With the American President daily proclaiming himself the Chosen One or decrying the media’s destruction of the press, it is difficult to notice some days how odd things other than US governance have gotten.
e.g…
It was reported this evening, byBET and others, that the legendary West Coast rap label Death Row Records, founded by Suge Knight, Dr. Dre and The D.O.C., launching pad for artists like Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, has been purchased by Hasbro.
Hasbro, a toy company that owns legendary childhood toys and games like Mr. Potato Head, Transformers, My Little Pony, Monopoly, and Power Rangers, among many others, has announced it will purchase Entertainment One, a multimedia company that owns Death Row Records.
Okay, maybe Peak Dissent Commodification, but not all that random, really.
See, the executives at Hasbro aren’t closet Tupac fans. They really wanted Entertainment One’s kidvid superstar Peppa Pig (who is, I presume, a pig with the name Peppa).
However, the multimedia company also has a music division, which happens to be one of the biggest independent labels in the industry. During the first quarter of 2019, they reportedly raked in more than $30 million in revenue.
Six years ago, eOne’s music arm bought the catalog of the bankrupt Death Row.
Which means that Snoop and Dre are now in essence label mates with Mr. Potato Head and My Little Pony.
Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner declared, “The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling.”
And, with that, I wish you good evening, and have a dada tomorrow.