Quincy Jones III Builds a Digital Entertainment Brand

QD3's ultimate strength is its abundant content. In total, from filming documentaries and producing original programs for distribution partners, the company has amassed over 2000 hours of exclusive footage, that hasn't been seen -- anywhere. The urban entertainment company's past success indicates that its content is the sort of content that the popular culture entertainment seekers hunger for.

But it's also the kind of entertainment that Norman Kelley, author of R&B (Rhythm & Business): The Political Economy of Black Music and The Head Negro in Charge Syndrome, calls nigga' thug kulture (NTK), which he says is black lower-class culture that's being sold as a commodity to black and white consumers -- predominantly white. "It has been argued for years," he says, "that most hip-hop is purchased by young white males, who identify with black culture, but don't have to pay the social cost of being black."

King disagrees. "Urban content that crosses over into the commercial mainstream represents only one aspect of the culture from where it comes," he says. "Since black and Latino people are no longer invisible in the media, one of the things we have to continue to strive for in the development and programming of urban content is not quantity but quality. Better quality, more sophisticated content that reveals more depth and dimension to the urban experience is the key. Urban themed entertainment companies offer the opportunity to offer those under the radar aspects of black culture that are still sometimes swept under the rug by more mainstream companies."

That's exactly what Jones says his company is doing. "We're raising the bar for urban entertainment, especially in how the media perceives it. "We approach it from a standard of quality," he says. "The residual value to the viewer is powerful and it addresses what urban has become -- skurban (skateboarding urbanites) and blipsters (black hipsters) -- tilting that biege mass all at once. We're not focusing on the artist getting shot to boost his soundscan numbers, we're adding substance and brining you depth. We're bringing soul back."

Still, Kelley doesn't suspect that QD3 is any different than hip-hop record labels in this regard, whereas those companies partner with established labels that control the lines of distribution and end up with no real power of their own. "Maybe it's the game plan to play with the big boys and then build its own infrastructure over the years. It would seem that Paul Campbell would be in a position to do that given his background," he says.

Before joining QD3 in 2006, Campbell spent four years at Microsoft Corporation as the director of business development, where he was responsible for the company's digital media strategy and partnerships with major media companies. He worked closely with MTV Networks on the launch of their Overdrive broadband platform and Urge, MTVN's digital music subscription service. Campbell also created and managed the strategic alliance between Academy award-winning director James Cameron and Microsoft as well as partnering with the American Film Institute on a number of initiatives.

In the end, Jones hopes for an organic viral spread of the company's properties, but there'll still be some good old fashioned business dealing going on. For as much as it seems the future of urban entertainment, as well as the ubiquity of QD3 Entertainment relies on content, it also rests on the shoulders of Campbell's resumé and Jones's network. "He has deep industry experience and relationships. In this disruptive period, you have to have both," Campbell says.