Russell Simmons and Steve Rifkind will use YouTube to sign, develop, and promote new talent at a new label at Universal.
They’ve teamed with veteran film and TV producer Brian Robbins have teamed up with Universal Music Group to launch All Def Music.
Simmons, who co-founded Def Jam Records, and Rifkind, who founded and was chairman of Loud Records, and is founder, current chairman, and CEO of SRC records, will put together their considerable knowledge and experience to identify, sign, and develop talent via YouTube.
“How [Russell] built Def Jam and how I built Loud was through the streets and through grass-roots marketing,” said Rifkind according to the Los Angeles Times. “Cut to 20 years later, we’re applying this same formula, this same blueprint, using YouTube as our street team, using YouTube as our A&R source, using YouTube as our branding machine.”
Def Jam was home to a slew of seminal Hip Hop acts, including, Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J and others. Simmons sold his share of the record company for $100 million to Universal Music Group in 1998. His Russell Simmons Music Group put out Run DMC’s Rev. Run’s solo debut, Distortion, in 2005. Meanwhile, Loud was home to various Wu-Tang Clan, Mob Deep and other releases.
Information from The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
