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SoulPurpose Direct
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Wednesday, August 2, 2000
POWERED BY URBAN BOX OFFICE
SoulPurpose Direct: Your dose of the Business of Urban Culture
delivered directly to your desktop.
Today's Contents:
Up Front:
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**** Andy Says
**** Loose Change
**** John Blaze List
**** QuickBytes
* Film/TV
* Fashion
* Music
* Publishing
* Sports
* New Media & Technology
* International Business
* Arts & Society
Closers:
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**** Career Center
**** Events Calendar
**** Subscribe/ Unsubscribe
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Welcome to SoulPurpose, an e-zine dedicated to the urban
entertainment industry, or *Soul Business.* The purpose of this
e-zine is to bring all the behind-the-scenes soldiers together to
enjoy what we do for a living. SoulPurpose subscribers are
tastemakers influencing today's urban culture. SoulPurpose is FOR
YOU, BY YOU, ABOUT YOU. We can't happen WITHOUT YOU, so please
respond with questions, comments, gossip, and news to
Andy-Newsletter@Soulpurpose.com.
SoulPurpose is "off the chain." We reach more than 15000 tastemakers.
Thanks for participating. If you haven't, SUBSCRIBE (see below)!
Look who recently subscribed:
A. Jermaine Mobley (Pitch Black Ent.), Adrian White, Amber Noble,
Angel Stewart, Angela Stanley, Antonio Epperson, Aristide J. Collins
(Collins and Associates), B. Bartlett Jr., Benier Koranache, Beverley
Gordon, Bridget Davis (Edmonds Ent.), Bridgit Evans, Camille Gainer,
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William, Shaun Parsons, Sheila Jamison, Stephanie Frederic, Stuart
Matthewman, Terence Young, Tiffany Stoan, Tony Marcus, Tracey
Silverman, Vanessa Sanchez, Yetunde Sekoni, Zelle Bonney
ANDY SAYS
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NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL POP CULTURE VOL.1...THE WORLD ACCORDING TO A
FIVE YEAR OLD
"Daddy, daddy, that's the CD that I saw on Nickelodeon," I heard
while shopping in Costco's gigantic selection of boxed CDs. 20
minutes later my five-year-old daughter and I were bobbing our heads
to the sounds of Hanson, Backstreet Boys, Eiffel 65 and many other
"bands" I said I would never listen to. NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC!
is the newest addition to my CD collection and an interesting case
study. I must admit the album caught my attention, outselling Britney
Spears and Eminem two weeks in a row, according to SoundScan (weeks
ending 7/23 and 7/30). Though the record is nothing but another
"K-Tel" type compilation of hits, it was the start of my cultural
anthropology work: The subject: POP MUSIC & THE KINGDOM OF LANCE.
The following are the findings of my exploration into the kingdom of
teeny-bopper culture:
1. FANS WANT HITS WHEN THEY WANT THEM
The success of NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC! and the rise of file
sharing (i.e. Napster, Gnutella, Rapstation.etc) proves that fans
want to hear, what they want to hear, when they want to hear it. The
freshly crowned #1 album in the country is really a soundtrack-type
album without a movie. Napster is nothing more than a big radio
station. It will never replace the experience of touching that jewel
case or looking at a group's artwork. In fact, if labels can "pimp"
the 20 million fans (something they are so good at doing) who
downloaded Napster, they may get marketing tips on where to put
records in stores and what cities to send bands on promotional tours.
If done correctly, they can probably even sucker fans into buying
another over hyped, not-so-talented performer's album! Unfortunately,
lawyers and accountants never make great marketing execs nor do they
understand the power of youth culture.
2. SMOKE AND MIRRORS RULE!!!
We live in an entertainment market over saturated by "hype" and what
record labels call "Smoke and Mirrors." Our birthday boy, (turned 40
on August 1) Chuck D, says in an interview with ABCNEWS.com, "You
can't tell me that Britney Spears is better than every 17-year-old
girl singing out there. It's just that she's marketed and promoted
and financed...It's not even art anymore." The "Smoke" makes it such
that fans don't even realize that the 'N Sync live show is Boyz II
Men's entire show reproved and packaged for a mainstream audience.
They are being bombarded with impressions on Radio Disney, McDonalds
and Nickelodeon. Not to mention the hundreds of spins these groups
receive on the nations largest stations.
3. POP STARS WANT TO BE RAP STARS...AT LEAST FOR A MINUTE
On the same day I purchased my first "teeny-bopper" album, my case
study took me to St. John's University. The mission: MEET LANCE FROM
'N SYNC. Pop kings 'N-Sync were hosting a celebrity basketball game
and I was lucky enough to secure tickets for my daughter and her
friends. I expected to see Rick Schroder, Dean Cain, and Mandy Moore
on the court, but when I arrived at halftime, much to my surprise I
saw the rosters for the contest included Fat Joe, Joe, BET "Rap
City's" Tigger, Kelly Price, Donnell Jones, Isiah Thomas, Queen
Latifah, Dennis Scott, Elton Brand, Jermaine Dupri. Watching intently
and following the lackluster skills of the celebrity players, were DJ
Clue, Jay-Z and entourage, Mike Kyser (Def Jam), Sheri Huguely
(Glue), Lynn Scott (Motown), Bryce (Groove Theory) and many others. I
was in for a surprise!! As Jay-Z greeted a "googly-eyed" Justin
Timberlake from 'N Sync, many others in the "band" were studying
halftime performer Peter Gunz's every move. Every time 'N SYNC
touched the basketball, the crowd of 5,000 or so screaming white
girls drowned the place out with more noise than has been heard at
Alumni Hall since the days of Malik Sealy. My five-year-old daughter
and friends could care less about the "ooh say what, say what, say
what" guy or "Jigga," but were focused solely on LANCE BASS: The
prized possession of the night. Lance was focused on the urban
"bling-bling-erati" that were posted up on the sidelines iced out
from head to toe. I reminisced back to the early years of Mainstream
Stars "Dreaming of becoming Rap Stars." Vanilla Ice (turned into
Alternative Rocker), the-artist-formerly-known as Marky Mark (now
only Mark Wahlberg) and the devout Muslim Everlast (now doing
alternative folk music) are all former students of Source Magazine.
Then, I thought, would my daughter's favorite "urban" group forget
how they met Jacob the jeweler in NYC??? Would they ('N SYNC) deny
that they joined thousands of other basketball fans? singing "UPTOWN
BABY, UPTOWN BABY!" The joys of "crossing over."
It's amazing what your little ones can teach you during an excursion
to Costco. They say that children are much like sponges absorbing
everything they see and hear. If that is the case my five year old is
a walking ad for American Pop Culture. Thanks for the lesson, little
one, and LANCE thanks for the autograph, it's now hanging on MY wall.
JOHN BLAZE LIST (aka. People Are Talking About...)
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1. LAFACE ATLANTA BUILDING MAY HAVE NEW TENANTS...will She'kspere
get a deal from ol' neighbor L.A. Reid and move into the Peachtree
building? Does this mean A&R honcho K.P. will keep his office???
2. IS FORMER COLUMBIA PROMO REP SHAKA ZULU BUILDING AN
EMPIRE?...Fresh from his bidding war for artist LUDACRIS (Def
Jam/Universal), this former Hot 97-Atlanta personality finds that
there is life after Columbia Records. What other artists want to join
his growing roster???
3. "IF YOU WANT URBANWORLD FILM FEST PRESS THREE"...UrbanWorld Film
Festival 2000 begins this week with great positioning on Moviefone, a
bunch of money from Sony, and Stacy Spikes cheesin'.
4. DEMMETTE GUIDRY RUMORED TO BE GOING TO WARNER BROS.
Superstar Black Music SVP would leave with Fugees, Lauryn Hill,
Destiny's Child, Nas, Blaque plaques and a long celebrated career at
Sony. A big steal for the bunny!!
5. NAPSTER DEBATE COMES TO THE BAY AREA
We want to hear what our folks have to say about the debate of "file
sharing." Come join us and other new media/ technology/entertainment
voices in Oakland, CA August 21st at the Lake Merritt Hotel for a
special town hall discussion. Email andysguestlist@soulpurpose.com
for more information...Evite is in the mail.
RUMOR MILL: Mai Huggins (Columbia Records)
QUICKBYTES
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FILM/TV
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EDMONDS ENTERTAINMENT IN THE REMAKING BUSINESS
Edmonds Entertainment has sealed deals with Warner Brothers and Fox
2000 separately to produce and return two classics to the big screen.
Warner Brothers paid low-six against mid-six figures for an edgier
version of the 1959 original Summer Place which starred Sandra Dee
and Troy Donahue. The remake should be darker and more risqué than
the original, which was based on a Sloan Wilson novel about two
teenagers falling in love while spending the summer on an island off
the coast of Maine. At Fox 2000, Edmonds Entertainment will remake
Oscar-nominated A Letter to Three Wives about three women who receive
a letter from the town floozy after she runs off with one of their
husbands. Ken Hixon will rewrite the updated version. Kenneth
"Babyface" Edmonds is executive producer for both projects. Edmonds
Entertainment will soon go into principal photography on comic-based
on "Josie and the Pussycats," which will be released by Universal
Pictures.
FASHION
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KENNETH COLE CONTINUES TO PROFIT
Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. has been able to continue its upswing
in profits. The first-quarter profits reeled in double-digit growth.
Earnings for the second quarter ended June 30, 2000 were up 80
percent to $6.4 million, from $3.6 million in the same period last
year. The company reported the most significant growth in its
wholesale, consumer direct and licensing businesses. Kenneth Cole's
continued growth is being attributed to the launch of its first
womenswear collection this fall and its solid menswear business.
MUSIC
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SISQO TO HIT THE TUBE
Joining the latest craze of artists turned actors is R&B singer
Sisqo. The singer, known for his No.1 single "Thong Song," has inked
an overall series development deal with Big Ticket Television. Big
Ticket will begin pitching Sisqo to network development executives,
in hopes of striking a pilot deal for fall 2001. Big Ticket
Television has had success in transforming singers to actors with
it's first hit, "Moesha," which stars Brandy. Sisqo can be seen in
the upcoming Miramax picture "Getting Over Allison."
PUBLISHING
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RANDOM TESTING DIGITAL GROUND
Random House Inc., the biggest English language book publisher has
launched an online unit for electronic books called AtRandom. The
publisher has set up a 20-book list of original electronic fiction
and non-fiction. AtRandom books will be sold online as digital books
or in single copies printed on demand and will also be available at
bookstores and Amazon.com. The titles will be published starting
early 2001.
SPORTS
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HISPANIC TELEVISION NETWORK WILL CARRY COWBOYS
Newly-formed Hispanic Television Network has signed a deal to carry
three Dallas Cowboys preseason football games along with pre- and
post-game shows and four one-hour specials. Fort Worth-based HTVN is
a 24-hour a day satellite network that currently reaches more than 20
million homes. It owns, operates or has agreements to acquire 25
stations.
NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
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PLAYSTATION SOON ON CELL PHONES
Sony Corp. and cellular phone maker DoMoCo have announced plans to
make Sony's market-leading games available in Japan on the "i-mode"
Internet access phone. They plan to begin by offering a popular
character game now available on the PocketStation handheld device,
and will move to include PlayStation games on new W-CDMA broadband
phones in the near future. Sony said it has no plans to offer the
service to any cell phone firm except DoCoMo. No fee structure for
the games has been decided, nor has the price of the software and
hardware needed to use the service.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
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SPAIN'S TERRA NETWORKS POSTS HUGE LOSSES
Spanish Internet company Terra announced its half year losses as $153
million (US) as expansion of the company caused a 205 percent fall
versus the same time last year. The company has undertaken large
expansion and brand-recognition efforts in Spain and Latin America of
late, and despite the losses, its base of paying Internet access
customers has increased by 174,000. It currently boasts nearly
2,700,000 subscribers - a 358 percent increase for the year. Terra
Networks is a unit of Spanish telecom giant Telefonica.
ARTS & SOCIETY
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THE WINDY CITY HOSTS FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL
The School of the Arts Institution of Chicago is hosting the Black
Harvest Film and Video Festival. The festival is a cultural showcase
that introduces many African American independent efforts, but its
major successes have been such films as "I.D./" and "Skirt Power,"
both originating from Africa. It has become the only major festival
in Chicago that is dedicated to showcase stories from
African-American cultures. The event runs from August 4-13, 2000.
CAREER CENTER
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Position: Human Resources Manager
Company: Louis Vuitton Latin America
Requirements: Minimum five to seven years Human Resources management
experience in a retail / luxury goods company.
Knowledge of Latin American employment laws. Bilingual Spanish /
English. Knowledge of Portugese a plus
Contact: Mrs. Lynn Ambrose
Louis Vuitton Latin America
19 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022
Mention reference number LVM3083
Position: Senior Graphic Designer
Company: Nike, Inc.
Requirements: Bachelor's degree in appropriate design discipline or
two years of experience may be substituted
for degree requirements. Seven or more years of related design
experience.
Contact: Nike, Inc
Human Resources Service Center
One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97005-6453
Fax# 888.767.9855
Fax# 503.671.3839
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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Event: Wordstock International 2000
The Fourth Annual International Spoken Word and Poetry Festival is a
free all-day event where poets and spoken word artists from around
the world come to participate.
Date: Saturday, August 5
Location: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York
Contact: (212) 726-2041
Event: 5th Annual Black Business Weekend
A three day Black Business Networking event.
Date: August 3-August 5th
Location: Various locations throughout San Diego, California
Contact: visit www.virtuallyblack.com
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