Just like celebrities re-invent themselves, so do some of the most popular brands. Hip Hop brands are no exception. Rocawear is moving from the urban scene into the mainstream and with Jay-Z at the helm, the brand is positioning itself to make significant moves.

Related articles

• Jay-Z Launches New Rocawear Campaign & Says “We Don’t Envision Ourselves as an Urban Brand” (hiphopwired.com)
• Rocawear Eschews ‘Urban,’ ‘Street’ Reputation (theroot.com)

The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will receive some additional financial support from Discovery Communications with six to twelve months of original programming to offset some of the reruns currently in rotation.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications, says that the company will invest $50 million in OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network to boost its original programming. Twenty-four new shows will premiere in 2011.

Read more at The Root courtesy of Eurweb.

Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse certainly has his concerns. Check out this quote from his recent article on Black Athlete.net:

Most of the media companies (as well as other institutions) in America are owned by people who don’t look like us,and this embarrassing disparity of ownership is all rooted in slavery and Jim Crow, during which African Americans spent 400 years being unable to accumulate wealth or build institutions for our community.

The result is that black stars get paid millions to continue cooning, because that is what is entertaining to the majority population — and unfortunately our children follow their lead. Now Comcast-NBC wants to “allow” us to have some stations, some of which we will be “allowed” to own.

The plan that NBC and Comcast have proposed (given some monopoly concerns as expressed by influential minority media groups) would establish 10 independent networks run by minorities along with $20 million in funding to help new minority media and technology companies get started. What do you think? Will this merger be a positive benefit for black media interests or is this a way to placate our community while programming becomes increasingly less tailored to our needs in favor of entertainment?

Related articles

• Comcast Merger Pledges More Black Owned Networks: Good News? (thehustletownchronicle.com)
• Maxine Waters Blasts Comcast-NBCU Deal (huffingtonpost.com)

Ah, to be rich and famous and black. Better still, to be the kid of the rich and famous and black. So goes the life of Willow Smith whose music-making surprise talent is moving to the big screen as she prepares to play the role of little orphan Annie in a film being developed by a production company owned by her parents and Jay-Z in partnership with Sony Pictures.

I’m not sure this movie could fail if it wanted to. Hustletown film buffs, what do you think?

Related articles

• Jay-Z Officially Teams With Will Smith For Willow Smith-Starring ‘Annie’ Remake (moviesblog.mtv.com)
• Willow Smith to star in remake of ‘Annie’ (ctv.ca)
• Jay-Z Teams Up With Studio For ‘Annie’ Remake Starring Willow Smith (mtv.com)

Mos Def

This past year has shown just how much influence our entertainers are bringing to bear, and how powerful social media can be to the dissemination of ideas.

One example is the relief efforts staged in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January. Entertainers such as Wyclef Jean raised millions in aid money through personal pleas and benefit concerts.

Conversely, entertainers also made headlines by pledging not to perform. In protest of Arizona’s controversial anti-immigrant legislation (known commonly as SB 1070), entertainers such as Mos Def have joined the Sound Strike, a growing boycott against performances in the state.

While entertainers with political aims are certainly nothing new, their ability to direct the masses is certainly stronger than ever before in our nation’s history.

A thousand broadband users nationwide were surveyed. The Horowitz study reported that 48% of Asian American broadband users watch TV content online, 46% of Hispanic Americans, and finally African-American and white broadband users at 35% each.

Some 16% of Asians, 22% of Hispanics and 19% of Black broadband users watch TV content on a handheld device.

So while traditional TV set viewing is still holding strong, usage via handheld devices and online is clearly poising to pull more viewers away, especially as a younger generation accustomed to YouTube and smart phones asserts more buying power. This trend could play a  large role in your marketing efforts in the years to come, and is worth keeping an eye on. Read the full article via Mediapost.com.

Hustletown readers: Do you agree with this report on minority broadband usage? Or is this another example of a small survey blown up to extrapolate biased results? Share your thoughts below!

Apparently, Dr. Farrah Gray’s first publishing project won’t occur without a fair share of controversy. The famous young millionaire worked with Ky-Mani Marley, tenth of Bob Marley’s children, on a memoir that his family doesn’t agree with and that has the author threatening not to promote the book in breach of his contractual agreement. Farrah maintains that he doesn’t understand the change of heart and the publishing company moved forward with the release of the book under a new and provocative title on the anniversary of the elder Marley’s birthday that is certainly fuel for the controversy.

Hustletown Readers, is this a Sound promotional tactic or poor marketing tact? Give it a read and decide for yourself. Thanks to Frost Illustrated for the link.