Corporate identity: Uncle Russ makes his way to SA

Russell Simmons (http://www.biography.com/people/russell-simmons-307186)

Corporate identity is vital in hip-hop and in the music industry. Born in Queens New York USA, Russell Simmons has managed to be one of the biggest moguls in the entertainment industry. Starting in his early 20’s Russell made sure that he put his foot print on all the upcoming musicians of his time ranging from Run DMC, the Beastie boys and LL cool j. But that did not stop him from expanding his brand. Russell Simmons was a revolutionist who saw an opportunity in the violent type of music called hip-hop “at that time”. Wanting to establish his mark as a respectable brand in the industry he and his friend Rick Rubin founded Def Jam recordings which would be in the forefront of the urban culture cult of the 90’s.

(Russell Simmons wearing his clothing line -phat farm- image source: starscolor.com)

Russell Simmons as a force of success (http://www.inc.com/articles/201109/russell-simmons-interview.html)

As an entrepreneur in this age of music and entertainment, organisations have to consistently renew themselves as an attempt to stay relevant. Taking corporate identity to the next level Russell Simmons aka Uncle Rush has made sure to be a step ahead of his competition by building a communications firm and clothing label called Phat farm, investing in Reebok, Run athletic, magazine publications and many more. CI has played a very big part of his career because he created platforms of business which revolve around him making him a visionary, idealist, philanthropist and role model to the youth who grew up like him.

(Russell Simmons in central park meditating. image source:wellandgoodnyc.com)

 

Russell Simmons trip to SA (http://www.stopblooddiamonds.org/russell-simmons.asp)

Uncle Rush is engaging on an expedition in South Africa and Botswana that will see him strengthen the development of the diamond trade industry to help educate and equip African’s with skills to maintain growth in their economic situation. Simmons will also be giving aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity of a lifetime at the small ceremony hosted by Destiny magazine where he will say a few words of inspiration to the fortunate few that make it to the gala event. This event will be taking place on September at the Sandton Hilton hotel and will also feature a performance by Tumi and the volume.       

Biggest trends in music

The information highway and digital PR (http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1900054,00.html)

This term is highly controversial because in music the growth of the web (web 2.0) has resulted in a more accessible industry. The internet has made it possible for people to get exposure in the simplest and cheapest way possible. Youtube has made it possible for artists to showcase their talent globally without having to pay companies a fortune. Pr is being used to handle an artist’s image and brand today because today record labels are not seen as big liabilities to have in the music industry. Artists would rather get their music out by using internet infrastructure such as, facebook, I tunes, twitter and many more. Because of the internets structure, artists can become their own record labels and grow their fan base before they can actually settle down for an agreement.

(image source:funkifiedentertainment.wordpress.com- the i POD revolutionized music)

Music downloads age (http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1900054,00.html)

As the world becomes smaller it globalizes. More and more people find it easier to download their music then to actually purchase it. The I-tunes installation application has made music broader by making it a mechanism of free choice. This could also work as a disadvantage to artists who intend on selling millions of copies. Nowadays people are not constraint to buying a full album when they could download a song they like for absolutely next to nothing. Because CD sales are not dependable anymore, artists have to rely on music concerts and gigs to survive. The download trend in music has sparked another trend which sees artists travel around the world performing. Lets also not forget that the internet made it possible for that artist to reach his/hers maximum fan base potential, by performing into cyber space.

(image source: liljaxe.com- what new york might look like in the future of tv)

The future of TV (http://www.cnbc.com/id/47102632/)

The digital age started with the radio which was said to be theatre for the mind and crossed over to audiovisual communication in the form of television which would spark the telecommunications revolution forever. The concept of the future of TV solely means that in the next years to come every source of digital communication or internet structure is going to be converted in your TV. This might see the dawn of a new age in the music industry as Youtube has plans of unleashing 100 channels in the next 5 years (or even less). But this debate will widely be regarded as the biggest shift in the industry not only in music but also in PR. 

The Sprite uncontainable tour

The Sprite uncontainable tour competition

Sprite has always been in the fore front when it comes to branding itself in the hip hop culture http://www.spice4life.co.za/content/sprite-unleashed-nationwide-hip-hop-talent-search. This time they have taken it a little step forward by introducing their corporate social investment technique by bringing in conscious hip hop legend Talib Kweli for the Sprite uncontainable tour which will go on between June and July. What Sprite wants to accomplish with this is to make sure that they uplift the disadvantaged talented youth across South Africa in the areas of rapping, Graffiti and break dancing.

(the sprite uncontainable hip hop branded logo.image source cheka.com)

                                               

The competition

http://cheka.co.za/tag/sprite-uncontainable/ The uncontainable tour hopes to embark on a journey across South Africa in all major cities including Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. The competition challenges contestants in three areas of hip hop which are Graffiti, Rapping and B-boy dancing. Every city will have its own competition before moving to the ultimate battle where they will compete for a trip to the uncontainable fest in New York. The winner will also win a mentorship programme with Talib Kweli in which they will have an opportunity to brush their skills in their given field of talent.

(Talib kweli performing in new york. image source: cheka.com) 

Sprite’s CSI technique

In this case sprite is engaging in a CSI attempt to establish trust within their market. They want the target audience to feel cared for. Sprite giving back to the communities that consume their product is a way of boosting the brands morale and credibility amongst its audience. Sprite is also giving the winner an opportunity to star in music video collaboration at the end of the year. Sprite has also used a very good strategy in choosing a panel of judges who are born and bred in the African continent e.g. Mernoly Simba (Angola) from masters of rhythm, Falko (South Africa) the renowned graffiti artist and Reason (South Africa) the award winning rapper. 

Music and branding Part 2: Forbes Richest Rappers 2012

Becoming a musician means that you work hard to strive and grow your brand to stand out from the rest of the crowd. In Part 1 we saw how branding in music can play a vital role in fusing fashion with music when artist form a cult following amongst their fans in an effort to sustain and maintain dominance in the music industry. In Part 2 we look at the 5 wealthiest and most prominent brands in Rap music.

1. Sean “Diddy” Combs

Net worth as of April 2012: $550 million

Besides making music Diddy has branded his empire through his record label “Bad Boy” and from his luxurious clothing label Sean John. He has also invested in an alcohol (vodka) beverage called Ciroc. He has proved to be a triple threat (an actor, a singer and a self made business man).

(P.Diddy at the Grammy's- image source: hiphoplead.com)    

2. Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter

Net worth as of April 2012: $460 million

If your life has not been studied and taught as a University course yet then its wise to take tips from this man. Jay-Z has managed to literally own shares in a Basketball team called the New Jersey Nets in the NBA and to sign a 10-year $150 million live nation deal since 2008. The artist smartly merged his music career with his love of sport and fashion when he sold hip hop label Rocawear for $204 million in 2007.

(Jay-Z -image source: hiphoparchive.org)

3. Andre “DR Dre” Young

Net worth as of April 2012: $260 million

If you have seen giant colourful headphones anywhere in the city it’s probably DR Dre’s beats earphone range which has reaped in millions of dollars for the rapper, Super producer and Aftermath record label owner which has jump started big names like Eminem, 50 cent and Snoop Dogg. In August last year he sold 50% of his earphone company to HTC for 191 million pounds.

(DR Dre- image source: animaajes.nl) 

4. Bryan “Birdman” Williams

Net worth as of April 2012: $125 million

The New Orleans born Cash Money records co-founder Birdman AKA stunner has made his fair share of millions by managing music’s biggest stars including the likes of Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Drake. He has also signed a $30 million distribution deal with universal in the 90’s.

(Birdman- image source: hiphoparchive.org) 

5. Curtis “50 cent” Jackson

Net worth as of April 2012: $110 million

50 cent sold his upcoming vitamin water company to Coca-Cola a few years ago and never looked back. This mogul has made it big by acting gigs, videogames, books, wireless earphones and hip hop’s classic G-unit clothing label. The 9 bullet survivor has since splurged in buying Mike Tyson’s house and classic automobiles. 

(50 cent- image source: animaajes.nl)

MTV Push Campaign

MTV which is also known as music television is still the worlds leading music channel and music power house which has spread across the world like wild fire. As part of their corporate social investment plan they have introduced a segment in the channel called MTV push which is solely made to touch on up coming Rock, Hip-hip and Pop artists who are still on the rise. The campaign runs on both MTV base Africa, MTV UK and also on the official MTV channel (MTV 2) broadcasted in the United States of America where the channel first started. http://www.mtv.co.uk/push

(MTV Push brand logo with branded colours.image source: mtv push.com )

The Campaign

The key to a successful PR campaign is to make it as exciting as possible for the targeted audience. The campaign runs as a pop up feature which happens after an ad break, music video or show has played. A bright splatter of pink bursts on the screen covering the screen links with pink. Then during the music video information about the artist is displayed clearly on the bottom of the screen. The viewers are then encouraged to go to the website and vote for the push artist of the month. A brief interview with the artist is done before the music video is played, where he/she is given an opportunity to tell viewers about future projects, featured artists or anything related to their music.http://www.behance.net/gallery/MTV-Push-Brand-Campaign-Studio-Hansa/2946055

(Mike posner: one of the most successful Push artists now endorsing reebok. image source:mtv push.com)

The purpose of the campaign

The purpose of the campaign is to get MTV viewers and followers the opportunity to be a part of the channel by putting them in the driver seat. MTV has introduced this as a rookie segment of the show where the audience can start a conversation about the push artist of that month. Buzz and publicity is then created around that particular musician. Twitter is then flooded with trending topics about the push artist which then gives MTV credibility and a source of closure with the public as they have helped an up coming artist reach stardom in just a few weeks. http://www.mtv.com.au/music/mtv-push/   

  

Musician Philanthropists

Let’s rewind back on the drug abuse blog we did in February and try not to focus on musicians in a negative light all the time. When given support and opportunity our entertainers can really impact our world in a positive way. Adult contemporary singer Lionel Richie proved this in the ninety’s when he gathered over 30 artists to perform the Michael Jackson smash hit “We Are the World” to raise funds and awareness for the impoverished and war affected countries in the African content.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World

(Various artists performing the lionel richie produced song for africa -source: we are the world.com)

The song was then used again to raise funds and awareness for Haiti, which was hit by one of the biggest earthquakes that most scientists have ever witnessedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World_25_for_Haiti. Coordinated by the Haiti born world renowned reggae artist Wyclef Jean and assisted by Grammy award winner pop sensation Will I Am. But this time the power of social media posed as an advantage when artists could tweet about the matter and engage with organisations on a more intimate platform.

(Various artists performing to raise awareness for africa-source: we are the world.co.za)

 

http://www.parade.com/celebrity/trend-blend/slideshows/musicians-who-give-back.html#?slideindex=0But one artist who has been active in giving back is R&B superstar Alicia Keys who has been involved in different philanthropic projects especially those related to youth development and diseases including Aids and social issues in Africa.http://mtvmeets.com/d.ph?&PageID=780&IX=7718 She also gave a motivational lecture on Mtv base sponsored by MTN where she sat down with young educated pupils who are inspired to bring about change in the African continent. Surely some of our artists do help the needy.

(Alicia Keys poses at a photo shoot-source: google)

Nicki Minaj's Marketing in South Africa

Nicki Minaj is expected to perform in numerous venues for her South African leg of her Pink Friday tour. Nicki Minaj has been the most outstanding and followed female Hip-Hop and pop artist for the past two years. She has dominated our Tv screens with her colourful music videos and her controversial lyrics which has made her stand out from the rest. With her new album released on the 2 of April 2012 the queen of hip-hop has managed to sell 118,849 copies on her albums first week of release http://www.hiphoplead.com/news/nicki-minaj-pink-friday-roman-reloaded-album-first-week-sales/.

(Nicki Minaj in her new music video-source: hiphoplead.com) 

 The hype created around the South African tour is amazing because the dates and venues have not yet been confirmed yet, which measures the PR difference of the alertness of South African media to market and advertise on international artists and the lack of Marketing and advertising that we have in South Africa towards our own local talent. Mtv base africa had a Nicki Minaj day where they played her music video's, Documentary and songs she has been featured on throughout her careerhttp://www.mtvbase.com/shows/top-10-nicki-minaj/#showSummary.South African record labels and PR managers are not keeping up with this trend.



(Nicki Minaj poses for the camera-source: hiphoplead.com) 

Nicki Minaj managed to break away from being a back drop member of a hip-hop group to being one of the most influential mogul in the Hip-Hop industry. But that did not happen over night. The South African music industry executives should reinvent themselves and think creatively starting with airplayhttp://www.mio.co.za/article/south-african-music-airplay-an-introspective-analysis-2008-05-14.