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Uproxx

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Uproxx
Type of site
Music and culture
Available inEnglish
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008)
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Founder(s)
Key people
  • Jarret Myer (CEO)
  • Kristopher Maske (COO)
  • Rich Antoniello (executive chairman)
  • will.i.am (CVO)
URLuproxx.com

Uproxx Studios (stylized as UPROXX) is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later changed its name to Uproxx Media Group). In August 2018, Uproxx Media Group was acquired by Warner Music Group, with Myer remaining in control of the company's operations as publisher.[1]

In April 2024, Myer partnered with Rich Antoniello and will.i.am to form an independent company, Uproxx Studios, after acquiring Uproxx along with HipHopDX and Dime Magazine from Warner Music Group.

History

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Uproxx was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, who previously co-founded the hip hop label Rawkus Records in 1996.[2][3]

In April 2014, Uproxx was acquired by Woven Digital,[4] an ad network company.[5][6] In December 2014, Woven raised US$18 million in Series A funding with a portion of the capital allocated to growing Uproxx through staff hires and video development.[7]

Myer joined Woven Digital as general manager of publishing.[8] Uproxx was Woven Digital's largest brand, with a viewership of 40 million per month.[9] Then Headquartered in Culver City,[10] the company also had production facilities in New York City[11] and Chicago.[12] The Culver City offices housed a full production studio staffed by writers, illustrators, presenters and video editing staff; the company produced all of its own sponsored videos.[13]

In January 2015, Uproxx acquired Dime Magazine to expand its sports division.[14] Uproxx's coverage of film and TV was expanded with the acquisitions of HitFix in 2016.[10] Following these acquisitions, the company had 110 employees as of March 2017.[9] Benjamin Blank, who served as the chief creative officer, was also named CEO of the company in November 2016.[15]

In August 2018, Warner Music Group announced that it had acquired Uproxx and its properties.[16] While the acquisition was for an undisclosed sum, Uproxx had raised around $43 million (£33 million) from previous investment, possibly indicating the firm's valuation.[17]

In February 2024, Warner indicated its plan to sell its owned media assets, including Uproxx and HipHopDX, as part of a shift to focus on its music business.[18] Following this announcement, Myer partnered with Rich Antoniello and will.i.am to acquire Uproxx, HipHopDX, and Dime Magazine, bringing all three publications under an independent company named Uproxx Studios in April 2024.[19][20] The new independent studio also reached a deal to represent Warner Music for all YouTube media sales in the United States.[19] Myer was named CEO, Antoniello served as partner and executive chairman, and will.i.am joined as partner, investor, and chief visionary officer.[20][21] Elliott Wilson was also appointed editorial director of hip-hop journalism overseeing Uproxx, HipHopDX and Dime Magazine.[21]

Content

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Uproxx covers entertainment and popular culture, including fashion, music, and sports.[22] Video makes up a significant portion of the site's content and Uproxx produces both original and sponsored video.[4][23] After its acquisition by Woven, Uproxx placed more emphasis on video content and released several web series.[7][24] It develops web originals, long- and short-form series and films.[25]

Luminaries, a show that profiled young scientists and inventors, was Uproxx’s first original series in January 2015.[26] The first two episodes of the series generated 18.5 million views within the first four months.[8][27] Luminaries was nominated for a Webby Award in 2015.[28] Also in 2015, Uproxx launched several sponsored video series. Among these were Human, a video series about artisans and others who preserve traditional work, sponsored by Coors Banquet,[29] and Uncharted: Power of Dreams, a show that profiles rising musicians, with Honda,[30] Uncharted won a Clio Award in 2016.[9] In 2017, Uproxx created a piece of branded content for fast food chain Checkers featuring rapper Rick Ross.[31][32]

In June 2021, Uproxx and Pilot Boy Productions produced the podcast People's Party with Talib Kweli, which was co-created by rapper Talib Kweli and Myer. The podcast was a weekly interview series featuring celebrity guests that aired on the podcast network Luminary.[33] In 2022, Uproxx released a new web series titled Fresh Pair hosted by hip-hop producer Just Blaze and sneaker designer Katty Customs. The series returned in 2023 for a second season.[34]

Uproxx Music Critics poll

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Since 2018, Uproxx has held the Uproxx Music Critics Poll, a poll which tabulates the submitted lists of invited music critics, similar to the discontinued Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll. The following albums and songs have topped the poll since its introduction:

Albums
Year Artist Album Ref.
2018 Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour [35]
2019 Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell! [36]
2020 Fiona Apple Fetch the Bolt Cutters [37]
2021 Japanese Breakfast Jubilee [38]
2022 Beyoncé Renaissance [39]
2023 Boygenius The Record [40]
Songs
Year Artist Album Ref.
2018 Ariana Grande "Thank U, Next" [41]
2019 N/A N/A N/A
2020 Phoebe Bridgers "I Know the End" [42]
2021 Olivia Rodrigo "Good 4 U" [43]
2022 Beyoncé "Break My Soul" [44]
2023 Boygenius "Not Strong Enough" [45]

References

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  1. ^ "WMG Acquires UPROXX". RAMP – Radio and Music Pros. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  2. ^ Mao, Chairman (June–July 1998). "Bring Da Rawkus". Vibe: 64–65. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Varian, Ethan (July 11, 2017). "Uproxx Media works with brands to make ads millennials actually want to watch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (April 17, 2014). "Showbiz Site Uproxx Acquired by Guy-Focused Digital Media Firm Woven". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  5. ^ Shields, Mike (June 30, 2016). "Male-Oriented Web Publisher Woven Digital Raises $18.5 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  6. ^ Kozlowski, Lori. "Woven: Creating A Digital Network For Young Men". Forbes. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Ha, Anthony (December 11, 2014). "Advertising Tech Woven Digital, Owner Of Uproxx And Brobible, Raises $18M". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Brouwer, Bree (April 22, 2015). "UPROXX Launches Documentary Series With Three-Part Piece On Guns N' Roses". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Spangler, Todd (March 3, 2017). "Woven Digital Changes Name to Uproxx Media". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (April 19, 2016). "Woven Digital Acquires HitFix". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  11. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (August 18, 2015). "Uproxx-Owner Woven Digital Sees CEO Shakeup (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  12. ^ "Company Overview of Woven Digital, Inc". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  13. ^ Varian, Ethan (July 11, 2017). "Uproxx Media works with brands to make ads millennials actually want to watch". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  14. ^ Yang, Melissah (January 22, 2015). "Woven Digital Scores Dime Magazine". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  15. ^ Spangler, Todd (November 1, 2016). "Woven Digital Names Benjamin Blank CEO in Latest Exec Shuffle". Variety. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  16. ^ Halperin, Shirley (August 2, 2018). "Warner Music Group Acquires UPROXX". Variety. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  17. ^ Maytom, Tim (August 3, 2018). "Uproxx Media Group Acquired by Warner Music Group". Mobile Marketing Magazine. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  18. ^ Aswad, Jem (February 7, 2024). "Warner Music to Lay Off 10% of Staff in Effort to 'Double Down on Core Business'". Variety. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Paine, Andre (April 24, 2024). "Warner Music Group sells Uproxx and other media assets to independent company including Will.i.am". Music Week. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Huston, Caitlin (April 24, 2024). "Will.i.am, Jarret Myer, Rich Antoniello Acquire Uproxx, HipHopDX and More to Form New Studio". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Saponara, Michael (April 24, 2024). "Elliott Wilson Named Editorial Director of UPROXX, HipHopDX & Dime Magazine as Brands Come Under New Ownership". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  22. ^ Steele, Anne; Mullin, Benjamin (August 2, 2018). "Warner Music Pursues Young, Digital Audience With Purchase of Uproxx". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  23. ^ Shields, Mike (April 17, 2014). "The Edgy Male-Targeted Digital Media Company Woven Acquires Uproxx". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  24. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (March 16, 2015). "Uproxx Launches Daily News Show 'The Desk' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  25. ^ Guaglione, Sara (March 2, 2017). "Woven Digital Rebrands, Pushes Uproxx's Longer Content". MediaPost Communications. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  26. ^ Gutelle, Sam (January 16, 2015). "Uproxx Debuts 'Luminaries', Its First Original Web Series". Tubefilter. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  27. ^ Shields, Mike (April 17, 2015). "Here's How Fast a Web Series Can Take Off on Facebook". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  28. ^ "This Teen Created The World's Safest Gun: Luminaries". NepHub. May 21, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  29. ^ Baysinger, Tim (August 4, 2015). "How a Web Series About Tradition Helped a Beer Brand Reach Millennials". AdWeek. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  30. ^ Baysinger, Tim (September 24, 2015). "This Uproxx Series Will Spot Emerging Stars for Honda: 10 episodes bring new music to Honda Stage". AdWeek. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  31. ^ Natividad, Angela (January 12, 2017). "This Documentary About Rick Ross Is Actually a Pretty Impressive Ad for Checkers". Adweek. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  32. ^ Schonbrun, Zach (January 8, 2017). "Rick Ross Documentary Video Doubles as Ad for Checkers". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  33. ^ White, Peter (June 14, 2021). "Dave Chappelle's Pilot Boy Prods Boards 'People's Party With Talib Kweli' As Podcast Moves To Luminary". Deadline. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  34. ^ Jones, Okla (August 14, 2023). "Just Blaze And Katty Customs Talk Sneaker Culture And Season Two Of UPROXX's 'Fresh Pair'". Essence. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  35. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2018: Albums". UPROXX. January 9, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  36. ^ "The 2019 Uproxx Music Critics Poll". UPROXX. December 19, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  37. ^ "The 2020 Uproxx Music Critics Poll". UPROXX. December 15, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  38. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2021: Albums". UPROXX. December 10, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  39. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2022: Albums". UPROXX. December 6, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  40. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2023: Albums". UPROXX. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  41. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2018: Songs". UPROXX. January 10, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  42. ^ "The 2020 Uproxx Music Critics Poll: The Best Songs Of The Year". UPROXX. December 15, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  43. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2021: Songs". UPROXX. December 10, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  44. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2022: Songs". UPROXX. December 6, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  45. ^ "Uproxx Music Critics Poll 2023: Songs". UPROXX. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
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