Friday, May 1, 2009
Nick James presents 'The Nas Rmx's'
01 Intro
02 N.Y. state Of Mind Pt. 2
03 Ether
04 Purple
05 The World Is Yours
06 No Idea’s Original
07 You Know My Style
08 Flyest Angels
09 U Gotta Love It
10 Rewind
11 Dr. Knockboot
12 Book Of Rhymes
13 It’s Mine Feat. Mobb Deep
14 Life’s A Bitch Feat. Az
15 Black Zombie
16 Get Down
17 No Idea’s Original (Acoustic Remi
18 Purple (Screwed)
http://rapidshare.com/files/202040133/Nick_James__2009__The_Nas_Remixes-turbocity.rar
BET, MTV to launch Centric Network cable channel to compete for TV One audience
By R. Thomas Umstead
Multichannel News
Viacom's BET Networks and MTV Networks are combining channel resources to create a new programming outlet, Centric, set to launch in October, targeting African-American adults, network officials said.
The new network will take aim at Comcast/Radio One-owned TV One in targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience, while also reaching out to other multicultural audiences.
BETN officials say it will launch with 45 million subscribers, a sizeable base for a new channel. BET Networks will handle its operations, with BET J executive vice president and general manager Paxton Baker overseeing the new venture.
Multichannel News reported earlier this month that Baker would oversee a channel that combined BET J and MTVN's VH1 Soul, two existing digital networks that between them are in about 47 million homes, and that the announcement could come at BET's April 23 upfront in New York, which is when Centric is expected to be announced.
The story also indicated behind-scenes drama could cause those plans to change, though, and noted BET downplayed talk of combining the channels, indicating BET J would be "refreshed" instead.
BETN president and COO Scott Mills said Wednesday BET J and VH1 Soul are not merging. Mills said "we have within our universe today between MTVN and BETN existing distribution that is available to us to deploy against the launch of this network."
"What we're creating is a brand-new network targeted to adult, upscale, sophisticated and aspirational African-American and multicultural audiences," Mills said.
BET J (originally launched as BET on Jazz) and VH1 Soul are African-American targeted channels that complement each other with carriage on top U.S. distributors. BET J has key carriage on DirecTV and on No. 2 cable operator Time Warner Cable, while VH1 Soul and other MTVN digital channels have stronger Comcast carriage.
BET J, which features reality series and music content, is in about 27 million homes. VH1 Soul, with music video programming, is in about 20 million homes.
Potentially, Centric could start with BET J's distribution and annex channel slots allocated to VH1 Soul or possibly some other small MTVN service, rather than merging. In 2007, Gospel Music Channel's owners bought Black Family Channel, adding BFC's 16 million homes to Gospel's previous 10 million homes. Black Family Channel shut down.
Centric will initially feature entertainment/reality fare, but Baker said it could offer some news and public affairs programming in the near future.
Some original shows already slated for the channel include Model City, a reality show revolving around African-American models in New York City, and Keeping Up With The Joneses, which follows the exploits of a Houston-based female entrepreneur.
The network will also reinstate the Soul Train Music Awards, which has been off the air for several years. "The Soul Train brand resonates with older audiences, so by bringing that back we can really speak to that target audience of African-Americans," Mills said.
In addition, the new network will offer demo-targeted content -- including movies and music programming -- from MTV, VH1, BET and other MTV Networks outlets.
Centric's older-skewing content would complement BET's younger-skewing programming fare, while providing Viacom a viable competitor to the four-year-old TV One service, which currently counts some 47 million subscribers.
"We think that we have a unique way of serving that demo that no one else can in the space," Baker said.
Centric is the latest in a flurry of new African-American targeted network announcements over the past year -- although it's the first to have major entertainment media company backing.
In February, Houston-based upstart Black Broadcasting Network announced plans to launch an urban-targeted entertainment network later in 2009.
Last November, BET founder Bob Johnson teamed with broadcast network ION Media Networks on plans to create Urban Television, an entertainment-based network targeting the African-American community.
Last August, hip-hop mogul Master P (Percy Miller) unveiled plans for Better Black Television, a family-friendly network providing positive content.
And last April, former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) announced the creation of the Black Television News Channel, a 24-hour news service for African-Americans slated to launch sometime this year. The service has secured "a hunting license" with Comcast.
Multichannel News
Viacom's BET Networks and MTV Networks are combining channel resources to create a new programming outlet, Centric, set to launch in October, targeting African-American adults, network officials said.
The new network will take aim at Comcast/Radio One-owned TV One in targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience, while also reaching out to other multicultural audiences.
BETN officials say it will launch with 45 million subscribers, a sizeable base for a new channel. BET Networks will handle its operations, with BET J executive vice president and general manager Paxton Baker overseeing the new venture.
Multichannel News reported earlier this month that Baker would oversee a channel that combined BET J and MTVN's VH1 Soul, two existing digital networks that between them are in about 47 million homes, and that the announcement could come at BET's April 23 upfront in New York, which is when Centric is expected to be announced.
The story also indicated behind-scenes drama could cause those plans to change, though, and noted BET downplayed talk of combining the channels, indicating BET J would be "refreshed" instead.
BETN president and COO Scott Mills said Wednesday BET J and VH1 Soul are not merging. Mills said "we have within our universe today between MTVN and BETN existing distribution that is available to us to deploy against the launch of this network."
"What we're creating is a brand-new network targeted to adult, upscale, sophisticated and aspirational African-American and multicultural audiences," Mills said.
BET J (originally launched as BET on Jazz) and VH1 Soul are African-American targeted channels that complement each other with carriage on top U.S. distributors. BET J has key carriage on DirecTV and on No. 2 cable operator Time Warner Cable, while VH1 Soul and other MTVN digital channels have stronger Comcast carriage.
BET J, which features reality series and music content, is in about 27 million homes. VH1 Soul, with music video programming, is in about 20 million homes.
Potentially, Centric could start with BET J's distribution and annex channel slots allocated to VH1 Soul or possibly some other small MTVN service, rather than merging. In 2007, Gospel Music Channel's owners bought Black Family Channel, adding BFC's 16 million homes to Gospel's previous 10 million homes. Black Family Channel shut down.
Centric will initially feature entertainment/reality fare, but Baker said it could offer some news and public affairs programming in the near future.
Some original shows already slated for the channel include Model City, a reality show revolving around African-American models in New York City, and Keeping Up With The Joneses, which follows the exploits of a Houston-based female entrepreneur.
The network will also reinstate the Soul Train Music Awards, which has been off the air for several years. "The Soul Train brand resonates with older audiences, so by bringing that back we can really speak to that target audience of African-Americans," Mills said.
In addition, the new network will offer demo-targeted content -- including movies and music programming -- from MTV, VH1, BET and other MTV Networks outlets.
Centric's older-skewing content would complement BET's younger-skewing programming fare, while providing Viacom a viable competitor to the four-year-old TV One service, which currently counts some 47 million subscribers.
"We think that we have a unique way of serving that demo that no one else can in the space," Baker said.
Centric is the latest in a flurry of new African-American targeted network announcements over the past year -- although it's the first to have major entertainment media company backing.
In February, Houston-based upstart Black Broadcasting Network announced plans to launch an urban-targeted entertainment network later in 2009.
Last November, BET founder Bob Johnson teamed with broadcast network ION Media Networks on plans to create Urban Television, an entertainment-based network targeting the African-American community.
Last August, hip-hop mogul Master P (Percy Miller) unveiled plans for Better Black Television, a family-friendly network providing positive content.
And last April, former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.) announced the creation of the Black Television News Channel, a 24-hour news service for African-Americans slated to launch sometime this year. The service has secured "a hunting license" with Comcast.
A word form HOV....
A word from Hov
Last night I performed at the University of Arizona, I had a ball!! Through all the excitement and joking around (as well as the technical difficulties) I missed out on the opportunity to say something important..
On the show as well were Third Eye Blind and Kelly Clarkson.. I thought that to be the oddest pairing EVER but, soon realized, it's what I've always professed..There is NO such thing as BLACK music or WHITE music only GOOD or BAD music..It's stupid cool to like things that are not like you, and that goes for outside of music.. If you're an African American you can have a jewish friend. Wait, does Lyor having some Israeli mixed with his jewish count? (Sure they are paranoid but, so are black people after they've smoked weed, haaaaa, and plus the JEW fro and the BLUEprint fro are the SAME thing.)
I think concerts like this should happen more often. ( Outside of the one or 2 festivals a year or "Zootopia") I'm putting that into the universe..next up Taylor Swift and Uncle Murda!!
Sorry I don't "Tweet" (do I?) so this will have to do..
What Brands can learn from Jadakiss....Article by Rob Stone
At a time when artists are being cut from major label deals and scrambling to find indie labels to release their next albums, Jadakiss has far exceeded expectations with his new Island Def Jam release, "The Last Kiss." After a five-year layoff between album releases (usually a kiss of death for a hip-hop artist), Jadakiss' album sold over 130,000 copies in its first week earlier this month. In these challenged times of selling music, especially albums, that's a very sizable number.
Why and how is this relevant to brands? Let's explore the circumstances and the marketing that led up to Jadakiss' release and the parallels between the launch of his album and the challenges that a brand team faces in launching a campaign. Rest assured there are numerous differences between an album launch and a product launch, but extracting and highlighting what insights and lessons can be learned from his latest release and his initiatives are not as obvious.
Throughout his nearly 15-year career, Jadakiss has protected his reputation and authenticity with the heart of a lion, in part by passing up short-term successes and not succumbing to the pressure to make quick-hit radio records. As advertising dollars have dried up at radio stations over the years, programmers have been under pressure to play hit records more frequently and playlists have shrunk. Ten years ago, many stations' highest-played records were 45 plays a week, or six plays a day. Today it's common for stations to play top records over 100 times a week, which allows less room for records to make it onto playlists. Artists such as Flo Rida, with his monster radio hit single "Right Round," sold more than 2.5 million singles, but his album "R.o.o.t.s " sold only 55,000 copies in its first week -- a significantly lower amount than what Jadakiss sold.
What things did Jadakiss do to connect with his audience despite a lack of exposure on the radio?
First, he integrated himself into the places where his core lifestyle fans lived and became very accessible to them. He went on the road for seven weeks prior to the release, visiting clubs every night, sometimes performing, and other times just being there as part of the scene. He visited malls and had daily discussions and exchanges with fans through blogs and hip-hop sites. He visited radio and hosted tastemakers, DJs and programmers at clubs and played his music through a sponsorship deal wtih Ciroc Vodka. He showed up and performed for Reebok's 10-year anniversary event for basketball superstar Allen Iverson at the NBA All-Star Game in Arizona. He performed in Austin at the Levi's FADER Fort (a Cornerstone event) in front of a primarily alternative rock and hipster audience. He released videos on Youtube; not just music videos, but also funny, behind-the-scenes videos that spoke to his lifestyle and authenticity, which his core fanbase found entertaining. All of this was done to build anticipation for his album -- always feeding his core yet adapting to new market conditions.
Jadakiss played to his strengths. He knew the limitations of radio, and, much like brands today that may no longer be able to create a huge presence on TV and out-of-home, he invested in his core -- he got creative. Jadakiss made himself accessible to his fanbase by creating partnerships with brands, other artists and DJs, and also by utilizing the momentum of the web. Instead of a top-down national approach, he took to the streets -- connecting DJ to DJ, city to city, and building a national presence for the album.
~ ~ ~
Rob Stone is founder and co-CEO of Cornerstone, a full-service lifestyle marketing firm based in New York City. For over 12 years, Mr. Stone has executed customized brand campaigns for a roster of A-list clients targeting the key demographic of 15-34 year olds.
Chrisette Michelle - Epiphany
1. Epiphany (I'm Leaving)
2. Notebook
3. What You Do
4. Blame It on Me
5. All I Ever Think About
6. Playin' Our Song
7. Another One
8. On My Own
9. Fragile
10. Mr. Right
11. Porcelain Doll
12. I'm Okay
http://rs6.rapidshare.com/files/227557860/cm-epiph-turbocity.rar
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