deal as it seems. But rumors that the powers-that-be were less than thrilled with Jay-Z have been circulating for a while now. At 38, maybe it's now time for him to retire from the boardroom portion of the music biz. [NYDN]