Strategy, Power, and Profit in the Black Creator Era
Last time, I wrote about The Circle of Cultural Trust—how creators and companies rise when they build, deliver, and reinvest in the communities they serve. Maintaining that circle of trust is crucial to long-term survival. It keeps the culture on your side. Break that trust, and you end up like Vimeo, which lost its inroads … Read more
There was a time when being a Vimeo Staff Pick was a filmmaker’s dream. This week, with Vimeo’s $1.38B fire sale, that dream officially died. But the truth is: it died long ago. This isn’t just about one company’s failure, though. Vimeo broke something much deeper: The Circle of Cultural Trust. It’s one of 2 … Read more
If I weren’t an avid user of LinkedIn, I might not know the work of Evan Shapīro and Doug Shapiro. Both are doing what I’ve always dreamed of—writing sharp, consistent analysis about the future of media. Evan with his brash, fact-based illustrations of the media universe. Doug with his measured, framework-driven analysis of technology and … Read more
A rapper with one mainstream hit 20 years ago now runs one of the most profitable independent media companies in hip-hop—and he’s done it without making a drop of new music.
Recently, a lot of people have asked me why I started The Culture Economy. When asked in real-time, I usually respond with some form of: And true—it makes for an easy answer over drinks or a 30-minute Zoom call; however, the reality is much deeper than that. So in today’s newsletter, we discuss the real … Read more
In the past, I made a lot of mistakes during my first pseudo-creator journey. I wrote long-form posts that no one read. I asked for money from people who couldn’t give it to me. I blogged about topics that only interested me. Now, as I give being a creator a tried and true second go, I’m motivated to learn from my past mistakes.
Black Creators’ Future with Virality It’s been a crazy week. The family and I went camping, so I was OFF-offline for 3 days. NBA playoff basketball has been keeping me and my girls up later than usual. And we had a graduation in the family to celebrate. Thus, this week’s newsletter comes out on a … Read more
Tentpole Strategy, Vol. 2 This week, we finally crossed the 100-subscriber mark. Honestly, I was hoping to have surpassed this milestone long ago, even before I launched. I had all types of “growth hacks” I wanted to deploy but haven’t gotten to, as I’ve been so focused on the content. But it feels good to … Read more
The smarter alternative to chasing virality. And how major cultural moments create lasting impact.
The unseen barriers Black creators face in going viral, how their moments lead to less success, and why chasing virality is a losing game. Thanks to all of you who were here for edition #2 last week, where we sent this out to 79 readers. As I write this, the edition is going out to … Read more