Stunner
05-08-2006, 08:20 PM
NEW YORK (Billboard) - It's no longer just the hardworking women who make money at strip clubs. These late-night hangouts, with their booming sound systems and gender-mixed crowds, have become big business for the record industry, particularly for hip-hop labels.
"Strip clubs have become the main breaking place for records, especially in the South," says Jermaine Dupri, president of urban music for Virgin Records.
The music industry increasingly has embraced the strip club out of necessity and convenience. Tighter radio playlists mean it's harder than ever to break a track on the FM dial, and regular dance clubs -- where songs get played for a moment and then lost in a mix -- tend to play what's already on the radio. At strip joints, DJs are able to play full tracks and can take a chance on underground and unproven material.
Two principal DJ collectives have sprung up that target the strip club circuit -- the Hen House in Detroit and Atlanta-based Hittmenn DJs, a 72-DJ collective established three years ago by Robert "Kaspa" Smith, now president, and CEO Greg Street.
"Right now our DJs reach 32 million people in 29 markets," Smith says.
PART OF THE LIFESTYLE
That's major reach for lifestyle promotions, Interscope urban promotion executive Kevin Black says. "When we work records, we work lifestyle venues like barbershops, beauty shops, skating rinks, bowling alleys -- anything with a culture to it. And strip clubs fall into that category."
"Word-of-mouth is still one of the biggest promotion factors out there," Universal Motown VP of rap promotion Troy Marshall adds. "That has helped turn strip clubs into big business."
Perhaps most important for the record promotion business, plenty of strip clubs break the stereotype of lecherous men in raunchy, smoke-filled haunts. At Sue's Rendezvous in Mount Vernon, New York, for example, DJ Carl Blaze of New York's top-rated R&B/hip-hop station WWPR (Power 105.1) plays the hits to a smartly dressed crowd. And while women -- ones not on poles -- are a minority, there are still plenty of them.
"It's just another night out for us," one young woman at Sue's told Billboard. "Great music -- and this is where the men are."
Today, strip clubs are one of the fastest-rising segments among entertainment venues. There are more than 7,500 strip clubs across the United States, according to the Strip Club News Web site. Key venues are located in such prime markets as New York (Sue's Rendezvous), Detroit (Platinum), Charlotte, N.C. (Champagne), Miami (Diamonds) and Atlanta (Body Tap, Magic City, Strokers).
Houston's Club Onyx, for example, is an upscale venue established nearly two years ago to tap into what its Web site calls one of the "fastest-growing but underserved demographic segments -- the universe of highly successful and increasingly affluent urban males."
NETWORKING NEXUS
The strip club circuit also is a great place to see and be seen for those in the hip-hop business. Virgin's Dupri, who declares that "strip club airplay is (more influential) than radio airplay in Atlanta," has signed artists as a result of his strip club forays. These include rappers Mannish Man and T. Waters.
"Strip clubs are definitely a good place to meet people, learn things and see what's happening in other people's worlds. I'm probably the only label president there every other week," Dupri says with a laugh.
Record executives love the easy access to quick feedback provided by strip clubs. "You can often gauge how hot your record is by the number of times strippers request the song during a given night," says one major-label promotion executive who requested anonymity.
Among the bounce-friendly, beat-banging R&B/hip-hop hit records that Atlanta's Hittmenn collective has promoted first in the strip clubs are Ciara's "1, 2 Step," Dem Franchize Boyz's "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It," Young Jeezy's "Trap or Die" and D4L's "Laffy Taffy."
"Lil Jon, the Ying Yang Twins and Ludacris are all artists who were helped early on" by strip club exposure, Smith adds. "Now today they are some of the biggest artists in the country."
LOOKING BACK
Urban music's working relationship with strip clubs dates back to the late '80s, when Luther "Luke" Campbell and the 2 Live Crew first gained notice. The dancers who worked with the censorship-threatened performer onstage and in his videos were strip club dancers.
"I didn't have a big budget where I could hire regional people," Campbell recalls. "I had to be creative and use all the different avenues I could think of."
Campbell is in the midst of promoting his first new project in several years: a three-CD boxed set titled "Uncle Luke -- My Life & Freaky Times," due May 16. Once again his promotional strategy includes strip clubs. Campbell is staging an "Are You Ms. Freaky Soul 2006" competition at strip clubs across the country. Prizes include $10,000 in cash, a Rolex watch and the opportunity to tour with Uncle Luke.
And Universal Motown's Marshall is coordinating a promotional strip club tour in June on behalf of "Go Head," a new track by Ali & Gipp. The plan includes visits to venues in 17 cities, including Houston's Onyx.
Source: news.yahoo.com
"Strip clubs have become the main breaking place for records, especially in the South," says Jermaine Dupri, president of urban music for Virgin Records.
The music industry increasingly has embraced the strip club out of necessity and convenience. Tighter radio playlists mean it's harder than ever to break a track on the FM dial, and regular dance clubs -- where songs get played for a moment and then lost in a mix -- tend to play what's already on the radio. At strip joints, DJs are able to play full tracks and can take a chance on underground and unproven material.
Two principal DJ collectives have sprung up that target the strip club circuit -- the Hen House in Detroit and Atlanta-based Hittmenn DJs, a 72-DJ collective established three years ago by Robert "Kaspa" Smith, now president, and CEO Greg Street.
"Right now our DJs reach 32 million people in 29 markets," Smith says.
PART OF THE LIFESTYLE
That's major reach for lifestyle promotions, Interscope urban promotion executive Kevin Black says. "When we work records, we work lifestyle venues like barbershops, beauty shops, skating rinks, bowling alleys -- anything with a culture to it. And strip clubs fall into that category."
"Word-of-mouth is still one of the biggest promotion factors out there," Universal Motown VP of rap promotion Troy Marshall adds. "That has helped turn strip clubs into big business."
Perhaps most important for the record promotion business, plenty of strip clubs break the stereotype of lecherous men in raunchy, smoke-filled haunts. At Sue's Rendezvous in Mount Vernon, New York, for example, DJ Carl Blaze of New York's top-rated R&B/hip-hop station WWPR (Power 105.1) plays the hits to a smartly dressed crowd. And while women -- ones not on poles -- are a minority, there are still plenty of them.
"It's just another night out for us," one young woman at Sue's told Billboard. "Great music -- and this is where the men are."
Today, strip clubs are one of the fastest-rising segments among entertainment venues. There are more than 7,500 strip clubs across the United States, according to the Strip Club News Web site. Key venues are located in such prime markets as New York (Sue's Rendezvous), Detroit (Platinum), Charlotte, N.C. (Champagne), Miami (Diamonds) and Atlanta (Body Tap, Magic City, Strokers).
Houston's Club Onyx, for example, is an upscale venue established nearly two years ago to tap into what its Web site calls one of the "fastest-growing but underserved demographic segments -- the universe of highly successful and increasingly affluent urban males."
NETWORKING NEXUS
The strip club circuit also is a great place to see and be seen for those in the hip-hop business. Virgin's Dupri, who declares that "strip club airplay is (more influential) than radio airplay in Atlanta," has signed artists as a result of his strip club forays. These include rappers Mannish Man and T. Waters.
"Strip clubs are definitely a good place to meet people, learn things and see what's happening in other people's worlds. I'm probably the only label president there every other week," Dupri says with a laugh.
Record executives love the easy access to quick feedback provided by strip clubs. "You can often gauge how hot your record is by the number of times strippers request the song during a given night," says one major-label promotion executive who requested anonymity.
Among the bounce-friendly, beat-banging R&B/hip-hop hit records that Atlanta's Hittmenn collective has promoted first in the strip clubs are Ciara's "1, 2 Step," Dem Franchize Boyz's "Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It," Young Jeezy's "Trap or Die" and D4L's "Laffy Taffy."
"Lil Jon, the Ying Yang Twins and Ludacris are all artists who were helped early on" by strip club exposure, Smith adds. "Now today they are some of the biggest artists in the country."
LOOKING BACK
Urban music's working relationship with strip clubs dates back to the late '80s, when Luther "Luke" Campbell and the 2 Live Crew first gained notice. The dancers who worked with the censorship-threatened performer onstage and in his videos were strip club dancers.
"I didn't have a big budget where I could hire regional people," Campbell recalls. "I had to be creative and use all the different avenues I could think of."
Campbell is in the midst of promoting his first new project in several years: a three-CD boxed set titled "Uncle Luke -- My Life & Freaky Times," due May 16. Once again his promotional strategy includes strip clubs. Campbell is staging an "Are You Ms. Freaky Soul 2006" competition at strip clubs across the country. Prizes include $10,000 in cash, a Rolex watch and the opportunity to tour with Uncle Luke.
And Universal Motown's Marshall is coordinating a promotional strip club tour in June on behalf of "Go Head," a new track by Ali & Gipp. The plan includes visits to venues in 17 cities, including Houston's Onyx.
Source: news.yahoo.com