A few months ago while working on my Company Leadership Research Presentation, I came across the name Steve Stoute. Upon further investigation I learned that Steve Stoute was a former music executive who has become a matchmaker between music and corporate America. I recently just finished reading his book “Tanning of American: How Hip-Hop Created A Culture That Re-wrote The Rules of The New Economy”.
Hip-Hop is being used to sell products to people who aren’t necessarily fans but they know cool when they see it. A concept I’m personally trying to understand as I work with up and coming producers, songwriters and artists’. How do I expand their brand beyond music? Hip-Hop artist are now expanding their brans in the club by marketing self-branded drinks.
For years Hip-Hop artists have endorsed beverages, in 2006 Anheusuer-Bush, Inc. teamed up with Jay-Z, making him co-brand director of Budweiser Select. In 2007, 50 Cent made $100 million after Coca-Cola bought his Vitamin Water drink, Formula 50. The soft drink giant paid $4.1 billion to drinks company Glaceau, which 50 bought in as a shareholder in 2004. In exchange for his share in the company's profits, Glaceau named a Vitamin Water drink, Formula 50, after the artist.
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs signed a partnership with spirit maker Diago PLC to promote the company’s Ciroc Vodka in the U.S., in return for 50% of the profits from the brand. The arrangement could be worth more than $100 million to Sean Combs Enterprises, depending on the performance of the Ciroc brand.
Multi-faceted hip-hop moguls like Diddy and Jay-Z have always combined street cred with street-meets-Madison-Avenue business savvy to sell products such as clothing and fragrance lines in a way that few genres outside of hip-hop have the power, or cache, to pull off.
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