Russal Simmons Wants to Buy a Network

Entertainment Mogul Russal Simmons appears to be interested in purchasing a television network. He stated that,"When mainstream networks “say diversity,” he said, “they mean segregation. ‘Let’s do some more black TV.’ Instead, there’s all these cultures that should be more integrated properly.”  (Wall street Journal 2011)  This is what makes Russell a good business man, having the ability to see what others do not and to be honest, he is right on point!  

Brand Asset Management-Jay Z and 50 CENT

Jay Z and 50 Cent Reebok Commercial(2006)

Hip-hop has always been in the driver seat when it comes to the latest trends through lyrics, music and fashion. Combining talented artists with known brands equals more sells from targeted markets. Back then Jay Z and 50 CENT business associate Steve Stoute managed to secure shoe deals with Reebok that was normally reserved for athletes. In a sense, Steve Stoute acts as a brand asset management professional in managing the brands direction.  In a recent interview with Power 105's the Breakfast Club, Stoute discussed a few strategies that he used in advertising.

According to Steve, building on shared value between artists and brands will present a genuine picture with the consumer. Jay and 50-helped assist in shared value because they too like to rock sneakers with their gear. Bridging that gap helped Reebok understand that not everybody wanted to purchase shoes that made them run faster, but rather a shoe that could rock easily with outfits.  

What's interesting about Steve was that he placed Shawn Carter and G-unit shoe lines in music stores, that way fans could pre order them before they hit Foot Locker and other shoe chains. This brought the demand to an all time high for Reeboks in which 10,000 pairs were sold within a few hours being release.

The power of hip-hop has brought a whole new revenue stream to the forefront. Before, major record companies weren’t seeing any revenue from branding opportunities, now with 360 deals, labels are pushing hard for brand building, because they get a share of the proceeds and it gives them an incentive to work on the artist behalf. 

Independent artist can join in on these opportunities as well in your local communities. For example, let’s say that an artist is a skateboarder and has a local community following. What they can do is seek out sponsorships from skate shops, negotiate a deal that says they will wear sponsored clothing or shoot a video inside or round the store for funding.

Steve Stoute mention it should be a shared value, don’t seek sponsorships from a skate shop if you aren’t a skater, it won’t be authentic. Over all if you are an artist in this new and exciting digital music world there’s opportunity, you have to connect with products you genuinely love and enjoy. To see the full interview with Steve Stoute click here

Where to look for entertainment internships and jobs online

The entertainment industry is an exciting and vibrant place to work. To get that internship or job,you must be active in your search online. Although there are plenty of jobs in the industry, it is competitive environment, professionals are reminded to improve their skills regularly.

To make your search a little simpler, I have included several websites that cater to entertainment professionals l. My advice to you would be to post your resume on as many sites as possible, the chances of you getting a call back will be greater.

1. Backstagejobs.com

Backstagejobs.com specialize in behind the scene jobs and internships in live entertainment. You will find opportunities in production, stage management, theater, carpentry, and costumes, props, audiovisual, lighting, scenic design and technical. What's unique about this site is they have an area where you can look for last minute jobs and internships. I recommend starting here if you have an interest in working back stage.

2. Entertainmentcareers.net 

Entertainmentcareers.net is a website specifically for entertainment professionals looking for jobs and internships in the entertainment industry. Here you find opportunities from top companies such as: Warner Brothers, Universal, Disney, Newline cinema, Paramount Pictures, Sony and local entertainment jobs in your community.


3. Linkedin.com 

Linkedin.com is a business related social media site focused around professionals from every industry looking to find jobs, network and build contacts. Linkedin follow ship as of March of 2011, is around 116 million professionals. 


This is the new way of finding employment online. Employers can post jobs and seek potential candidates for hiring consideration. You have the option of connecting your Facebook page, Twitter account and personal blog or website on your linkedin profile. I highly recommend this site and if you have not signed up yet do so, it's free!

Music Industry is Making Moves

As the music industry make moves to secure it’s future, mobile phone companies are in search of partnerships to expand their phone subscription base. The digital world has endless possibilities and these two worlds are networking. On August 11, 2011, Jimmie Lovine Interscope/Geffen Records A&M Chairman in collaborations with Dr. Dre Beats by Dre Headphone Company signed a deal worth $300 million with HTC mobile phone manufacture. This is a big deal for the music industry as it makes its transition in new emerging digital industries’. 

First it was the licensing and distribution deal with Monster, a company that makes top quality audio cables for consumer and professional audio users. Next came HP with it Dr. Dre branded HP ENVY 15 limited edition notebook PC that enable producers and music lovers to enjoy high quality audio from Dr. Dre beats technology. It did not stop there, Chrysler wanted a piece of the action, so it partnered with Dr. Dre beats company to installed the technology in it’s 2012 Chrysler 300S cars that will pump a 10 speaker audio system. According to Jimmie Lovin, “We’ve got to make this transition into the phones properly,” he says. “ I can not overstate this. We cannot miss the opportunity. We cannot get this wrong like we have in the past". (Lovine, 2011) 

As music companies combat piracy, digital sales are starting to rise up 6% since last year this time.  Record Labels are spreading music content across many platforms, you have revenue coming in from digital downloads, CD sales, licensing agreements, mobile agreements, branding agreements and television/film. As the industry evolves, music will be the music bed of other industries trying to enter the entertainment realm and as a result, will produce more jobs for entertainment professionals independently as well as for the majors.