Simon & Schuster Gives Racist Troll $250K Book Deal: Why Banning Them Makes No Sense

[Troy 2,329]

Milo Yiannopoulos is laughing all the way to the bank.  The interviewer from CNN, despite her faux outrage, is greatly helping this Milo's profile.  CNN is doing this because these interviews generate mucho dinero for their company.  The hypocrisy is sickening.

This is all about money.  Milo is no different than Twitter, CNN, and CNBC. This was the exact same thing that raised Trump's profile. Outrageous statements are profitable. 

Now I appreciate I'm is actually feeding into the frenzy of Milo, but I do this because I know full well I'm not going to make money from this effort because corporations own that market. I just hope to make some points that will help people think about the platforms they use.

Milo Yiannopoulos’s has a book Dangerous coming out in June.  It is already #30 on Amazon--not in some miscellaneous sub-category either.  It is #30 overall!  The book is published by Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

Yesterday I posted a link to AALBC.com about a fascinating book, Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge by Erica Armstrong Dunbar, which is also published by Simon & Schuster.  Someone posted the following in reaction, 

Old time lurkers and posters here will recognize the comment coming from the author Emanuel Carpenter, who used  to post here regularly...but that is another conversation 

The rest of this article has been moved to my blog

 

[Delano 1,066]

Troy oddly enough I totally agree with you. The conservative xenophophism use whatever ism's come to mind is just away to divide people and pick their pockets. It may be on the way out in the next decade.

 

[Troy 2,329]

“It may be on the way out in the next decade.”—@Delano

Is that a prediction? 

Man, 10 years is a very short period of time--less than half the life of this website.  I don't see it changing that quickly.  Since I've been observing media, this effect has only grown in intensity.  This about it, journalist struggle to make a living and some can generate great wealth with fake news.

The market forces are too great for this to change anytime soon. If Simon and Schuster don't publish the book, there are 20 other publishers, with bIg advance checks in hand, lined up hoping for their opportunity to publish Milo's garbage.

[Delano 1,066]

By 2024 it will be a thing of the past @Troy

 

[Delano 1,066]

It is interesting he is conservative and Gay. Unless my Gaydar is off.

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

Why are black folks so weird? We say we're not a monolith but then our first inclination is to boycott. 

Roxane Gay is a published author who chooses not to share the same platform as an alleged white supremacist.   She moves books so she can always take her project to another publisher.  

But we can use our dollars to support  more black authors and get them Big 5 publishing deals.    If we boycott S & S then why not buycott Penguin Random House's black authors & novelists.  In fact, I'm loyal to Penguin since they hired me into their marketing department and other black women and men before it was popular.   I read more black authors from Penguin than any other publisher.

If we pull our dollars from S & S, what would be the incentive of them publishing black literature? We surely don't have the numbers to incentivize the trade book publisher - so instead of boycotting, why not consciously promote and buy from trade book publishers who are responsive to our culture.  

1 hour ago, Delano said:

It is interesting he is conservative and Gay. Unless my Gaydar is off.

I read that he is gay.

[Troy 2,329]

Yes, he came across as gay to me too, but what difference does that make?  Again, let's not confuse being gay with being an opportunistic troll capitalizing off our dysfunctional culture.  I'm sure this guy would diss his own mother on Twitter if there were money in it.

"...why not consciously promote and buy from trade book publishers who are responsive to our culture." Mel that is a goo idea and is exactly what I'm trying to do here.  The challenge is corporations own the media and our minds and our behavior.  Sure I can reach some folks, but Facebook, for example, has become very powerful in control what we consume.  For example, Milo book has gotten a ton of coverage and it is not even out yet, while the Coretta Scott King Awards were announced for 2017 and there was barely a mumbling word. 

Del in 2024 is only 7 years away are you predicting a Trump loss in 2020?  

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

2 minutes ago, Troy said:

let not confuse being gay with being an opportunistic troll capitalizing off our dysfunctional culture.

8 minutes ago, Troy said:

 Sure I can reach some folks, but Facebook, for example, has become very powerful in control what we consume.

Damn shame! I think we can get black minds back - just like Tom Joyner has got our ears... TJMS and BlackAmericaWeb finds a way to promote every black person out there. The key is promoting what we want instead of giving our attention to what we don't want.

[Delano 1,066]

He's down with the alt right. They are not down with homosexuality.

[Troy 2,329]

I dunno Mel. I have always promoted Black American Web and Tom Joyner. In fact, BlackAmericaWeb is a big part of Huria Search.  But if you do a search for aalbc on the BlackAmericaWeb website you come up with nothing.  Nothing* because Blackamericaweb simply ignores AALBC and always have. But AALBC.com is not unique in being ignored, this is the way they operate.  They operate as if they view themselves as "THE Black internet" and other websites are competition. This is not a casual comment I've observed them since they've launched and they have been consistent.

Actually, I was pretty excited about BlackAmericaWeb's.  AALBC.com had been around a few years already and I looked forward to an ally; I was naive.. So @Mel Hopkins,while I'm open to collaborations with the Black-owned, corporate-like entities, I don't have much hope these partnerships will ver be made.

These changes will be initiated from the grassroots.

@Delano, again I think we have to make a distinction between actual racists, who have a belief system and who behave accordingly versus people like Trump or Milo, who will do anything for money.  Also, many people including Christians are not "down with" homosexuality.  I'm not clear what point you are trying to make.  Are you suggesting that Milo being disingenuous? If you are, are you surprised?

 

---

*Actually the search does turn up three comments on their website. One from 2014 in which I asked them to stop feeding into the frenzy over Zane tax liability.

[Delano 1,066]

Yes it is disingenuous . And that is where the fight should be taken. If you are so inclined. Either he will have to throw his boys under the bus or lie. Either way his credibility and  authority is put into question. Trump Conway and Spicer are master of doublespeak and rhetoric. They all use a few techniques. 

 

@Troy Power uses racism to cause divisions. Those without power are racist. There is a distinction between elitist and racist. Even amongst the rich there is a pecking order of new versus old which is also a function of having class. Since they are in the same economic class.

 

[Troy 2,329]

Quote of the day: “Those without power are racist.”

While that may be true, I don't see a viable way of combating it, in a world of alternative facts reinforced inside filter bubbles.  People believe often quite strongly in what they want to believe--reality and truth be damned.

Do you really think Milo being gay (assuming that is true), will make a difference to the racists who supports what the says?  Again, how many outright lies has Trump been caught in before he was elected POTUS?  The presales on Milo's book and his advance should tell you what people already think.

I don't know how to fight this?  What would you suggest? Boycotting the book? I have no interest in it.  Boycott the imprint Threshold Editions?  Out of the almost 8,000 books I've added, by hand, to this website there are only two published by that Threshold, but again it is not a problem for me to boycott them, as I doubt I'm selling many copies of these books today anyway.  We could boycott the publisher but I've already written why I think that is cutting off our nose off to spite our face. 

We could take Milo out back and treat him to an ole school beat down.  I'd be willing to bet hat would shut him up, but that would be criminal and not something I would recommend doing.

What tactics or strategy would you employ to combat the like of Milo, or even Trump for that matter Del?

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

15 hours ago, Troy said:

They operate as if they view themselves as "THE Black internet" and other websites are competition.

I didn't know that about the blackamericaweb.  I only use it when I hear something on the TJMS and I want more information about the topic - unfortunately they don't update quickly - and since I rarely use facebook; I don't go to the TJMS facebook page anymore.  

I wasn't  suggesting that AALBC partner with BAW. I'm still on the same kick  that AALBC "capture all the hearts and minds" and be the clearinghouse of all things black literary.  That reach is far wider and affords more latitude

[Troy 2,329]

Mel I guess I was just expressing my disappointment about blackamericaweb.  Sure you vision is broader than mine has been I'm sure I'll benefit from your efforts.

[Delano 1,066]

@Troy You are running an international Salon

Here's a a first I am including a Wikipedia Link

 

Salon (gathering) - Wikipedia

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salon_(gathering)Proxy  Highlight

A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine the taste and increase the knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims ...

 

 

 

@Troy it is difficult to fight characaters like T Rump and the other guy. Either you try to use logic and they drown you out or you yell like they do. Neither is a winning strategy. Or you do what you have been doing. Keep in people's ear. Get people to think beyond their emotional response to every situation. You have literally thousand of people listening. They may not respond for any number of reasons, but they are intersted. They are the elite that I am referring to, people who think or even better ask questions. 

 

Babershops are great places to be warm by lots of words, great wordplay some rhetoric but how ofetn is it provocative or evocative. BTW that Mollusk scene in Barbershop was brillaint. Troy you have no competition. You will see yu influence and effectiveness when one of your members  is Celebrated. Or when a Celebrity plugs your site. I reckon in 10 - 15 years.

 

[Pioneer1 810]

I heard that Bill Maher (whom I feel is a closetted xenophobe) also booked Milo on his Real Time show to the dismay of a lot of his liberal audience.
 

Not sure what to say.....

I personally believe in freedom of speech as long as no one is directly calling for another person's harm (outside of legal punishment) or death.

But in order to prevent giving these racists free publicity to gather sympathy for their cause.....the show should also host an opposing view point on the very same platform to challenge their rhetoric.

[Troy 2,329]

Whoa we are on a roll @Delano I agree was with this and even learned something.

I'd not considered the Salon analogy and you are right.  Far more people read than engage.  I see the analytics, I get the emails, and I see the social sharing.  I guess one has to have that particular gene to be willing to step out and expose your ideas to public scrutiny.  Again, not everyone is built for this.  But if only those who actively participated were the only ones to visit the site--AALBC.com would have been done long ago.  

Yeah Chris and I always talked about the celebrity co-sign.  I also think you are right about the time frame too regarding a big time celebrity plug.  But honestly, I'd hoped the celebrity plug would not be necessary, it can jump start a business or career.

@Pioneer1 I watched the entire Bill Maher show in which Milo appeared--just light.  Yes Milo is gay and was in his full glory of Maher's show.  Bill tried to diminish Milo, but Bill is like everyone else desperate for eye balls brings Milo on his show raising his profile even more.  On this issue, Maher is full of shit.

[Delano 1,066]

@Troy When I was living in NYC i made it a point to go out at night. Granted Dance Parties dominated the mix, I did try and cover a few difffernt  genres it up. I even ran into you and Jasper in Brooklyn. I can't remeber who was performing though. I met a few people who ran parties or did performances and various types of artists. They like you had to create something from their heart that didn't exist in the world. The motivation wasn't financial. Granted there may have been the need to be recognized or acknowledged. I check into your site because Cynique has one of the finest critical minds I have ever met. And you my friend are a passionate, yet open and giving visionary. There are some new flavors developing on your site. 

Glad the universe brought us together.

Del

[Cynique 2,307]

I wish I had something positive to contribute to this discussion.  I am, however, encouraged that all y'all's broad views of the grim future have not dulled your optimism, and that you are motivated by the challenges that show no signs of dissipating.  

To me, the current political situation is a sign that the tide has turned, -  as it inevitably does.   The Pandora's box of Trumpism has been opened and emptied  and the old rules don't apply. If this can be described as a teachable moment one lesson would be that  truth has become a very elusive entity that language imprisons by holding "reality" captive. So those in control can manipulate words to describe a scenario of their choice, and since the word "reality", itself, is trapped in the confines of  7 written symbols, or 4 spoken  syllables, who can effectively invoke "reality" as a defense against alternate "facts"?  What is reality?? Is it actually a state of flux where we create our own truths?   This is the growing trend black folks must try and navigate, figuring out a way to make white folks believe lies we make up.

BTW, I don't agree with the pundits who claim  that Trump's base has eroded. I even think he is gaining converts from the ranks of wimps who, since their vote couldn't  whip him, are simply joining him. Meanwhile, his opponents react more than act. Progressives and Liberals are standing around diagnosing Trump's mental health and pointing out how untrue and illogical his rationales are, ferreting out obscure laws in an attempt to thwart the Republican majority, while making idle threats of impeachment and filibusters.  I am very disappointed in how The Press seems to be so in awe of the office of the Presidency that they allow Trump to publicly mock the news media.  The idea of simply calling him an outright liar seems unthinkable to reporters. So here I sit, watching how the lines are being drawn, hoping that those who recognize the signs of this country becoming a dictatorship will be able rally enough supporters to ward off the threat.

I watched Bill Maher's interview with Milo whose diarrhea of the mouth was probably contracted from blowing diseased penises. He can be dismissed as a "guilty pleasure" because he attacks icons using sly humor and a savvy persona to say what others think, taking full advantage of the mean-spiritness that Trump has popularized. I would simply describe Milo's position with the publishing industry as a mutually beneficial "69".. 

Bill Maher is, first and foremost, a stand-up comedian. I appreciate how he not only takes obnoxious bigoted Conservatives to task but also calls out Liberals for being smug, do-gooders.  He is not a particularly skilled debater but he fortifies his views by inviting articulate people of his persuasion to keep the Republican  apologists in check. This alone makes his show worth watching.  

Elsewhere, this Pop Culture Vulture is motivated to put on her Milo hat because she is sick of BEYONCE who, thanks to the slavish devotion of her social media "Beehive", thinks that having a big belly full of twins has not only obligated her to parade around and show off her bloated abdomen, but has also elevated her to the realm of Earth Mother - a goddess to be held in awe and worshiped by all who look upon her!  Her appearance at the Grammys, looking like a latter day Cleopatra with a stomach tumor, was a yawner.   She needs to go somewhere and sit down and hope Jay-Z's  genes aren't stronger than hers.  I'm also sick of seeing a frolicking Obama's grinning face plastered all over the internet, as he has embarked on an extended vacation, immersing himself in a lifestyle where the troubles of the world will never again intrude upon his carefree existence.   He may be better off as result of his presidency but I'm not so sure about the rest of the black people who put him in office.   

   

 

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

8 hours ago, Cynique said:

What is reality?? Is it actually a state of flux where we create our own truths?   This is the growing trend black folks must try and navigate, figuring out a way to make white folks believe lies we make up.

The juxtaposition of this statement with your closing (Bey and Obama) proves "Yes we can!"...  Our next step is to figure out what to lie about that would raise the profile of the Black American collective.

[Pioneer1 810]

I have to admit I haven't really followed this "Milo" character that much and up until the Maher interview I've only heard bits and snips about him in the media.
After having seen him and listened to him myself.........

From the LIMITED amount that I've seen this dude takes me as a straight up JOKE.

Another "media darling".

He's flamboyantly gay in an almost a comical way, I haven't heard him say much on race but his focus seems to ironically be very anti-gay, a little anti-woman, and definately againt political correctness.
He seems to get off provoking people and saying things to to get their emotions going.

The way they were protesting him everywhere he went and rioting at Berkely, I thought the dude was some sort of Hitler promoting neo-nazi.

Yeah, he sparred with Leslie Jones and called her all types of names....but I don't care too much for Leslie myself.  I think she disgraces herself more than any gay White dude could disgrace her with her vulgar and often obnoxious behavior.

I'm sure some of his views are racist like most Whites on the political right, but I just don't see the threat so many people are jumping up and down about.

I have to admit that there IS a bit of charisma to him.
He knows how to take shots as well as give them on slight.

Perhaps THAT'S that's his draw and that's probably why he gets so much media attention.

He likes to push buttons and he likes to get people's emotions going and uses his charisma and flamboyant homosexuality draw people's attention and entertain them.

lol.....talking about he's got a "Black boyfriend".

[Del 157]

@Cynique Beyoncé and Obama are trading their success as a bootstrap story. Obama like The Clinton's Bush and Reagan are building libraries. If a president has a foundation ya can't trust it.  Beyoncé was also groomed. It was Destiny's Child not Destiny's Children. 

I was watching some clips. Tbe Trump administration knows how to handle the press. The press is constrained to be polite are at least it is in press briefings. As a reporter you can use the same aggressive style.  I have seen this administration make reporters lose their cool. How many times have you seen that happen.  Trump is a genius a rhetoric. Which us different from logic. He is playing the buffoon because it is bad form  to beat up the slow. However conflict of will be his undoing.  And probably a woman as well. 

 

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

On 2/14/2017 at 0:45 PM, Troy said:

Milo Yiannopoulos is laughing all the way to the bank.

And now his book is cancelled... https://www.yahoo.com/news/publisher-cancels-milo-yiannopoulos-book-dangerous-223646571.html

"Simon & Schuster and its Threshold Editions imprint announced Monday that "after careful consideration" they had pulled the book, which had been high on Amazon.com's best-seller lists and was the subject of intense controversy."

 

Welp now we know you can say practically anything except endorse pedophilia!  We've finally found the deal-breaking threshold for provocative  shock-and-awe speech.

[Cynique 2,307]

Good news!  Glad this twerp has been reined in and exposed as the degenerate sociopath that he is! 

[Del 157]

@Troy Thanks ffotr acknowledging me with tbe quote of the day.

[Troy 2,329]

No problem Del--thank you!

Pop culture vulture, at the risk of alienating readers of my eNewsletter who are Beyonce fans AND unable to hold an opposing view in the heads, I'm going to quote you in my next eNewsletter.  I think your observations were on point.  I'm not convinced Beyonce dreamt this Gammy performance up on her own. I think she just does whatever she is told to do.

Well Mel, I guess Milo overestimated America's tolerance of degenerate sociopaths--understandable given our pick for President.  I did not watch or even look for the video of Milo, advocating sex with underage boys. 

Do y'all think the pedophilla revation was what motivated Simon and Schuster to cancel the book (I wonder if they took Milo's 1/4 mil)?  In other words woud the book have been cancelled were it not for the pedopilla revelaton?

Lets see if some other publisher with even lower standards than Threshold Editions steps up to the plate and publishes Milo's book..

 

 

[Delano 1,066]

Do you think the reaction would be different if he was a woman. 

@Troy Beyonce is a religious icon. She is using a lot of Its references. A fellow Psychic and It's Priestess has posted on this. Notice the whole New Orleans. Oshun 

[Troy 2,329]

Sure the Beyonce's team have coopted these images various belief systems...but surely you know this is for purely for the purpose of generating revenue, right? 

[Pioneer1 810]

Man....
When it rains it just POURS (or spurts) on Milo.

I guess he just resigned from Breitbart News....lol.

Maybe he'll focus on the career he always wanted:
opening up a gay male escort service in the ghetto.

[Delano 1,066]

On Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 11:00 AM, Troy said:

Sure the Beyonce's team have coopted these images various belief systems...but surely you know this is for purely for the purpose of generating revenue, right? 

You're kidding right?

10 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Man....
When it rains it just POURS (or spurts) on Milo.

I guess he just resigned from Breitbart News....lol.

Maybe he'll focus on the career he always wanted:
opening up a gay male escort service in th

10 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Man....
When it rains it just POURS (or spurts) on Milo.

I guess he just resigned from Breitbart News....lol.

Maybe he'll focus on the career he always wanted:
opening up a gay male escort service in the ghetto.

Its a gold mine if it has a back entrance.

[Troy 2,329]

@Delano, no, not in this case. I'm I being overly cynical? What do you think the motivation was for Beyonce's "yawner" of a performance? 

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

 

On 2/21/2017 at 2:06 PM, Delano said:

Beyonce is a religious icon. She is using a lot of Its references. A fellow Psychic and It's Priestess has posted on this. Notice the whole New Orleans. Oshun 

@Delano, I didn't want to get into this...so glad you did.  I had to check myself first to see what was aggravating me about @Troy 's comment... there's so much to unpack that it spills over into the other discussion thread about black's being normal dysfunction et al.... but yes, it is validation of the three stages of woman - "maiden, mother, crone" (remember the Blue Ivy-Beyonce-Miss Tina hologram?) Beyonce's whole career and music has used this Leitmotif... EXCEPT she uses the motherland's symbols instead of the eurocentric version.   It traverses the scale of the mythology of ancient Canaanites  (north, south central west africa)...it is why some call her practices the illuminati because many don't know our own ancient magical practices ... She is using her whole career as a backdrop to tell the story of the black woman.. It's mythology set to music.

14 hours ago, Delano said:

Its a gold mine if it has a back entrance.

hahaha!!!

[Troy 2,329]

OK maybe I'm being overly cynical, but it will take a lot for me to be convinced that a multination corporation like SONY is interested in doing anything but making more money than they did the year before.

If they can monetize any of the ancient African religious traditions in Beyonce's imagery; the result will be a perversion of those traditions.  

 

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

36 minutes ago, Troy said:

the result will be a perversion of those traditions.  

kind of like Catholicism but you didn't hear that from me

[Delano 1,066]

My  psychic friend is into Ifa . She feels  Beyoncé is a role model. Is she.  I was going to respond with the pic of Jay-Z Warren Buffet and Steve Forbes. Instead i read the interview. It is possible that you are both correct. Even though your conclusuonis based onyour feelings about Beyoncé. My feelings about Jay-Z and  have changed since reading the article I have changed my opinion. Which illustrates a belief of my mine. You can't have an open mind unless you are aware of your beliefs , assumptions , and biases. 

[Troy 2,329]

One's beliefs are a reflection of who they are not reality.  

My conclusions, however, have nothing to do with Beyonce or Jay-Z; I know little about them and do not consume their products.  My reaction to her Grammy performance was taken from Cynique's opinion I did not watch it.  

My opinion on this matter is driven (I believe) by what I know about how corporations operate.  How they manipulate and brainwash people to into behaviors that only serve to enrich the owners.  Beyonce is a tool to generate revenue. She is no different than any other entertainer--other than the fact she makes more money that most.  Which is the most important thing in our culture.  Rich people are worshipped.  Will anyone argue that Beyonce is the most talented vocalist singing today?

Enslave people for a few centuries to get cheap good--no problem.  Sell cancer sticks and shorten the life spans of millions--you bet. Sell the raving of a rabid, racist troll--but of course.  Needless to say, I could go on and on, but you get the point.  This is what corporation do.  Beyonce serves this master.

Of course, some could make a convincing argument that corporations are, net-net, all things considered a plus for society.  I used to feel that way too, but not anymore.  

The biggest corporations are like the drugs dealers.  They sell products that no one needs or are outright harmful, they make the owners fantastically wealthy attracting attention and envy from others, and mitigate their evil and confuse people by doling out a few dollars in charity and employing a few folks with mediocre wages.  Their critics are simply failures who are jealous of their success.

@Cynique was right there is a gene (likely a great many genes), which make people more susceptible to viewing Beyonce as a religious icon.  I ain't hatin' on Bey. I just haven't drunk that Kool-aid (the reference to the People's Temple cult was deliberate).

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

2 hours ago, Delano said:

It is possible that you are both correct. Even though your conclusuonis based onyour feelings about Beyoncé.

Not my feelings on Beyonce personally but on Beyonce, the singer, songwriter, producer, entertainer and business woman.

Here's my story - in the late 80s I was in a girl music group, Flexx... It was a struggle and I can't tell you how many bad contracts folks tried to get us to sign. So bad that if we signed we would've been shaking our asses but broke. Now that's pimpin ish.   Plus we were cute so there was the casting couch everywhere you looked. We ran from the best of them back in the day.  By the time, we got our record deal we aged out and one of our members got killed. 

So to see a woman who looks like me and my group members make it to the top of the game - is nothing but "hallelujah"

My feelings on Beyonce are attributed to her business acumen. Plus I love a good story and she controls her narrative.

Case in point, she released her last album exclusively on her husband's streaming music service for 24 hours  - did this cut into her sales? Not sure but music reports from Billboard  to the New York Times did stories on the availability of her album on other outlets.  It was that serious to them.   Last I read, Tidal will have exclusive streaming rights of Lemonade for awhile.  It seems Sony and Beyonce  are working together ... from the CEO's mouth in 2015.

Ever since Destiny's Child there's seems to be a rule (thanks to Matthew Knowles I suppose) if you sing the song you get writers credit. That is unusual in the music business but her deal is even sweeter.  Beyonce also gets publishing credit too and producers credit.   According to these copyright infringement cases it seems that folks come after Beyonce not Sony.    So It seems she does have some control over her music catalog. 

Also, there are few artists who  are presidents of their own corporations that employ hundreds and contract and launch careers of others.  Beyonce is president of Beyonce, Inc and she founded Parkwood Entertainment LLC  which is the label that produces video, films, shows, music on the Sony label. There's Beyonce Touring, Parkwood Touring,  Ivy Park clothing and currently she's in a legal battle to trademark her children's wear company "Blue Ivy Carter".   She helped launch one for her mother House of Dereon ...and it seems the list is growing ...

Now correct me if you know of any other black woman (singer) who controls her music empire...Ok there's Rihanna who is said to own her masters now and I'm proud of her too! 

These young women are in control of their craft and professional image and as a woman who had a small taste ofthe music business, I'm glad to see young women stepping up and controlling their professional destiny. 

By the way, Chrisette Michelle recently said she is also the master of her domain.
 

[Troy 2,329]

Mel you obviously know more about the music industry than I do.  I'm sorry to hear about the casting couch and the murder of your friend. 

No, I don't any other singer doing what you describe. I assume Beyonce stands alone in her wealth particularly when you combine it with Jay-Z.  Great wealth allows you to do a wide variety of things that other entertainers can not do.  I doubt she has a peer.

Mel I'm not sure you can attribute all of the things you described to Beyonce herself.  But again you know more about her than I. I assumed Beyonce is the public face of a very sophisticated organization. I doubt she is sitting back calling the shots. Also, I thought Sony owned Parkwood (I saw that on Wikipedia, so it is possible that it is complete fiction ).

But that does not change my points, who said that Black folks don't behave like corporate entities?  BET was a perfect case in point. You don't become fantastically wealthy in the United States without getting grimy on some level.  I doubt the Beyonce machine, owned by Sony, is any different.

Am I the only one who thinks that Bey (her team) has coopted the African imagery for monetary gain?  Exploiting these images to reach her followers on a deeper level--to get deeper into their pockets?

Del called Beyonce a "religious ico.," This may be true, and if it is, it is very dangerous. I see this no differently than the charismatic religious leader who convinces their followers to give them their money in return for salvation.

This is not about spiritually or uplifting people, it is about commerce. We should confuse the two things.

 

 

 

[Mel Hopkins 1,324]

4 hours ago, Troy said:

This is not about spiritually or uplifting people, it is about commerce. We should confuse the two things.

Absolutely agree!  We shouldn't confuse the two! One is the entertainment business... I, however, believe in the power of AND...

AND in business there's still a chance for enlightenment. 

For example- Moses, Cleopatra, Jesus, Thor, et al.  were not blue-eyed Europeans but that did not stop Hollywood from sharing the mythology while enlightening all those who went to see Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, King of Kings and most recently Thor ( who is actually the much older Shango, the Orisha God of thunder and lightning).  It takes a large platform to get a message out to those who don't know their history.  

Remember how many people were on the Egyptian KMT Hotep research kick? Those folks only scratched the surface but at least they no longer believe Egyptians were Europeans, (at least not origin). So now  you can only imagine how many young black women have now moved towards West Africa to find out the history of an even older group of the Canaanites -  the Yoruba people.  

BTW, This is win for authors of black books both fiction and nonfiction...If you read some of the reviews for my novel published in 2006 - most didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about. Yet I spoke of the very things in my book that Beyonce is now promoting through her visual music.  She's educating the market for those of us who write about African mythology...

Heads Up: Twins babies (Ibeji) are sacred & magical in the Yoruba religion so expect more symbolism from Bey once she deliver her twins.  

As for wikipedia - Maybe the Beyonce' mystique doesn't want the public to see that she's more than just the public face to her empire  but after doing so quick sleuthing - Parkwood Entertainment is owned by  Beyonce and here's why -  Parkwood's attorney is Brad Rose who is also listed on her website as the contact for Parkwood entertainment for any copyright infringement.  Rose is the attorney also listed as Beyonce's licensing company BGK Holdings, Inc's attorney and also represented her along with his other clients ( yes the usual suspect crew Kanye, Rihanna, Jay Z and Pharrell ) in a lawsuit against eleven paris ..

It would be a conflict of interest for Brad Rose to represent Sony in anything AND Beyonce therefore Beyonce owns Parkwood Entertaintment  - But here's more behind the scenes look at why Beyonce is the fronting her own company... From FastCompany

"The core of Beyoncé’s business is Parkwood Entertainment, a relatively small operation perched on an upper floor of an unremarkable office tower in an unglamorous neighborhood just south of Times Square. Parkwood’s employees quietly guide an enterprise that has an enormous impact: from music to film to ancillary businesses such as the exercise-clothing line Ivy Park that she recently debuted in collaboration with British retailer Topshop.

Beyoncé is the CEO and has been known to sit in on meetings and walk from office to office to query her deputies on details of upcoming projects. "There’s nothing that happens in that organization, either businesswise or artistically, that Beyoncé doesn’t fully sit on top of," says former HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo, who helped negotiate the Lemonade TV special. (Beyoncé and her team declined to speak on the record.)

Though Beyoncé’s label, Columbia Records (a subsidiary of Sony Music), is a partner in Parkwood, the company still approaches business like a startup, leveraging its scale in all kinds of ways."

Edited February 24, 2017 by Mel Hopkins
word usage

[Cynique 2,307]

@Mel Hopkins Thanks for all the pertinent interesting information! To me Beyonce is, among many things, a phenomenon whose time has come.  She filled a vacancy crying to be filled, and is, indeed, Destiny's child whose fate is entwined with providing a happy alternative to the sorrowful Virgin Mary, mother of a crucified son whose promises of salvation have been relegated to the hereafter.  As a charismatic distraction from this gloom, Beyonce is about the living not the dead, a beautiful esoteric symbol who embodies the joy of womanhood and is deemed worthy of the adulation because she dares to encourage it.   

In the black section atop Mount Olympus where Queen Oprah has been joined by Michelle Obama, Beyonce completes this triumvirate, there for the black masses to take pride in and - for those more pragmatic and less star struck to note  how it pays to be at the right place at the right time and - to be ready.