Industry Mass media | Website Official website | |
Type Limited liability company Founded 1996; 21 years ago (1996) Headquarters New York City, New York, United States Subsidiaries Mass Appeal magazine
Mass Appeal Records
Decon | ||
Mass Appeal is an American media and content company based in New York City. The company was founded in 1996 as a graffiti fanzine and since has grown to encompass a magazine, website, film, television, a music label and a creative agency.
Contents
History
Mass Appeal published their first issue of Mass Appeal magazine in the year 1996. Initially, it covered a wide variety of pop culture topics ranging from graffiti culture, hip hop music, video games, cars and movies. It often provided coverage of young artists and performers that contributed to, and shaped, contemporary hip-hop culture. The magazine included columnists such as R.A. the Rugged Man, Matt Goias, Mister Cartoon, Estevan Oriol and Reas.
Mass Appeal launched a spin-off called Missbehave in 2006 and suspended publication in 2008. In 2013 Mass Appeal relaunched and resumed print with Earl Sweatshirt and Blake Anderson on the cover of Issue 52.
On April 10, 2013, Mass Appeal was revived when a group of investors, including American rapper Nas decided to relaunch and expand the Mass Appeal brand. On the Mass Appeal deal, he was joined by creative firm Decon and White Owl Capital Partners, an early stage investment firm with business interests in technology, media and energy located in North America, Europe and China.
Records
Mass Appeal Records is an American independent record label founded in 2014 by Mass Appeal. It is an urban alternative focused label with a roster of almost a dozen artists. The first project to be released on the label was Run The Jewels 2. The album received global critical acclaim and earned #1 spot at Pitchfork. Since the success of RTJ2, the label has went on to release music from artists including Nas, Run the Jewels, Fashawn, Bishop Nehru, Boldy James, J Dilla, Dave East, Mannie Fresh and DJ Shadow.
Film / TV / Digital video
In 2013, Mass Appeal entered in a production partnership with CNN Films to produce a documentary, entitled Fresh Dressed, about hip-hop and fashion. The documentary was accepted in the prestigious Sundance Film Festival where it was sold to Samuel Goldwyn Films and StyleHaul.
Mass Appeal is producing digital video series including WATCHxWITNESS, its premiere photographic documentary series, Rhythm Roulette, an innovative look into spontaneous beat making and producer culture which has featured artists such as Mac Miller, 9th Wonder, El-P, Black Milk and more. On The Grind, which examines the intersection of skate and creativity. Time Pieces, short films that has featured Pharrell Williams, Jay Electronica, Too Short and others and Off Tha’ Wall, its comedic interview series.
TBS division of Turner, has collaborated with Mass Appeal and greenlit Storyville, a new digital animated series. The top-rated network is also in development on Think B.I.G., a scripted series based loosely on lyrics by the late, great Notorious B.I.G. The two projects are the first to emerge from a new strategic content partnership between TBS & TNT and New York-based content and media organization Mass Appeal.
Creative Agency
The agency division of Decon was relaunched under the Mass Appeal banner in 2013. The agency's clients include, Sprite, HBO and Under Armour. In 2016, Mass Appeal partnered with HBO to launch a campaign for the 6th Season of Game of Thrones entitled Art the Throne.
Decon
Decon continues to operate as the commercial production division of Mass Appeal. Currently, the roster includes a diverse selection of directors including, JEAN, Tj O’Grady, Jason Goldwatch, 13th Witness, Marcus Clarke and Steven Caple. Jason Goldwatch was hired to direct Season 3 of famed Chef Eric Ripert's show Avec Eric for the Cooking Channel. The twelve season show aired in Spring 2015,and footage from the season was featured in a campaign for Squarespace.
In 2015, comedy directing collective JEAN joined the roster and announced the partnership bycreating an advertisement and running it during 3am Everybody Loves Raymond re-runs. That same year, Decon expanded its director roster to include TJ O’Grady and Marcus Clarke. Clarke's work as part of the Snicker's campaign "What's Up With Marcia" earned two Bronze Cannes Lions.
MassAppeal.com
MassAppeal.com is an outlet for youth-spawned urban culture. The site features daily original video and also publishes social content direct to various platforms.