When it comes to monetizing fame and celebrity, no one has done it quite like Kim Kardashian who recently launched a private equity firm, in a move that will set the precedent for other celebrities to turn their fame into money. Since fame by itself does not make money, for many celebrities, media personalities, artists and other consistently famous people in Jamaica, they have a hard time matching their level of fame and influence with their level of financial returns. Not so with Kim, the x-wife and mother to the children of Billionaire Kanye West.
Her new business partner Jay Sammons has a reputation of turning “celebrity” into successful companies and in 2019 he invested in the Scooter Braun owned Big Machine Records, the label that owns Taylor Swift’s first six albums- which is worth several hundred million dollars.
The new company run by Kim, her mother Kris Jenner and Jay, SKKY Partners, will acquire new media platforms that are already profitable. For celebrities in Jamaica, as soon as they get some fame, advertisers rush in with temporary endorsement deals for them to represent corporate brands in high winded dancing commercials, which for many, those have stopped a gap in between earnings from their artistic endeavors.
However, as new generations of celebrities and famous people have emerged who owning their media space and are using their influence, but there is money left on the table for their personal brands.
While they have usurped traditional media companies that once served as gatekeepers, they are yet to turn their famous brands into businesses, the same way Kim Kardashian has launched her own reality Tv show, makeup lines, the successful loungewear brand, SKIMS.
Earl Chapman, a Jamaica Stock Exchange middle man explained to World Music Views that while there isn’t a competitive edge for Jamaica, the country’s culture represents opportunities for business people and celebrities alike.
“When people get ingrained in the Jamaican culture, lifestyle, food, and music they say ‘how can I stay there?’. Also when people see ‘Jamaican’, they tend to want to do some type of business there. Jamaica doesn’t have banking incentives but it has a lovely culture and lovely people.”
He said he believes one of the great ways to monetize the culture is to create an atmosphere in intellectual property ownership.
“I think every artist in Jamaica that owns their intellectual property and makes money has value,” Earl told World Music Views.
In the informal structures of the past, a lot of celebrities who got fame via the music industry didn’t see maximum returns on their creations. Nowadays the top artists and influencers have north of 1 million followers on their YouTube and social media and there is an even more business savvy cohort with less followers who are monetizing their Youtube, facebook and elsewhere.
According to Statista, as of June 2022, Sean Paul has the YouTube channel with the largest number of subscribers and viewers in Jamaica. His channel now has 4.29 million subscribers, and is followed by VybzKartelRadio and Shenseea with 2.67 million and 2.37 million subscribers, respectively. Javier Nathaniel, a channel that showcases football highlights is the fourth most subscribed channel with 1.98 million.
As of June 2022, Sean Paul had more than 2.47 billion views, followed by VybzKartelRadio and VybzKartelVEVO, with approximately 1.16 billion and 1.02 billion views each. As of January 2021, Jamaica ranked fifth in terms of number of internet users among Caribbean countries and territories.
Earl says that income streams from YouTube are worth something to the market. It is not the amount of likes on your food picture that has the value, but it is the track record of earning internet money that will attract firms like SKYY Partners.
“YouTube channels are generating views to be paid monthly, they have the same mechanism but they have to be a company first before they can meet the requirements of the regulators,” Earl said.
Skky Partners lead man Jay Sammons is a pioneer of the strategy to take a multibillion-dollar private equity firm into the unfamiliar world of show business, according to the Financial Times. He inked deals with celebrities and reaped handsomely and was one of the investors in headphone maker Beats by Dre.
Musicians and music brands are usually the obvious sell because it’s one of the easiest ways to gain celebrity but Earl says the music itself will always be a valuable asset class. While many Jamaican musicians do not own their masters Earl also says that’s a feather in the hat for any musician who wants high financial returns.
“I think the value of music has increased. Music will always increase in value. Music plays a role to create a mode and maintain calm in the environment. The artists that create must be rewarded so when people keep their masters I applaud them cause now they can create more value for themselves and the value of music.”
Currently, there is no equivalent to SKKY Partners in Jamaica or the Caribbean for that matter, the space is wide open for investment in the cultural capital of Jamaica, reggae & dancehall celebrity. Not to mention the plethora of top influencers, YouTube Channels and podcasts that are drawing down sizable amounts independently.
Using the same targets as SKYY Partners, there is an available business model to turn reggae, dancehall and Jamaican celebrity’s influence into consumer products, digital and e-commerce businesses, consumer media, live shows, hospitality and luxury goods.