Perez Hilton: Gossipmonger, MS-Painter, Record Label CEO? That’s the rumor of the day, according to the New York Times, which writes that Hilton, “the Queen of All Media,” is in talks with Warner Music Group to expand his kingdom from the blog world to the music industry. Warner seems willing to find out if Hilton’s ear for undiscovered acts is as strong as his ear for gossip, with the amount of $100,000 as an advance on the against the fifty-percent profits he’d get for finding, signing and promoting new acts. Hilton has shown a proclivity for up-and-coming music in the past, praising the Scissor Sisters and Amy Winehouse early on and familiarizing his readers with then-lesser-known acts like Mika and The Gossip. Can he be the industry’s savior? There are pros and cons to handing Hilton a label.
Pros:
1) His website probably attracts more daily visitors than TRL, making it a great marketing platform for the music industry’s most desired demographic. With his built-in audience of diehards, one plug on his website could yield a tidal wave of readers heading to iTunes to check out his recommendations.
2) Hilton is a lightning rod for publicity, right down to sporting fake wounds for his profile in Rolling Stone. He’s almost become more popular than half the people he gossips about.
3) Like another celeb-goes-CEO named Jay-Z, Hilton is multi-faceted, able to combine Celebrity Rap Superstar appearances, gossip pages cameos and SXSW showcases, into one persona that’s always in the public’s eye.
Cons:
1) For every one person who loves Perez, there’s another three that hate him.
2) He can be abrasive. His MS-Paint jobs of coke noses and his constant skewering of Britney Spears alienates people, and might alienate people from ever giving the artists on his label a chance.
3) The resiliency of a gossip columnist can’t be longer than fifteen minutes, can it? When will the hits on his site drop from the millions to the thousands?
In his profile for Rolling Stone, Hilton named some artists he thought were up-and-comers, including Chester French (”a modern Weezer“) and indie queen Robyn. So can Hilton make it as a label head? Check out his listening picks to see if Hilton has a brighter future in the music industry than the compact disc.
[Photo: Getty]
Related Stories:
- Perez Hilton’s Playlist: What Hollywood’s Most Hated Man Is Listening To
- Britney Spears Comeback Tracker: Album Tracklist Leak Joins Actual Album Leak; Brit Sues Perez, Plans Tour?
- Rock Reality Show Recap: Hip-Hop Is the Only Loser as Sebastian, Perez and Co. Team Up With Mentors on “Celebrity Rap Superstar”
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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.
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