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Parkwood Entertainment

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Parkwood Entertainment
Company typePrivate
IndustryMusic, Film, Entertainment
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
FounderBeyoncé
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, U.S.
Key people
ProductsVisual Albums, Management, Record Label, Video Production, Film Production, Television Specials
Subsidiaries
  • Parkwood Ventures, Inc.
  • Parkwood Touring, Inc.
  • Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd
Websitebeyonce.com

Parkwood Entertainment is an American management and entertainment company founded by American singer Beyoncé in 2010. The company began as a production unit for videos and films in 2008. It is located in New York City and its involvements include products for music production, motion pictures and television specials related to Beyoncé. The company's first release was the film Cadillac Records (2008).

History

Parkwood Entertainment was founded in 2010 by American singer, actress, producer, and director Beyoncé. The company began as a production unit for videos and films in 2008. Parkwood Entertainment is named after a street in Houston, Texas where Beyoncé once lived.[1] With headquarters in New York City, the company serves as an umbrella for the entertainer's various brands in music, movies, videos, and fashion. The staff of Parkwood Entertainment have experiences in arts and entertainment, from filmmaking and video production to web and fashion design. In addition to departments in marketing, digital, creative, publicity, fashion design and merchandising, the company houses a state-of-the-art editing suite, where Beyoncé works on content for her worldwide tours, music videos, and television specials. Parkwood Entertainment's first production was the musical biopic Cadillac Records (2008), in which Beyoncé starred and co-produced.[2] In 2009, she starred in and executive produced the thriller Obsessed. During a private screening held at New York's School of Visual Arts Theatre following the release of her fifth self-titled studio album, Beyoncé briefly discussed her decision to found Parkwood Entertainment in front of her fans and the press, saying:

"I started my own company when I decided to manage myself. It was important that I didn't go to some big management company, I felt like I wanted to follow the footsteps of Madonna and be a powerhouse and have my own empire, and show other women when you get to this point in your career you don't have to go sign with someone else and share your money and your success—you do it yourself."[3]

In December 2013, Parkwood Entertainment released Beyoncé's fifth self-titled visual album. The surprising release caused "hilarious, honest and hysterical" reaction among Beyoncé's fans,[4] and "shock" among other musicians.[5] According to data provided by Twitter, the release generated over 1.2 million tweets in 12 hours.[5] Peter Robinson of The Guardian hailed the shock release as "Beyoncégeddon", describing it as a "major triumph [...] a masterclass in both exerting and relinquishing control."[6] Beyoncé was released digitally to the iTunes Store without prior announcement or promotion. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, earning Beyoncé her fifth consecutive number-one album in the country. The record sold 617,000 copies in the US, and 828,773 copies worldwide in its first three days of availability, becoming the fastest-selling album in the history of the iTunes Store at the time.[7] It was reissued in November 2014 as part of a platinum edition, along with an extended play of new songs. It received acclaim from critics, who praised its production, exploration of sexuality, and Beyoncé's vocals. As of November 2016, Beyoncé has sold 5 million copies worldwide and has spawned the singles "XO", "Drunk in Love", "Partition" and "Pretty Hurts.[8]

In October 2014, Beyoncé with Parkwood Entertainment formed a large collaboration with Topshop, creating the subsidiary Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd, to produce an athletic, streetwear brand. The company and collaboration is a 50/50 split, with both parent companies owning half of this new division. Beyoncé commented on the collaboration stating "I could not think of a better partner as I continue to grow the Parkwood business".[9]

In 2015, Parkwood expanded into managing the careers of upcoming artists and signed Chloe x Halle, Sophie Beem and Ingrid.[10][11][12]

In 2016, Steve Pamon, from JP Morgan Chase took office as the COO and President of the company.[13] Within that same year, Parkwood entertainment released Beyoncé's critically acclaimed sixth studio album Lemonade. The album was accompanied by the release of a 60-minute film of the same name, which premiered on HBO on April 23, 2016. [14] Lemonade received widespread acclaim from critics and is also Beyoncé's most critically acclaimed album to date. Writing for The New York Times, Jon Pareles praised Beyoncé's vocals and her courage to talk about subjects that affect so many people, and noted that "the album is not beholden to radio formats or presold by a single".[15] Megan Carpentier of The Guardian named the album as ''a pop culture phenomenon'' and wrote:''It is not an exaggeration to say that there is no other living musical artist who could ignite such a broad and unavoidable conversation just by releasing a new album – even a visual one."[16] Writing in the same publication, Syreeta McFadden notes that the ''Formation'' video depicts archetypal southern black women "in ways that we haven't seen frequently represented in popular art or culture".[17] Time magazine wrote: ''With Lemonade—an album, an Emmy-nominated film and, as America looked on, an experience—Beyoncé publicly embraced explicitly feminist blackness at a politically risky moment.''[18] In 2017, the visual album won a Peabody Award in Entertainment, along with the following description by the board of jurors: "Lemonade draws from the prolific literary, musical, cinematic, and aesthetic sensibilities of black cultural producers to create a rich tapestry of poetic innovation. The audacity of its reach and fierceness of its vision challenges our cultural imagination, while crafting a stunning and sublime masterpiece about the lives of women of color and the bonds of friendship seldom seen or heard in American popular culture."[19]

Parkwood Entertainment has been listed twice by Fast Company as one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Music (2015 and 2017).[20]

Filmography

Motion pictures

Television specials

Music videos

Discography

Business collaborations

References

  1. ^ "Beyoncé". Music World Entertainment. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  2. ^ Buchanan, Jason. "Cadillac Records (2008)". AllMovie. AllRovi. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  3. ^ Gensler, Andy (December 22, 2013). "Beyonce on Self-Management, Following Madonna's Footsteps, Developing Other Artists". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  4. ^ Cills, Hazel (December 13, 2013). "'Beyonce' Made the Internet Explode Today". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (December 13, 2013). "Beyonce's Surprise Album: 20 Tweets From Mind-Blown Musicians". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  6. ^ Robinson, Peter (January 1, 2014). "Beyoncé has reinvented how to release an album. Over to you, Adele". The Guardian. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  7. ^ Loughrey, Clarisse (November 26, 2015). "Adele's new album 25 is No.1 on iTunes in almost every country in the world". Independent. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  8. ^ "According to Nielsen SoundScan, A Breakdown of Beyonce's US & Worldwide Album Sales". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Milligan, Lauren (October 27, 2014). "CONFIRMED: Beyoncé And Topshop Launch Activewear". Vogue. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  10. ^ Times, Music (2015-05-02). "Beyonce's Parkwood Entertainment Offers 3 Teen Girls Management Contracts". Music Times. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  11. ^ "Beyoncé's management company offers 3 teens contracts". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  12. ^ "Meet Ingrid, The Rapper Signed to Beyoncé's Label". The FADER. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  13. ^ "Beyonce's Management Company Parkwood Is Undergoing an Executive Overhaul". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  14. ^ "Beyoncé Releases New Album Lemonade Featuring Kendrick Lamar, Jack White, the Weeknd, James Blake". Pitchfork. April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  15. ^ Pareles, Jon (April 24, 2016). "Review: Beyoncé Makes 'Lemonade' Out of Marital Strife". The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  16. ^ Carpentier, Megan (April 26, 2016). "How Beyoncé's Lemonade became a pop culture phenomenon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  17. ^ "Beyoncé's Formation reclaims black America's narrative from the margins". The Guardian. February 8, 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  18. ^ "TIME Person of the Year Runner Up: Beyoncé". Time. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  19. ^ Blanchard, Margaret, "Entertainment winners named for Peabody 30", Peabody, April 20, 2017.
  20. ^ "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Music". Fast Company. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
  21. ^ "Music World/Columbia Records Releasing Beyonce's I AM...WORLD TOUR, the New Full-Length DVD Concert Film Experience Produced, Directed & Edited by Beyonce for Her Own Parkwood Pictures" (Press release). New York: PR Newswire. November 16, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  22. ^ Seidman, Robert (June 28, 2011). "MTV & BET to Simulcast "Beyonce: Year of 4" Special Thursday, June 30 at 7p" (Press release). TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  23. ^ "DVD Credits: Live at Roseland: Elements of 4". Beyonceonline.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  24. ^ "Beyonce's Singing Sister Duo Chloe x Halle Release Gorgeous 'Sugar Symphony' EP: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  25. ^ "Sophie Beem – EP by Sophie Beem on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
  26. ^ Constine, Josh (September 29, 2016). "Beyoncé becomes a tech startup investor". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
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