[Countdown to 2042] The Internet on the Future of the Music Industry

December 3, 2013·Marketing·by MMXLLI·30 views

2042 (MMXLII pronounced MIXLY) is the estimated year where there will be no single ethnic majority in the United States. In this episode of Countdown to 2042, MIXLY takes you to Syd the Kyd’s Chateau Marie Studios in Hollywood, where The Internet are rehearsing for their performance at Odd Future Carnival. Follow along as Matt Martians and Syd the Kyd give us their perspective on diversity and what the music industry will be like in the year 2042.

 

If you liked this video and want to see more like it, check out our YouTube page, where we have other great Countdown to 2042 videos with Casey Veggies and Adrian Younge.

What Pepsi Discovered by Monitoring Millennials During the VMAs

November 26, 2013·Entertainment·by MMXLLI·64 views

During the VMAs, Facebook was the most popular social media brand, accounting for 41 percent of consumer usage, followed by Twitter with 32 percent.

As a brand that has long had event sponsorship at the heart of its marketing formula, Pepsi sought a more scientific way to study the correlation between TV viewing and second-screen usage during live programming.

So using research methods such as biometrics, the brand looked at consumer behavior during the MTV Video Music Awards telecast this past August—the top-rated entertainment program on cable among viewers aged 12-34 this year, and the most social non-sports TV event.

What emerged were some surprising differences in media usage among millennials. During pivotal moments of the show—like Miley Cyrus’ twerk-tastic duet with Robin Thicke (which generated a record 360,000 tweets per minute)—consumers 18-26 immediately shifted from TV viewing to second screens. Meanwhile, those aged 27-34 stayed with the telecast, waiting to engage in social conversations.

“The younger group already had their hands ready and immediately went to social media to start talking,” said Chad Stubbs, senior director of marketing at PepsiCo.

“The show ebbed and flowed, and a key thing we learned was having a brand message throughout the show was important,” he added. “In the past, maybe we said we would need a big part at the beginning or the end.”

Carolyn Kim, associate director of business intelligence at Pepsi agency OMD, pointed out that while there is not a wide disparity of ages among the millennial set, continual advances in technology have led to behavioral differences among those consumers.

Consider this: When email became widely available in 1993, older millennials were 11 years old—but younger millennials were just 2 years old. “Those younger viewers really grew up more with technology as an ordinary part of their everyday lives,” Kim said.

During the VMAs, Facebook was the most popular social media brand, accounting for 41 percent of consumer usage, followed by Twitter with 32 percent. And while Cyrus’ antics burned up Twitter, performances by Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry had fans taking to Facebook to discuss.

“We know live TV is a place we need to be—it’s still incredible appointment viewing,” he said. “But it’s not enough for an advertiser to show up with a beautiful ad and wait for everyone to come to it.” - Chad Stubbs, senior director of marketing at PepsiCo

Stubbs said he thinks there was a good balance between the brand’s TV and online investment during the VMAs. But he would consider devoting more resources to monitoring social activity. He imagines a focus group that might include a comic, an industry insider, and key millennials and influencers in order to explore ways that the brand might respond to ultimate fans. “We know live TV is a place we need to be—it’s still incredible appointment viewing,” he said. “But it’s not enough for an advertiser to show up with a beautiful ad and wait for everyone to come to it.”

[SOURCE]

How Not To Be Offensive At The AMAs

November 25, 2013·Entertainment·by MMXLLI·75 views

 

Ladies and gentlemen, Katy Perry brings back orientalism, and the crowd goes wild!

Before you shout that liberal scumbags are ruining this country with political correctness when Ms. Perry is just trying to enjoy another culture, take note: This isn’t even a very accurate representation of a geisha performance. Her dress is a haphazard mash-up of a traditional Japanese kimono and a Chinese qipao, and it’s the latter’s influence that accounts for the thigh-high slits and knot button at the neck. Nor, are we aware of any traditional kimono that features such a prominent, conveniently placed chest cutout. So, that “culture” she is paying homage to with her costume for a song that has nothing to do with anything Japanese? It’s just “oriental,” because, as we all know, Asia is one big, exotic place that is not made up of many entirely different groups (word up to our Edward Said readers, here).

Another question we would ask is this: Why? Why was this necessary? What did it add to Perry’s performance? There is zero connection between the subject matter of the song and her costume. The only possible logic here is the deeply flawed argument that geishas love their clients unconditionally. That doesn’t make sense for two reasons: One is that geishas are not necessarily prostitutes, something that has long been misunderstood by Westerners (you can read all about it on Wikipedia, naturally). The other is that even if they were prostitutes, they would be loving their clients on the condition that they are paid to do so.

There will be many arguments made about why this is or is not offensive. We personally find it lazy, unnecessary, and entirely dated. You’re not required to agree; though, we do hope you will seriously consider the issue at hand and the problematic manner in which Perry’s performance uses an ill-formed, WWII-era idea of “the East” as a prop — much like Miley Cyrus employed twerking and black backup dancers for her lambasted VMAs show.

However, if we are going to talk about potentially offensive happenings at the AMAs, we will humbly argue that this is the focal point for that discussion, not Gaga’s kinda-sorta-JFK reference.

[SOURCE]

TDE CEO Attacks GQ Story on Kendrick Lamar as Having “Racial Overtones”

November 19, 2013·Business·by MMXLLI·62 views

The CEO of TDE—the label home of superstar rapper Kendrick Lamar—Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, has released a statement regarding the apparently indelicate matter of Kendrick Lamar‘s recent GQ Man of the Year issue cover story. Short version: He’s not happy. At all.

While Tiffith noted that he and the Compton rapper are honored by the nod, he claims the Steve Marsh-penned article incorrectly displays who and what their company stands for. He even goes as far as to say that there are “racial overtones” within the story, and went so far as to have pulled Kendrick Lamar from performing at GQ’s November 12 ‘Man of the Year’ party.

The release:

In 2004, I founded Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) with the goal of providing a home for west coast artists and a platform for these artists to express themselves freely and to give their music to the world. From our beginning in 2005 with Jay Rock, to developing Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul, to most recently singing Isaiah Rashad and SZA. We, as TDE, have always prided ourselves in doing everything with heart, honor, and respect.

This week, Kendrick Lamar was named one of GQ’s 2013 Men Of The Year, an honor that should have been celebrated as a milestone in his career and for the company.

Instead, the story, written by Steve Marsh, put myself and my company in a negative light. Marsh’s story was more focused on what most people would see as drama or bs. To say he was “surprised at our discipline” is completely disrespectful. Instead of putting emphasis on the good that TDE has done for west coast music, and for hip hop as a whole, he spoke on what most people would consider whats wrong with Hip Hop music. Furthermore, Kendrick deserved to be accurately documented. The racial overtones, immediately reminded everyone of a time in hip-hop that was destroyed by violence, resulting in the loss of two of our biggest stars. We would expect more from a publication with the stature and reputation that GQ has. As a result of this misrepresentation, I pulled Kendrick from his performance at GQ’s annual Man Of The Year party Tuesday, November 12th.

While we think it’s a tremendous honor to be named as one of the Men Of The Year, these lazy comparisons and offensive suggestions are something we won’t tolerate. Our reputation, work ethic, and product is something that we guard with our lives.

Steve Marsh and editors for GQ did not immediately respond to a request for comment; neither did a publicity contact for the magazine. We’ll update here if they do.

UPDATE: GQ‘s editor-in-chief Jim Nelson has released the following statement in response to Top Dawg’s decision to pull Kendrick Lamar from his performance at the Man Of The Year party:

“Kendrick Lamar is one of the most talented new musicians to arrive on the scene in years. That’s the reason we chose to celebrate him, wrote an incredibly positive article declaring him the next King of Rap, and gave him our highest honor: putting him on the cover of our Men of the Year issue. I’m not sure how you can spin that into a bad thing, and I encourage anyone interested to read the story and see for themselves. We were mystified and sorely disappointed by Top Dawg’s decision to pull him at the last minute from the performance he had promised to give. The real shame is that people were deprived of the joy of seeing Kendrick perform live. I’m still a huge fan.”

[Source]

Hip Hop Abroad: Afghan Rap Group Rallies for Women’s Rights

November 12, 2013·1/2 on a baby·by MMXLLI·46 views

Hip hop just got a lot more diverse.

An Afghan woman rapping about gender inequality alongside her fiancé is far from the norm in Afghanistan. Yet, despite the inevitable backlash, one of the first female rappers in the country continues to perform under the stage name Paradise. In fact, the nation’s unstable political climate makes Paradise and her rap group, 143Band, all the more determined to expose violence and discrimination against women through music.

Amid many years of war and political instability in Afghanistan, women and civilians continue to face violence from armed opposition groups, according to Amnesty International’s 2013 report on human rights. The impending withdrawal of NATO coalition troops in 2014 will likely further challenge President Hamid Karzai’s government in providing security for civilians and improving the status of women.

“YouTube and Facebook  have helped 143Band a lot more than the media in Afghanistan,” Paradise and Diverse wrote in an email to Mashable.

Paradise formed 143Band with her fiancé, who goes by the name Diverse, in 2008. Since 2010 the two have maintained an active Facebook fan page and YouTube channel.

Read the full article on Mashable.

Syd the Kyd on How She Fooled the Fader for Odd Future’s Big Break

November 8, 2013·Business·by MMXLLI·62 views

The phrase “Fake it ’til you make it” has proven to be a very successful strategy for music acts in the digital age. As the MMXLII crew recently found it, this adage was especially useful for one of the biggest breakout groups of the decade: Odd Future. Watch Syd the Kyd of The Internet and Odd Future explain how she fooled the Fader into giving Odd Future their first big break by setting up a fake marketing company.

Get the Internet’s new album “Feel Good” now on iTunes. And if you’re in Los Angeles this weekend, stop by OF’s OFWGKTA Carnival taking place this weekend.

Subscribe for more from our interview with The Internet.

21 Asian American Musicians You Need To Get Behind Right Now

October 29, 2013·International·by MMXLLI·62 views

“Growing up Asian American, it was hard to relate with pop culture—I watched The Simpsons and Spongebob to see yellow faces.”

CHOPS, a prominent producer behind the sounds of Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Talib Kweli, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to put talented Asian American musicians on the mainstream map.

Once a musician himself (as part of Mountain Brothers, the first Asian American act to be signed to a major label), Chops identifies with “artists today who go through many of the things my group did, overcoming the same obstacles, same struggles, pushing forward, and going beyond.”

Here is just a small sampling of dope acts he believes you need to be paying attention to:

9. DJ Neil Armstrong

Who: Hip Hop Deejay
Reppin’: NYC
CHOPS says: Respected mixtape, club, and show DJ, Neil has toured and performed with numerous big artists including Jay-Z. Check out a day in the life.

10. Hopie

Who: Rapper
Reppin’: San Francisco
CHOPS says: Creative and quirky flow with a mix of cool, fire, and book-smarts (she has a law degree!). Listen here.

Check out the complete list at BuzzFeed

Meet the TV host says it’s okay for white people to use the n-word

October 21, 2013·Entertainment·by MMXLLI·72 views

“Until we stop using the word ‘n*gga’ we can’t get mad at nobody else for using it” – Charlamagne

The debate about whether or not its okay for white people to use the “n” word because black people use it continues. This time  famed radio and television host Charlamagne tha God, chimes in with his surprising thoughts on the “n” word and who can say it freely.

Watch as Charlamagne shares his thoughts on all races using the n-word, revealing that until black people stop using the term then he believes everyone should be able to say it. He also shares which celebrity families he believes are “n*ggas,” including the Kardashians.

Do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.

MIXLY Roundup

October 18, 2013·Business·by MMXLLI·70 views

Was Jimmy Kimmel intentionally trying to humiliate Kanye West by treating him, literally, as a boy, a slur that still holds a lot of power in the black community?

It was a seemingly harmless viral video that captured the attention of twitter for days. But many people are now calling Jimmy Kimmel’s Kanye West spoof racist. Cord Jefferson of Gawker explores the racial undertones of Jimmy Kimmel’s recent spoof of Kanye West’s “erratic” BBC interview. Read the full article here.

A musical tribute to Chinese Food goes viral

In just 4 days Alison Gold’s “Chinese Food” music video has garnered more than 7 million views. Chock full of cultural insensitivity, you can watch Gold’s ode to her love of Chinese Food here.

Vogue interviews Compton’s youngest mayor

Meet Aja Brown, who at the age of 31, is the city of Compton’s youngest mayor. Vogue sat down with the history maker last month for an interview on how she plans to transform the city.

Media tends to portray Black women negatively, Essence study says

By and large, black women are portrayed negatively in media, respondents to a survey told Essence.The study gave names to stereotypes respondents say they saw repeatedly, including “Baby Mamas,” “Gold Diggers,” “Angry Black Women” and “Black Barbies.” Positive images weren’t seen as much, the magazine reports. As seen on Poynter.org

Hip Hop Remixes Science

October 8, 2013·Art·by MMXLLI·73 views

You’re invited inside Bronx Compass High School to witness the first day of Science Genius, a revolutionary pilot program which uses hip hop culture to teach science.

Guided by hip hop educator Dr. Chris Emdin and his team, these ninth grader write raps based on their current science lesson. Will the marriage between hip hop and science be a success? Find out!

PRODIGIES is a bi-weekly series showcasing the youngest and brightest as they challenge themselves to reach new heights and the stories behind them.

Created and produced by @radical.media, THNKR gives you extraordinary access to the people, stories, places and thinking that will change your mind.

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