Hip Hop Sales May Be Down, But The Influence Of The Culture Remains The Same
Although originally formed in the inner-cities, hip-hop culture has crossed over into suburbia. More than half, or 57%, of Urban Youth, age 12 to 34, are white, although the proportion of African Americans and Hispanics who are Young Urban Consumers is greater within their own ethnic segments than is the case for non-Hispanic Whites.
This group is important to the U.S. economy. Aggregate income of these 37 million young urbanites will grow from $594 billion in 2007 to $684 billion in 2012, much of which will be spent on luxury items. At the core of the trendsetting power of Young Urban Consumers is their ability to influence the consumer choices of their friends. This demographic is among the first to try new things and spend their income on favorite product brands.
“Urban Youth shoppers put a high priority on brand loyalty, and brands achieving the greatest success have formed a connection with hip-hop artists,” comments Tatjana Meerman, Publisher of Packaged Facts. “Significant sales can be attributed to products prominently featured in lyrics, spontaneously embraced by the hip-hop world and products that appear to be genuinely used by an artist prior to the relationship.”
People want to call Hip Hop dead due to lower sales, but they fail to see how influential the culture is to consumers. Artists just need to learn how to use their influence to generate income outside of record sales. These ulterior avenues of income must be well thought out, you can’t just make a website or clothing line and think it will automatically be a success.
