(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)
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GloRilla and Hitkidd recording at 4U Memphis
From left: Deborah Mannis-Gardner, Prince Paul, David Porter, and Kat MacLean Daley
Doug E. Fresh and David Porter
From left: Tyler Battles (Chief Engineer, 4U Recording Memphis), D'era Shack (Studio Assistant, 4U Recording Memphis), Kyle Javello (Recording Engineer, 4U Recording Memphis), and Ramone Taylor (Recording Engineer, 4U Recording Memphis)
I am proud of the visibility we gained as well as the continued dedication of our passionate staff...I am looking forward to seeing all that the team accomplishes in 2024.” - Tony D. Alexander, Made In Memphis EntertainmentMEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES, January 29, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME), a full-service entertainment group that includes 4U Recording, Beatroot Music, Heavy Hitters Music, and MIME Publishing, continued to grow throughout 2023 with new partnerships, awards, speaking engagements across the industry, and more.
To kick off the year, "F.N.F. (Let's Go)" by GloRilla and Hitkidd, which was recorded at 4U Recording Memphis and engineered by 4U's Kyle Javello, was nominated for Best Rap Performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards. GloRilla was also invited to perform the song as part of the show's 50th anniversary Hip-Hop Tribute performance, alongside legends including Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Rahim & Scorpio, Ice-T, Lil Wayne, Swizz Beatz & The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Scarface, Black Thought, Questlove, LL Cool J, and Too $hort.
In March 2023, Beatroot announced a new integration with RoyFi, a company working to solve the problem of access to money for musicians, producers, and songwriters. After analyzing the royalties generated by tracks on streaming services, RoyFi offers qualified artists an advance funding amount that can be used to build their career while maintaining 100% ownership and control of their rights. All Beatroot artists who utilized the service in 2023 had their advances recouped fully.
Beatroot distributed over 500 releases and over 1500 tracks in 2023 and exceeded 750 million streams for the year across the entire Beatroot roster. In addition, the team achieved more than 120 DSP-controlled playlist placements for Beatroot artists. Just a few of the most notable Beatroot releases included“Deux” by Elijah Blake and Jordin Sparks,“Clap For Me” by Kolyon,“Kanye (808s and Heartbreak)” by Ted Park, Testament by Cormega, and Club Soda Vol. 3 by Cookiee Kawaii.
Music Biz 2023 brought several representatives of the MIME team to Nashville in May to speak on various panels. Since MIME was the first recipient of the Agent of Change Bizzy Award in 2022, MIME President and Managing Director Tony D. Alexander had the pleasure of interviewing several of the 2023 nominees, including Tiffany Provenzano (mTheory/Equal Access), Andrea De Loney (WMG), and Precious Perez of eventual winner RAMPD.
MIME CEO David Porter also spoke with Deborah Mannis-Gardner of DMG Clearances, Inc.; Kat MacLean Daley, then of UMPG and now VP & Head of Publishing at Death Row Records; and producer Prince Paul for "The Art of Sampling: How Music's Past Fuels Its Future."
June was New York Music Month, with MIME participating in the AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit (GMPS) and A2IM Indie Week in New York City. Alexander represented the AIMP Atlanta Chapter, where he serves as President, during the GMPS and presented the welcome session to attendees alongside the other Chapter Presidents. Porter later spoke with iconic rapper and producer Doug E. Fresh to close out the day for the Creative Keynote.
While in NYC, Porter also recorded an episode of the Questlove Supreme podcast with Questlove as part of their celebration of Black Music Appreciation Month. The episode aired on June 21, 2023 and can be listened to in full here .
In July, Heavy Hitters signed a two-year worldwide sync and publishing deal with Denver-based record label Perception Records. Under the deal, Heavy Hitters is providing admin services for the Perception Records catalog, managing the label's rights in the marketplace and ensuring all royalties are collected. Heavy Hitters is also pitching the catalog for sync placements in film, TV, advertising, games, and trailers.
Heavy Hitters also scored some major sync placements throughout 2023. Some of the top placements included“Hold On I'm Coming” by Sam and Dave on Pawn Stars Do America on A&E,“La Di Da Di” by Doug E. Fresh on Firefly Lane on Netflix,“Clap” by Trina featuring Latto on Love & Hip Hop: Miami on VH1, and“Love Me Ole (Latin Remix)” by MAJOR. in a spot for Walmart.
On September 27, MIME honored studio engineer Kyle Javello at 4U Memphis for his work engineering Hitkidd & GloRilla's viral track“F.N.F. (Let's Go),” which received RIAA Gold and Platinum certification plaques for sales of over 500,000 and 1 million copies, respectively, as well as a Grammy Award nomination certificate for the song.
Then on October 16, MIME presented MIME Publishing client Real Red with RIAA Gold and Platinum certification plaques for his work on Moneybagg Yo's breakthrough album A Gangsta's Pain and its singles“Wockesha,”“Time Today,” and“GO! (feat. BIG30),” as well as Kevo Muney's single“Leave Some Day.” Real Red previously received two Most-Performed Song of the Year awards at the 2022 BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Awards for his work on“Time Today” and“Wockesha,” and made the Top 6 of five different Billboard charts for his work on the album, including R&B/Hip-Hop Producers and Rap Producers.
In October, MIME Publishing signed a two-year co-publishing deal with singer-songwriter and pop-soul artist MAJOR. Under the deal, MAJOR. will both create solo works and co-write tracks with other artists and producers with an emphasis on custom tracks for sync licensing. MAJOR. is best known for the iconic love song“Why I Love You,” which was certified Platinum by the RIAA, reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Adult R&B charts, racked up over 149 million views on YouTube, and was praised by Stevie Wonder as the“wedding song for years to come” after its release in 2016. MAJOR. was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance for the song“Honest.” MAJOR. is also an acclaimed actor who has appeared as Rashad in FOX's musical drama Star and as the legendary Curtis Mayfield in National Geographic's Genius, which chronicled the life of Aretha Franklin.
October also brought the MIME team to New Orleans for NOLA MusiCon. Alexander spoke about his experience developing talent in Memphis and beyond on the "Act Local, Think Global: Discovering & Developing Tomorrow's Stars Where They Live" panel. Tim Burnett, VP Business and Publishing Administration for Heavy Hitters, broke down the importance of choosing the right music publisher on the "Publishing 101: What Can a Music Publisher Do for You?" panel. Heavy Hitters' Vince Quintero provided insight into potential new revenue streams for artists on the "Pressing Start on Alternative Sync & Licensing Opportunities" panel. Beatroot's Director of Distribution, Aric Kim, explained how to crack the Spotify code on the "Secret to Landing on Playlists" panel. And Beatroot's Head of Operations and Business Affairs, Steve Corn, discussed best practices for distribution in the DIY era on the "Why You Still Need a Distributor as an Indie Artist" panel.
In November, 4U Recording Atlanta hosted the AIMP Atlanta and Friends | Creative and Business Summit at the studio. This inaugural event was a major success with over 200 attendees coming together from across the U.S. and Canada. Alexander hosted the event's keynote, a conversation with Rap Coalition and PowerMoves founder Wendy Day.
Throughout the year, the internal MIME Amplified speaker series was a major success for the team. As part of MIME's mission to provide continued education and networking to its staff, major players from across the industry spoke to the organization to share their knowledge. 2023 speakers included Rosie Lopez (Co-Founder and CEO of Opus Music Group, former President Tommy Boy Music), Jesus Malverde Gonzalez (VP, Creative – Latin, BMI), and Gina Waters Miller (SVP, MNRK) among many others.
To close out the year in December, the 4U Recording Atlanta studio was honored to receive the Best of Georgia Regional Award for Best Movie and Recording Studio from the Georgia Business Journal. The annual awards honor businesses across a variety of sectors who are chosen and voted on by members of their community across the state of Georgia.
“In 2023 a major focus for MIME was continuing to expand our reach, whether that be via new clients, partnerships, or attending and speaking at events across the globe,” said Alexander.“I am proud of the visibility we gained as well as the continued dedication of our passionate staff. The speaking engagements, awards, and other opportunities we have earned are a testament to our business model and company culture. I am looking forward to seeing all that the team accomplishes in 2024.”
“I am extremely grateful for my continued partnership with Tony and the opportunity to lead MIME throughout all that it has achieved in 2023,” said Porter.“Our 4U Memphis and Atlanta recording studios, Beatroot, MIME Publishing, and Heavy Hitters teams have worked extremely hard all year to surpass their own achievements and continue to write the blueprint for MIME's future. I think I speak for all of us when I say we are looking towards the future with gratitude and excitement.”
About Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME)
Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME) is a Black-owned full-service entertainment group with global reach, but with its heart in the hometown of modern American music. Founded in 2015 by original Stax Records songwriter/producer and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter (CEO) and 20+ year business and legal veteran Tony D. Alexander (President and Managing Director), MIME is dedicated to re-establishing Memphis as a key music industry hub while expanding its influence around the world, all while developing and promoting diverse talent on both the creative and business sides of the industry.
MIME's family of companies includes MIME Publishing, an independent music publishing company that handles Porter's legendary post-Stax songwriting catalog and other copyrights of some of the most sought-after young producers in hip-hop and R&B; Heavy Hitters Music, a film, TV, and ad sync company with an all-female creative team and Emmy-winning music catalog; Beatroot Music, a leading independent music distributor, as well as its subsidiary Beatroot Africa; and 4U Recording, a state-of the-art recording studio brand with locations in Memphis and Atlanta. For more information, visit mimecorp.
Laurie Jakobsen
Jaybird Communications
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