American hip-hop record label Def Jam is looking to promote lesser known artists by leveraging the popularity of its iconic artists. It plans a free Central Park performance featuring both types of artists that will be livestreamed worldwide. It will also hold club crawl afterparties where fans can meet artists. A contest will engage fans by giving the winner a recording opportunity. These ideas aim to create communication between artists and between artists and fans to boost recognition for up-and-coming talent. The total budget is estimated at $7.4 million.

1. Ashley Rappoport, Chelsea Eagle, Hilary Kee,
Elijah Clark-Ginsberg, Jayme Pounders

2. Company Background
American Hip-Hop record label owned by
Universal Music Group
1984 - Created by Rick Rubin in his NYU
dorm
Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after
Their first singles were a success, which lead
to a distribution deal with CBS and Columbia
Records
Lyor Cohen became president in 1988
Russell Simmons, and currently L.A. Reid,
are the most recent owners of the company

3. Strengths
Market Conscious
Label recognition
Networking
Ideal location - Manhattan
Great eye for talent and
potential
Exclusive to who they sign;
credibility

4. Weaknesses
Declining record sales
Limited audience; generally only appeals to hip-hop /
R&B fans

5. The Company Hierarchy
Icons (Jay-Z, Mariah
Carey, Kanye West)
Artists with medium-
sized fanbase (Aaron
Fresh, Lady
Sovereign, Curren$y)
Unknown (Ace
Hood, Big Sean,
Natasha)

6. Mixing Hip-Hop From One Artist to the
Next.

7. Building Artist
Recognition
Leveraging the popularity of known artists to build
lesser known ones
Get Def Jam artists’ songs all over NYC radio
stations: Hot 97, Hot 108 Jams, Z-100

8. Threats
Vast amount of record
labels nationwide as
well as direct
competition in the
Manhattan area
Pirated Music/ P2P
File-sharing
Most popular music
among Americans is
Country and Rock

9. Opportunities
Variety of talent to choose from
location is easy to utilize; promising artists all over NYC
Huge hip-hop fan base

10. Mixtape
s
Icons featured in lesser known artists’ songs
Likewise, lesser known artists have guest appearances in
the icons’ music as well
start branding the mixtapes months in advance of release
TV commercials and radio spots

11. Central Park
Performance
Def Jam will host a
mainstage performance
featuring both iconic and
unknown artists.
Mixtape Preview;
premiere a collection of
the songs
Livestreamed worldwide
Goal: Give unknown
artists exposure

12. Spread the Word
TV commercials
NYC DJs at clubs make announcements
Radio Spots
Flyers, signs, etc
Billboards

13. Mixing hip-hop from one fan to the
next.

14. Club Crawl Afterparties
After the Central Park performance and other big
events
First 1,000 concert attendees get pass allowing them
to go to the afterparties
Icons and smaller artists pair up, and go to different
clubs
Fans have the chance to meet the artists and other
fans

15. Getting the Fans
Involved
Contest featured on Def Jam’s facebook page
Winner will have the chance to be Def Jam’s Next Big
Thing
Fans vote on winner
Given the opportunity to record with one of Def Jam’s
major recording artists
Winner and several of his/her friends given special
backstage access at Central Park Performance

16. Mock Flyer / Billboard

17. Why These Ideas Work
Inter-artist communication
Artist to fan communication
Fan-to-fan communication

18. Budget
Central Park Performance: $2.8 million
Production costs: $3 million
10,000 ticket sales @ $20 = $200,000
Promotional Costs: $4.6 million