“One of the reasons the acts we’ve worked with at Def Jam stand tall like buildings years after they were hot is because their foundations were built on honesty. As long as they stay true to themselves, their audience will stay with them and respect them.” – Russell Simmons – “Life and Def: Sex, Drugs, Money, and God” 2001 David Bell, SVP Integrated Marketing & Digital Strategy, Def Jam Recordings.
The year was 1984 when Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin founded Def Jam Recordings in a Columbia University dorm room with one thought in mind – selling records.
Records of course meant “units” – as in vinyl, tapes, cassettes and eventually the new technology, CDs, which for years were the main revenue drivers for the label.
Although critics believe the label has lost some of it’s cultural influence on Hip-Hop, Def Jam is still a major force to be reckoned with in the 21st century.
Now, the Hip-Hop label hopes to modernize its business model with new revenue streams that will allow content creators to monetize their works, without having to sacrifice their copyrights, trademarks or the ownership of the intellectual property they create.
Def Jam is exploring a new partnership with Deerfield, Florida – based business, Playwire, that they believe will help them better monetize the web traffic their artists generate on the Internet via ad sales. The technology will give the artists working with the label the ability to produce, post, and monetize video and other forms of content. The agreement with Playwire could come in handy to monetize unofficial projects, videos and/or other content Def Jam artists produce.
“We’re excited to be working with a platform that is publisher first, and recognizes the power, influence, and global reach of the Def Jam brand,” says David Bell, SVP Integrated Marketing & Digital Strategy, Def Jam Recordings. “Firmly focused on providing new revenue streams, our partnership with Playwire allows us to connect our artists with premium brands through unique digital experiences.”
Def Jam Recordings will utilize Playwire’s video technology platform to turn the DefJam.com website and its artists webpages into a central distribution hub with exclusive content.
“As a publisher first organization, we are determined to provide artists and publishers with technology and services that keeps them in the business of producing great content,” said Jayson Dubin, CEO and Founder of Playwire Media.
Anthony Alexander, Playwire’s Director of Business Development, believes that deeper integration with advertisers will play a key role driving revenues for artists on Def Jam.
These integrations will include social media, product placement, sponsored content, as well as off-line events.
“We are seeing rapid growth in programmatic ad buying and find that many of our ad partners want to align with social influencers to harness the reliability of an actively engaged fan base. We help them develop unique fan experiences to make a connection with a particular consumer target,” Alexander said.
The Def Jam/Playwire deal could prove to be lucrative to artists like Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, The Roots, August Alsina, Jhene Aiko and others, who are on the label and also have artists sites.
“With access models now accounting for almost 30% of total industry revenues, managing the buying and selling of music audiences to advertisers is quickly becoming the future of recorded music revenues,” said Dubin.