More Hip Hop Magazine Publishing in Publishing II
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For more on hip hop magazine publishing see: Publishing II.
Target Market News compares the March '08 and March '07 ad revenues for the leading black magazines and shows The Source on the comeback trail up 87.8%, XXL up 35.8% and Vibe up 19% on much higher revenues than XXL or The Source.
Via Hashim Warren.
Datwon Thomas, Editorial Director of KING, is the new Editor-in-chief of XXL and he's got quite a job ahead:
"I won’t take the job lightly. The game is in a tough spot. Lagging sales, declining buzz, warring factions, creative slump and various other factors make the details of my job tougher than expected. I’m here though, ready to grip up and bust some for a culture that’s slipping into uncharted territory that looks a little grim. The fact that a lot of good hip-hop is still out there helps make my job that much easier. I, with your help, will find that hip-hop and give it the platform that it rightly deserves. Wish me luck, I’m going in."
Best of luck, Datwon, sounds like you're going to need it.
But there's hope. I hear Eminem's got a new album on the way! Maybe you could put him on the cover?
Via Nah Right Lite.
Robert De Niro & 50 Cent: Vibe Hollywood Issue Cover #1
Vibe goes into takeover mode with this pair of covers, an interview and photo shoot with Robert De Niro and 50 Cent plus an interesting sounding "collectible flipbook design" as part of their March Hollywood Issue available February 5th.
Both are starring in Righteous Kill along with Al Pacino and you can read the press release for some not so interesting quotes from De Niro and 50 Cent or just wait and check your favorite online hip hop "journalists" to see if they make it look like they got those quotes themselves.
OMG! Vibe's doing a Green section as well as described in the release:
"This month's issue also includes VIBE's first-ever "green" pages. This 10-page special section takes a look at the green movement through developments in conservation, urban planning, the auto industry, technology, fashion and even home decor. From introducing environmentally friendly gadgets and cars to suggesting simple methods for conserving energy, VIBE invites readers to get involved with saving our environment."
I wonder how hard it was to sell those ads considering the assumptions so many marketers have about black folks. Maybe things are changing.
Robert De Niro & 50 Cent: Vibe Hollywood Issue Cover #2
From the press release:
"The March issue also features a special tribute to the classic styles of Ralph Lauren and the designer's 40th Anniversary spring collection."
From the photo description:
Shot in January by celebrity photographer Jake Chessum at New York City's famed Milk Studios, the magazine's exclusive photos are styled by veteran VIBE Fashion Director Memsor Kamarake. De Niro is in Giorgio Armani and 50 Cent in head-to-toe Tom Ford."
I have not been very impressed with Vibe's web game but this is a stellar issue full of great concepts.
Though all such projects emerge from a team of serious committed professionals, ProHipHop's got to big up the boss, Danyel Smith, on this one. Nice work!
[Photos Courtesy PRNewsFoto/VIBE Media Group, Jake Chessum]
Given all the firings in the magazine industry, not just in hip hop but all over the place, it's nice to see the VIBE Media Group announcing some promotions.
Special note should be made of the promotion of Danyel Smith, VIBE Editor-in-Chief, to Vice President and Editorial Director of VIBE Media Group. She keeps her EIC position at VIBE so she must be doing something right!
Additional announcements include the hiring of Edgar Hernandez as VIBE Associate Publisher back in September and the promotion of Gary R. Lewis to Chief Marketing Officer.
But they didn't stop there, oh no. They gave some shine to the folks you rarely hear about.
"Other recent staff promotions, include (in alphabetical order):
Chauncie Burton to Marketing Director
Kevin S. Ford to Research Chief
Janelle Grimmond to Associate Market Editor
Sarah Hambrick to Interactive Art Director
Cher Harrison to Entertainment Account Manager
Shanel Odum to Associate Editor
Aileen Payumo to Marketing Associate
Williams Perkins to Sportswear & Footwear Manager
Anthony Ragusa to Designer, Creative Services
Heston Roberts to Web Producer
Audrea Soongg to Account Executive, Interactive Media
Michelle Tennant Timmons to Office Manager"
Congratulations everybody and best of luck to whoever held those positions before you and to those who will come after!
Hate to be a spoil sport but let's hope at least some of these positions are newly created since we all know how tough it is to keep one's job in a declining industry being reamed by the demands of private equity.
Flashback to the Summer of 2006 via The Huffington Post:
A Whole New Vibe: Layoffs, Unrest and "White Boys" Standup
Latisha Simmons aka MahoganyGirl checks in on Dave Mays and Benzino's response to Elliott Wilson's firing and mentions some news I've missed, the Weekly Hip Hop lads are launching a new magazine called MONSTA next month.
Apparently Dasun Allah, former Source EIC and writer for the Star & Buc Wild Morning Show, is also involved with the development of MONSTA.
I was looking up some info about Vanessa Satten, reported to be XXL's interim Editor-in-Chief, and I'd totally forgotten that she's already revealed her cluelessness about bloggers:
XXL's Big Web Plans from Deputy Editor Vanessa Satten
Nevertheless, I want to wish Ms. Satten the best of luck as she takes over, for however long, at a publication that appears to be facing some real problems. I'm sure she's just the woman for the job.
Best of luck, Vanessa!
Nas on the Cover of XXL's 100th Issue, March 2008
As XXL prepares to releases its 100th issue featuring Nas, let's all pause to remember Elliott Wilson.
Both AllHipHop and SOHH are reporting that XXL head blogger and Editor-in-Chief Elliott Wilson has been canned for unknown reasons and that Vanessa Satten is the interim EIC.
And just when James Brown Week was about to start!
Here's an interesting description of Mr. Wilson from SOHH:
Wilson made an infamous industry name for himself by penning scathing editorials which often took direct and personal shots at his former empolyee, competitors, internet sites, and artists.
I wonder how that affects one's job search? In any case, a great man like Elliott Wilson will bounce back in no time.
Special thanks to Rizoh at The Rap Up and Maura at Idolator for filling me in on the news.
Previous ProHipHop Coverage:
Elliott Wilson: The Great Lion Brushes Off the Flies
Industry Pros Term Elliott Wilson's Back Cover Ad "Offensive" & an "Egregious Violation" of Ethics
XXL Editor "Goin' Nuts"?
OZONE Magazine's Sex Issue is now available online. Somehow a cover featuring Lil Wayne doesn't call out to me in the context of sex but whatever works in the marketplace.
Via Writer's Block Media.
Len Burnett, Vice President, Group Publisher of VIBE Magazine, is leaving the VIBE Media Group to build UPTOWN Magazine, a "lifestyle magazine targeted towards the affluent African American consumer". Burnett cofounded UPTOWN in 2004 with Brett Wright.
As now expected of almost all magazine sites, look for blogs and a social network, among other features:
In 2008, Uptown will launch several new properties including new events and an expanded broadband presence which will have social networking as well as many unique features for travel, blogging and commerce.
Update:
Influential Sushi says:
If you are reading this from Vibe Magazine, call a recruiter or headhunter quick, the ship is sinking!
Official Site:
UPTOWN Magazine
Hip Hop Weekly has been named one of MinOnline's Hottest Magazine Launches cosigned by Mr. Magazine!
Who knew? Congratulations!
Final Scratch Cover Featuring 50 Cent & Timbaland
SCRATCH Magazine says goodbye and smarter people than I suggest that the "XXL Presents" branding move and related editorial changes killed this one.
Update:
Eskay reminds us that he's no Bill Clinton:
It’s not a rumor. Scratch magazine has folded and issue #20 will be the last. So I hope all you purist snobs are happy. You didn’t buy it when it targeted you, then you screamed bloody murder when Wayne and Jeezy ended up on the cover. You didn’t know what you wanted, and now you have nothing.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Scratch Magazine To Relaunch With XXL Support
Forbes is really down to profit from their embrace of hip hop and they've even posted the Forbes I Get Money remix featuring 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Diddy currently going by Forbes 1, 2, 3 Remix and Billion Dollar Remix.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
It's Official: Kanye West Massacres 50 Cent in Soundscan Showdown
50 Cent Cancels European Appearances; I Get Money Forbes 1, 2, 3 Remix w/Jay-Z & Diddy Drops
Hip Hop Cash Kings, Hot Rods & Dead Rappers @ Forbes
Point Blank
Toronto's Urbanology Magazine is celebrating Canadian artists with four separate artist covers.
Jully Black
The four covers feature Point Blank, Jully Black, Belly and DL Incognito.
Belly
Most of my Canadian hip hop news used to come from Del F. Cowie at Vibes and Stuff who really should be encouraged to get back to blogging.
DL Incognito
Official Site:
Urbanology Magazine
Idolator's Anono Critic slices and dices VIBE's Mega Music issue.
The operation was a success but the patient died on the table.
Elliott Wilson responds to being held to journalistic standards by making me the subject of a weak postscript following a rather sad attempt at humor Mr. Wilson calls YN’s Top 10 Coldest MC’s:
P.S. Um.. Clyde Smith. Clyde Smith. Prohiphop.com. Prohiphop.com. Prohiphop.com. You happy now? You got your attention. I spoke to an editor from Folio. Let’s hope I don’t get misquoted. Stay tuned sucker.
Well, that's Elliott's biting response to such ProHipHop classics as:
XXL 10th Anniversary Covers: Pretend Controversy & XXL's Chief Advertorialist Elliott Wilson
&
Industry Pros Term Elliott Wilson's Back Cover Ad "Offensive" & an "Egregious Violation" of Ethics.
But then that level of maturity is what we've come to expect from Elliott "I ain’t gotta answer n*ggas" Wilson, who corporate lunkheads would term the "big swinging dick" of the hip hip magazine industry as Editor-in-Chief of XXL, a seriously popular publication owned by the powerful white men of Harris Publications and fronted by well-paid black men who dress in frumpy clothes and talk smack:
Awnaw! Hell naw! YN done up and done it now. As if the front cover wasn’t controversial enough, how dare this dude throw himself on the back cover of his magazine. f*ck it, why not? It’s a celebration, b*tches. It’s been 10 years and I ruled eight of them, why shouldn’t I feel myself? No pause. P.S. I’m not really wearing any Roc-a-wear.
[By the way, Harris Publications also owns Harris Outdoor Group, the creators of such uplifting titles in the Harris Tactical Group series as Custom Combat Handguns and Concealed Carry Handguns. Just thought you kids might want to know who your parents' dollars are supporting and where to learn more about concealed combat handguns!]
In case you're wondering, Elliott's mention of leading magazine management trade publication FOLIO refers to an excellent if all too brief article by FOLIO Associate Editor Jason Fell, Does XXL Ad Cross the Ad/Edit Line?:
Even before it hit newsstands this week, the September (10th Anniversary) issue of XXL had raised eyebrows among professionals in the publishing industry..."No person on an editorial staff should ever be involved in producing or participating in advertising," says ASME executive director Marlene Kahan. "[The XXL ad] appears to be a violation of ASME guidelines."
Oh, those pesky professional guidelines. They're like mosquitoes to the Great Lion that IS Elliott Wilson!!!:
"Bottom line, this is a one-time only ad. I’m not wearing Rocawear clothes in it and I wasn’t compensated for it," Wilson says in an interview with Folio:. "While other ads in their campaign will be all over the place, this one will only be seen on the cover of XXL."
Damn, now I feel bad. The guy didn't get paid, doesn't know how to dress and nobody's going to recognize who this old geezer is anyway.
But will that stop Elliott Wilson? No, Industry Titan Elliott Wilson is a man who Will Not Lose, even if he had to give Rocawear a free back cover ad and complimentary modeling services in order to be included.
Hey. has anyone else noticed what a decrepit pit XXL's pretentiously titled "Columnist" section has become? Except for occasional appearances of non-exclusive content from Jay Smooth, it's looking kind of dead and I speak as someone who big upped their launch.
Well, see you soon! I've got to go clean these heads before shrinking them. They're going to look great on the mantlepiece!
Next up on ProHipHop's Hip Hop Crafts Corner:
How to shrink the severed head of an Industry Titan!!!
Maura Johnston, editor at Idolator, let me know that rumors regarding the demise of Vibe Vixen were in play.
A ProHipHop contact at Vibe has confirmed that Vibe Vixen is no more and the staff has been laid off.
My condolences to all involved.
In related news, earlier this month Vibe Media Group appointed Steve Aaron the "new chief executive".
Best of luck in your new position, Mr. Aaron.
Update:
Here's a brief Mediaweek report.
XXL Front Cover Featuring Lil Wayne & Birdman
XXL pretends to court controversy by giving their 10th Anniversary cover to Lil Wayne and Birdman, winners of the BET Viewers Choice award. So not only does it hook the fans, it gets the homophobes talking.
XXL Back Cover Featuring Advertorialist Elliott Wilson
On the back cover, XXL Advertorialist-in-Chief Elliott Wilson shows us how it looks when one jettisons the divide between advertising and editorial.
Journalistic standards? Yo, this is hip hop!
Correction, this is XXL!
Oooh, ripped from Nah Right cause it's just G's up in heah!
Update:
I've gotten some strong criticism from an individual I respect regarding my above statements. Since my own personal feelings about various figures at XXL cloud my judgement, I am in the process of contacting bloggers with journalistic backgrounds from outside the world of hip hop to share their opinions on whether the back cover image above is or is not an example of crossing the advertising/editorial divide.
Normally I would come back with a post of my own discussing why I feel that this crossing has so obviously occurred but I want to reach some of the people who shut down when I say such things, in particular, hip hop bloggers with journalistic aspirations. Reaching out in this manner also opens the possibility that I am wrong and I have no trouble admitting that as long as you give me time to get over my default mode of being incapable of error!
I should also note, I did edit the above post to remove a totally inappropriate line and to soften the claim regarding the crossing of said divide. Beyond that, I think it's a fine snarky post from which I've already derived a great deal of pleasure!
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
ProHipHop's Stance on XXL's Adverpictorial Back Cover
Industry Pros Term Elliott Wilson's Back Cover Ad "Offensive" & an "Egregious Violation" of Ethics
From an article at Entrepreneur.com, In the Groove:
Now SOHH.com is a vibrant urban media company boasting 2006 sales of more than $1.5 million.
That may actually refer to SOHH's parent company, 4Control Media, but it seems to be focused on SOHH.com.
Unfortunately for big media, those numbers are peanuts compared to what a major glossy mag does. Even if a strong offline media brand does well online, serious revenue shrinkage appears most likely. In fact, one might easily compare the current situation of major labels and major music magazines as they transition from bulky slow-moving operations to much leaner ones.
Most unfortunate, that means employees at such operations face more on-the-job pressure, including squeezing in blogging between one's current duties, as well as further layoffs.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Compete: AllHipHop vs SOHH vs XXL, Jay Smooth vs Eskay vs Bol
Since I took a look at XXL, Vibe & The Source's online efforts, let's turn to a critique of Hip Hop Weekly's cover design, since their website is not worth discussing.
Mr. Magazine compares the front cover designs of Cosmopolitan, Men's Health and Hip Hop Weekly:
If you want to be cluttered, you need to do so in all the right places. The upper left-hand corner is the most important real estate on a magazine cover... you ignore it and buyers will ignore you. Hip Hop Weekly uses the cluttered approach on its cover in all the wrong places...compare those three covers and judge for yourself...none will win an award for design, but two out of three will sell very well on the newsstand.
It's unlike me to come to Hip Hop Weekly's defense but it should be noted that Hip Hop Weekly is more of a National Enquirer cover rip off. Comparing Hip Hop Weekly's design to similar publications would be a more appropriate basis for analysis, no matter how satisfying the alternative.
Press rewind if I haven't blown your mind is a cool [bootleg] blog that posts old timey hip hop reviews with a related track. It's a great concept that I'd suggest checking out while it's still around.
It's not a bad format for short individual articles with scans of reviews from magazines posted in .jpg form, making them easy to enlarge if desired.
One of many good things I've discovered via GRANDGOOD, Press Rewind also raises issues related to hip hop magazines' attempts to move online.
Of the big three in hip hop magazine publishing (XXL, VIBE, The Source), XXL seems to have done the best job of moving online. The initial launch went well and they've received a lot of positive online response. They've also appeared more aggressive in their efforts to publish chunks of their print content on the site.
VIBE's been doing the online thing for a while now with serious traffic to show for their efforts but the site has always been rather underwhelming. However, they've recently been tweaking the site and adding some web 2.0 savvy features like Rapper Mapper and branded efforts like VIBE verses, so they continue to evolve, which is key.
VIBE's also offering a digital edition of the magazine that is quite nice yet is more of a side act than the main event.
The Source is having the hardest time getting things together. After having a placeholder page for quite awhile, the current website is a disservice to their business. It's slow to load, it's unpleasant to use and I bet it's a Search Engine Optimization disaster.
While XXL and VIBE may not have very exciting websites, they do show that in the absence of breakthrough web design, doing what's straightforward, readily accessible to search engines and already understood by web surfers is the way to go.
Yet, Press Rewind's even simpler approach reminds us that there's a lot to be done with all that old content. Though Press Rewind does simply reproduce magazine reviews, packaging them with historical tracks is a nice concept, one from which a magazine like The Source could derive some needed inspiration for what to do with their back issues.
I'm certainly not saying Press Rewind's approach is "The Answer", but it sparked my imagination in a way that the big 3 haven't done online, at least since XXL's initial relaunch.
It appears that both online and off, none of the big 3 are really doing anything new. It's all based on stuff that's working elsewhere or was developed long ago.
If XXL and VIBE are doing quite well at the moment, if The Source is full of potential and if following the lead of other's is a time tested approach to corporate survival and success, why do I seem to be questioning their future?
I'm certainly not predicting their failure but the Internet has so deeply disrupted all corporate media to a degree that no one's success can be assumed. Besides, it's fun to watch big media try to figure out how to join conversations that they always thought they were controlling.
OZONE Magazine May '07 Five Year Anniversary Cover
OZONE Magazine features the confessions of DJ Drama in their fifth anniversary issue.
Official Site:
OZONE Magazine
Ghostface Killah on Cover of Urbanology Magazine
Toronto's Urbanology Magazine begins its third year of publication with a double cover featuring Ghostface Killah and Sizzla Kalongi.
Official Site:
Urbanology Magazine
Upcoming DV8 Sneaker Issue (Graphic by New Pyro Studio)
Atlanta publisher Desmick Perkins has been quite busy of late with multiple projects including a special upcoming edition of DV8 magazine focused on the custom sneaker scene. For past covers peep DV8 at MySpace.
Debut Issue of Crunk Magazine
Desmick also recently relaunched Crunk magazine under Editor-in-Chief Timothy 'Cutty da Hustla' Sanders. The first issue looks nice with a number of short articles and photos featuring Southern hip hop and RnB artists.
Crunk's Desmick Perkins (left), Darius Miller of The Franchise Atlanta (3rd from left) & Guests at Copeland's Buckhead
Crunk magazine cohosted a New Year's Eve party at Copeland's Buckhead to help publicize the launch and get the New Year's started right.
Contact Desmick Perkins at 404.756.9868 or info(at)deve8magazine(dot)com.
I finally ran into a copy of Hip Hop Weekly which currently doesn't seem to have a web presence but may have worked things out for hiphopweekly.com. I wasn't really looking for it but happened to see a bunch of copies at my local grocery store so I picked one up. It's undated and I'm realizing from a list of upcoming events that all take place in late November that it either got here a month late or they're encountering some other problems.
In any case, despite a troubled start and a shady past, the publication itself looks like a winning concept.
Hip Hop Weekly is first in the weekly hip hop tabloid niche. That may not be the best way of saying it but the height, width and cover layout give it a People magazine look on decent quality newsprint. The colors look good enough, the layout is nice and clean and the ads from leading advertisers are present but not overwhelming. It's priced at $3.99 and I assume costs a lot less to physically produce than glossy mags with similar pricing.
The cover is quite close to an early spoof with a main photo and three photos in a side column. What that means is that Hip Hop Weekly doesn't have to deal with the ongoing problem for monthly magazines of who to feature to get the best sales. They've got multiple options and opportunities to attract attention. Also, since they'll be coming out weekly, each issue will have a fresher look than the monthlies after they've been out for a week or two.
Overall I'm impressed by the mix of topics and the emphasis on short pieces. It takes the parts of magazines that are similar to websites, high on graphics and short on text, and expands them to fill a publication. And that works because, sadly, the audience for in-depth magazine writing seems to be dwindling as the claims on people's attention keep growing.
In this issue I found out that the actor Michael Williams is creating hip hop as Omar, the character in The Wire. That was a new one on me that I would have expected to hear about via other hip hop bloggers but, then again, I'm not keeping up like I used to.
I can't help but note the obnoxious two page ad for Boost Mobile with the young black man in a hot tub looking up to heaven wondering how he got lucky enough to have two white women in his arms and a black woman in reserve. But that's no slam on Hip Hop Weekly since I've seen it in a number of other magazines.
ProHipHop gives the Hip Hop Weekly product a big thumbs up and hopes that positive news will prevail for a publication that should do quite well with its current approach.
Scratch magazine is being relaunched next year as XXL Presents: Scratch. XXL's Elliott Wilson takes over as Editorial Director and has appointed Brendan Frederick, former XXL Senior Editor, Online, the new Editor-In-Chief.
Thanks to Lynne d Johnson for the tip.
Nah Right has the December XXL cover with Jay-Z: Presidential MC.
Have you noticed that these days whenever Jay-Z shows up in any outfit that could be described as street, he looks like he's wearing a costume?
The cover mentions a "History of Cocaine Rap".
Wonder where they got that idea?
In what's now a footnote to the Hip Hop Weekly story, they are not buying the domain hiphopweekly.com and the folks at Hiphopdirectory.com are moving on.
Seriously. Has anyone put their hands on a copy?
Or did they miss their launch date?
So Hip Hop Weekly's the big joke with multiple punchlines until it drops and then an eerie silence pervades?
Has anyone actually checked out a physical copy of Hip Hop Weekly?
I'm assuming it's out there and the reality is that a lot of folks don't really care about the product itself, just the enjoyable build-up.
Somebody clue me in since I obviously don't know what's up.
By the way, here's the latest over at the hiphopweekly.com site which has yet to change hands:
10/17/2006 Update: Their will be a slight delay in the announcement planned for today. However, due to various events, we have decided to hold out on any announcements. Please feel free to check back later for further details.
"Various events" sounds like a good phrase to cover the rich variety of outcomes that could occur when doing business with Dave Mays and Benzino.
Update:
Looks like Hip Hop Weekly ditched hiphopweekly.com for the far less viable hip-hopweekly.com, assuming we're not still in parody territory, I honestly can't tell.
But, taking this at face value, if I owned hiphopweekly.com, I would immediately put some high dollar intrusive advertising all over it plus some links to whatever seems appropriate because hiphopweekly.com will be the default in people's minds if the publication goes anywhere and folks try just typing in the obvious domain. I would also leave the heading Hip Hop Weekly to take advantage of current search engine equity for the domain.
I think that would be a fitting opportunistic move given what I'm guessing are the circumstances. But I'm just guessing.
Hey, would this qualify as one of those "various events"?
Special thanks to Eskay for the tip on hip-hopweekly.com's existence.
By the way, seriously, I've got weeklyhiphop.com registered. You can get it directly from me now and avoid the upcoming inflation of value during ProHipHop's Hip Hop Domain Auction, or you can wait and keep wishing you were a media mogul like me [lol].
Hit me up: clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com
I'm a bit behind on the news so I don't know if any confirmation that Mimi Valdes has already left Hip Hop Weekly have come out in anything other than rumor form but Eskay leads us to a downloadable copy of what purports to be the masthead, table of contents and Founders letter from the debut issue of Hip Hop Weekly.
It's supposed to be out today, so I'm sure we'll be seeing coverage soon.
So, what do you think, should I go ahead and start a Hip Hop Weekly section now or should I wait for some real drama?
Update 1:
After checking for more news coverage, I realized that the primary coverage about Mimi leaving was on hip hop news sites and appears to have been built on blogger posts (based on emphasis and on timing) or on news items already built on blogger posts with absolutely no credit given or additional sources cited. But that's not so new, especially given that we know what hip hop media thinks about us.
Update 2:
Over at hiphopweekly.com, a site that Hip Hop Weekly was supposed to be acquiring, I see that as of October 10th the situation was still unresolved, with another party attempting to enter negotations, and as of October 11th a "huge announcement" was planned for October 17th though "hopefully everything is still good."
So no deal yet on the website/domain from what I'm reading.
Anybody see this thing on the newsstands yet?
Jim Cooke has a fun design spoof for the premier issue of Hip Hop Weekly.
Via Nah Right
Speaking of which, guess who just bought the weeklyhiphop.com domain?
Hit me up at clyde(at)prohiphop(dot)com with outrageous offers or to get news of my upcoming hip hop domain auction!
For an earlier spoof design:
Source 2.0: Dave Mays, Benzino, Mimi Valdes, Wendy Williams,
Star & Buc Wild To Bring You Hip Hop Weekly!!!
Lynne d Johnson takes a close look at both the redesign for Honey magazine's website and the publication's ownership.
Except for the flash intro, which is such a horrid tradition to continue, the site looks great, though I'll have to admit that I was disappointed that the main photo of the Baby Phat runway show didn't lead anywhere.
Check Lynne's post for more business-like observations.
Rhyme & Reason [Street Edition], a "monthly Hip-Hop/R&B publication", launches in Australia with a related blog where you can download the free .PDF edition.
Again, we see the .PDF in action for free digital editions of a magazine.
According to Vibe Confidential writer Hashim, Hip Hop Weekly is already losing their top folks:
Weeks before the first issue is supposed to drop, we hear that many key members of the staff have left the new operation, including the Editor-In-Chief, Mimi Valdés.
Assuming this insider news is correct, and it sounds rather likely, that's obviously a very bad sign, but it's even worse based on recent comments from Mimi Valdez who described the staff as "fairly small" with plans to draw on freelance writers.
I think she also said something about having equity in the Advertising Age article previously discussed but I don't have a copy of that and I'm not a subscriber.
In any case, that didn't take long!
I was serious when I said this was a light week but I couldn't let the day go by without pointing you to this quite interesting interview by Slav Kandyba with Mimi, Dave and Benzino from Hip Hop Weekly.
Some quick high points:
Mimi clarifies that, "It’s not a tabloid."
[The assumption that Hip Hop Weekly would be a tabloid arose from possibly mistaken impressions brought on by the circulation of what is probably a fake mockup of Hip Hop Weekly that someone put together after finding the logo through the U.S. trademarks offices.]
Benzino name checks BitterVibes.com but it's the wrong address if he's referring to the blog bittervibes.
[Hey, me too!]
Mimi says the weekly magazine was Benzino's idea.
[No comment.]
Slav Kandyba name checks ProHipHop in a question!
[Two firsts - ProHipHop is mentioned at AllHipHop and, better yet, an actual reporter (Slav's more than just an occasional contributor to AllHipHop) uses a notion raised at ProHipHop in an investigative manner. I'll take more of both, please.]
Benzino name checks BitterVibes.com but it's the wrong address if he's referring to the blog bittervibes.
On a related note, bittervibes points out that monthly "hip-hop magazines don't have sh*t to talk about so what in the hell is a weekly going to say?"
Ok, I'm out.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Source 2.0: Dave Mays, Benzino, Mimi Valdes, Wendy Williams, Star & Buc Wild To Bring You Hip Hop Weekly!!!
Basement Elevation Magazine out of Rhode Island started out as a .pdf or e-magazine and is now releasing its first print edition this month.
I downloaded the October issue via their home page and it's worth a look but I'm a little surprised to see their October model simply labeled "Asian Beauty".
Learn her name, dog. Women like that kind of thing.
File this one under the category of totally belated news that's still worth mentioning. Back in July, Lynne d Johnson left her position as General Manager, New Media for Vibe.com and took a position as senior editor of the the FastCompany.com website.
Congratulations and best of luck!
Previously Rumored Cover Of Hip Hop Weekly Via Allhiphop.com
Former Source overseers Dave Mays and Benzino will be reunited in hell in a new publishing endeavor with former Vibe Editor-in-chief Mimi Valdes entitled Hip Hop Weekly [or Hip-Hop] that's due on newsstands October 16th.
It's a celebrity thing:
Valdes, exec VP and editor in chief at Hip Hop Weekly, said the magazine will try to get in on the celebrity-weekly action, particularly through columns by radio vets Wendy Williams and Star & Buc Wild, but won't leave it at that...
"The rest of the magazine is really about trying to offer some insight, reflection and criticism on hip-hop as it influences everything," she said. "It's not like we only look at hip-hop. We watch TV like everyone else, we go to the movies, but when you hear our discussions of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' they're probably a lot different than other conversations you hear."
Man, I bet those discussions of Pirates of the Caribbean will be fascinating!
Hip Hop Weekly will be priced initially at $2.99 then at $3.99. It is said to be a property of Hip Hop Global Media.
Currently hiphopweekly.com, a domain apparently owned by the folks at HIPHOPDIRECTORY.COM, has the following message:
9/15/2006 Update: We are now in the final stages of transferring this domain name and it's entity to Mr. Mays, the founder of The Source Magazine...
In closing, we are comfortable with the vision that David Mays has for this entity and we strongly feel that with what overall has been accomplished by David in creating The Source Magazine we feel that any and all worthy men should be given a chance to reinvent themselves.
I like that, a "chance to reinvent themselves."
Looks like the rumors were true. I think this is a great idea, for them as business people, if not for hip hop per se. My only question is on hearing the $2.99 to $3.99 cover price, otherwise I would expect this to be a huge hit, especially if someone responsible keeps an eye on the checkbooks.
Initial news via Miraflor.
Update:
At some point rumor had it that the Hip Hop Weekly name was trademarked by the owners of the hiphopweekly.com domain. I'm not sure about the details but according to the trademark registration for Hip Hop Weekly, it was filed on April 26, 2006 by Hip Hop Global Media of New Jersey.
Update 2:
Here's the press release.
Related ProHipHop Coverage:
Slav Kandyba Interviews Mimi, Dave & Benzino From Hip Hop Weekly
I wasn't going to post today, since I posted Friday and Monday's a major holiday, but the news about the firings at The Village Voice caught my eye. So I'm going to post today, since I have some other material ready to go, and leave Monday up for grabs.
A lot of things will be said in the music media scene about the firing of Robert Christgau, who is considered a big deal, in case you haven't heard of him. I don't think he wrote much about hip hop but, then again, I've never followed his work.
But he is considered somewhat of an icon among old school music media types and his firing is fairly symbolic of the fact that commercially profitable content can be had for much cheaper than whatever he and the other editors fired were getting. Other people are or will be writing much deeper pieces that will put Christgau's firing in historical perspective and I'm sure you'll find them if you're interested.
To be perfectly frank, I'm actually writing this because dance critic Elizabeth Zimmer was also fired. I hate Elizabeth Zimmer but to say more would be to write about my dance career and the dynamics of that strange industry and that's not happening at the moment.
Let's just say, I've got a big smile on my face right now!
Sorry Robert, but if the approach that took you out also took out Zimmer, then it's an overall positive from my perspective, especially since The Village Voice hasn't meant much to me in a very long time.
Tuesday brings the debut of the larger format Spin magazine that "will allow for larger photo displays and a more dramatic presence on the newsstand" and, hopefully, attract more advertisers.
According to Matthew Flamm, Spin launched in 1985 at 10-in. x 12-in., the same size as Rolling Stone (which went through various newsprint incarnations back in the day). By the late 90s, it was brought down to 8-in. x 10-in. and on August 22nd will be unveiled at 9-in. x 11-in. Whoo hoo!
Spin has faced a drop in advertising revenue:
Ad pages were down 17% through July, according to Publishers Information Bureau. The magazine recently lowered its rate base, which is the circulation guaranteed to advertisers, 18%, to 450,000 copies.
In addition to upping the size of the magazine, Spin "will now cover hip-hop as well as rock -- much as it did in the old days".
Look for a music player in the near future at Spin's website.
Miraflor alerts us to the existence of the Olive Software edition of Business 2.0 magazine.
I'll have to say that I'm digging the digital magazine readers more and more as they've improved over time. I appreciate free .PDF editions but the Olive Software reader is a decent experience. So far I find myself looking at the ads about as much as I do with any magazine, quite a bit, actually.
But I still have to go to the online version of an article I wish to quote, British Telecom, back on the offensive:
BT would remake itself based on the latest evolution in Web technologies, building a single Internet protocol network to handle all of a customer's needs: voice, data, e-mail, movies, everything. It would create-and let customers, from a single individual to giant corporations, create-a menu of services and capabilities tailored to the Web 2.0 era of mashups, remixes, and user-generated content. . .
For instance, a kid in London with BT service could become his own music label on the cheap by uploading his favorite mashups to a BT data center; BT provides digital rights protection, storage, and billing software. Most other telecoms aren't providing that right now; the kid would have to sell through iTunes or Rhapsody, which is almost impossible for a low-budget solo practitioner.
More impressive is what the network can do for big corporations. For example, say that Accenture wanted to roll out applications for financial services to all of its hundreds of global locations. That remains maddeningly hard to do today because the data must travel through poorly coordinated networks controlled by different companies in different countries; BT's network software is meant to dramatically ease the problem.
I appreciate the idea of being able to scale such a service from the needs of individuals to the needs of large corporations and hope that the individuals continue to be treated well since I find the "kid in London" scenario much more exciting than the "financial services" scenario.
I guess if BT adds advertising services at all levels they'd have one big closed shop.
Though other music magazines have offered free individual issues, Elemental Magazine says they're changing the game and offering all future editions free in PDF form. This move has a lot of significance for both publishers and advertisers as well as readers and I'm sure a variety of folks will be watching to see how it goes.
Describing the move as "Elemental's Industry Shakedown", the press release is as much manifesto as announcement suggesting that being an early mover in this space has benefits beyond simple survival and extra media coverage:
Elemental will still be available in stores nationwide, but with the takeover of digital magazines it's time to give our loyal readers a choice. You can still pay $3.95 if you want a paper magazine. Why are we risking losing so much money? Because Ele
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