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The trio behind newly launched Uproxx Studios is counting on digital media’s current shaky outlook to prelude a period of progress.
In April, FYI (Focus Your Ideas) founder and CEO and multi-award-winning global music artist will.i.am, Uproxx Media co-founder and Rawkus Records co-founder Jarret Myer and former CEO of Complex Networks Rich Antoniello announced the formation of Uproxx Studios.
This independent company emerged from the acquisition of Uproxx, HipHopDX, Dime Magazine and additional substantial media assets from Warner Music Group.
“Digital media is panicked. Everything is knee-jerk, so digital media has not worked from a brand, advertising and support perspective. It forces brands and advertisers to choose between scale, authenticity and credibility,” said Antoniello, Uproxx Studios’ partner and executive chairman. “We’re no longer asking advertisers to choose. You have a massive scale and unbelievable, unparalleled brand association and activations on a fandom basis and in a very detailed way. So, you ‘get to have your cake and eat it, too,’ from an advertising perspective and a brand basis.”
Since Antoniello and Myer have long been champions of the global creative community, they plan to work with cultural innovators to reach niche audiences through original editorial and video content.
“Whether it’s drinks, indie rock, hip-hop, travel or whatever, it has to feel like the person lives and breathes this and is the real sort of authority in youth culture when it comes to that vertical,” Myer, CEO of Uproxx Studios, said.
For example, Uproxx Studios signed veteran hip-hop journalist Elliott Wilson as the editorial director for Uproxx, HipHopDX and Dime Magazine.
By having WMG as a partner, Uproxx Studios has the exclusive license for media sales on the label’s YouTube inventory in the U.S. This includes access to a lengthy list of A-list stars, such as Dua Lipa, Kodak Black, Ed Sheeran and many other big names. This, combined with Uproxx Studios’ superfan communities, creates a platform for brands and advertisers to impact music culture.
Through all of its channels, Uproxx Studios reaches more than 170 million U.S. visitors each month and receives over 12 billion monthly video views, the company said.
“Coming from Complex,” said Antoniello, “our heartbeat and entire cartilage between everything we ever did was hip-hop culture. So, what we’re going to do now is even more specific, letting the heartbeat of music inform everything we do from an Uproxx Studios perspective.”
“We’re layering on people like will.i.am, from a technological perspective, who is driving a great deal of the AI (artificial intelligence) strategy for brands like Mercedes-Benz,” Antoniello added. “I almost consider him an artist second and an entrepreneur and visionary first.”
