People may not realize what all goes on behind the scenes to make music reach the masses. This is the spot where you’ll see who’s who in the Industry. The people behind the scenes who makes things happen. This will be the section where we feature professionals whom we think deserve the credit and recognition for their hard work that they contribute to this business we call the RAP INDUSTRY..
Each month we’ll bring to you a new professional along with their background.
THIS MONTH’S FEATURE IS: Chris Atlas
A new media age requires a unique executive who can harness its power. Chris Atlas has proven that he straddles the worlds of media, in all its permutations, and the marketing demands of major consumer brands such as Coca-Cola, Apple, Nike, Boost Mobile and Diageo. Atlas is a true tastemaker who provides a window into the current youth culture for consumer brands eager to understand and communicate with the very elusive and fragmented market.
Atlas had been VP of Urban Marketing and Promotion at Cornerstone Promotions since 2001 where in addition to his developing corporate marketing strategies and execution for several of Cornerstone’s biggest corporate clients, he oversees the production of the ubiquitous Cornerstone Mix Tape. The monthly Cornerstone Mix Tape is the most coveted DJ Mix CD in the hip-hop and R&B world with a reputation that reaches far outside the music industry. The Cornerstone Mix tape Series delivers the newest and best music to the decision-makers of popular culture, the cultural elite who influence the masses. Atlas’s contribution to the hip-hop and R&B world has been recognized when he was named the “Gavin Rap Promotion and Marketing Person of the Year in 1998 and 1999 and “Gavin Executive of the Year” 1999.
In July 2006, Atlas took on a new challenge, joining Amp’d Mobile as Director of Entertainment Marketing. At Amp’d, Atlas looks to bring his relationships and experience from the music business to the every growing and changing mobile arena.
Atlas is considered a subject matter expert in the ever-changing hip-hop and R&B music industry, music promotion, and new media developments and regularly speaks on such subjects. Atlas regularly works with kids interested in building a career in the worlds of music, new media and urban marketing.
A City College graduate, Chris Atlas began his career in 1995 as an intern at Tommy Boy Records; within his first year interning he focused on complication research for Jock Rock and Jock Jams and worked on college radio. Impressed by his passion, knowledge and aggressiveness for the music industry, Tom Silverman-President of Tommy Boy invited him to join the team in May of 1996 as an Product Manager for De La Soul “Stakes is High” and Oran ‘Juice Jones’ ‘Player’s call”.
In 1997 he was named the National Director of Rap Promotions and was responsible for Rap Radio, promoting label releases to mixshows and college DJ’s. As a hard worker Atlas worked his way through the ranks becoming an A&R and founder of Tommy Boy black label in 1998. Noticing a void within the music industry for finding and releasing new music fast, he did what major labels were afraid to do, he created a imprint label within Tommy Boy called Tommy Boy Black Label which specialized in underground hip-hop for the mixtape and college community, it gave the artists the opportunity to be heard and exposed by a major independent label. In 2000 he took over as General Manager of Urban Music Promotions at Tommy Boy and was instrumental in helping several artists go from gold to platinum status such as; N.O.R.E., Capone & Noreaga, Naughty by Nature, Coolio and Everlast.
