By CultureBanx Team
- Percy Miller is disrupting the standard media distribution models
- African American’s own 5% of the production budget in Hollywood
African American audiences heavily rely on black media to disseminate relevant information that’s culturally viable, and therefore deemed credible. Fortunately, former rapper and CEO of No Limit Records, turned business mogul, Percy Miller has been creating media content for decades to serve this demographic, while helping to put money back into the community. Black media ownership is not only the strongest way to control the content being pumped into this group, it’s also a way to build wealth for the next generation.
Why This Matters: Ethnic media shouldn’t be seen as niche or an accompaniment to mainstream media. It’s a necessary mainstay for cultural connectivity, especially when you factor in that African Americans spend more than $600 billion every year. Miller happens to be a master at marketing through non-traditional routes. This has proven to be fruitful not only in music, but also as he disrupts the standard media distribution models. He noted that “production is where the real money is” and he’s produced more than 25 movies and TV shows. No Limit Films, Miller’s production company has been producing movies to serve minority audiences since the 1990s that have routinely sold millions of copies. He’s continued this media success, even though African American’s only own 5% of the production budget in Hollywood.
“We have to own our own stories and content because a lot gets lost when someone not from our community is making content that they think we want to see, Miller said.” There’s a lot of truth to that and it’s a hard uphill battle to overcome, especially with so few black owned media companies.
Miller’s most recent success “I Got The Hook Up 2” was the number one urban comedy in the U.S. Its limited release brought in $4,028 per screen and was financed by Miller, along with his son Romeo Miller. The film reached iTunes and Amazon’s (AMZN -0.70%) top 10 list. Success like this easily proves that African American and Latino movies are in demand.
What’s Next: Owning the future of Black media means developing a loyal following, providing programming that resonates with the Black viewers through critical acclaim and cultural representation. For Miller this also includes creating content that reflects his personal beliefs, with “God is Real” as the first faith based film he’s producing. “God is Real”. This genre of movies is quickly on the upswing and has amassed $520 million in the past five years.
So sit back and click play on what you really want to see, more media content that’s made for us, by us.
CBx Vibe: “F.U.B.U.” Solange
