Mary J. Blige Makes Moves with Lionsgate; Dreamville Documentary on July 2

Mary J. Blige Makes Moves With Lionsgate

Mary has had quite the week. Her BET Awards performance was a trip down memory lane. Her catalog span decades. (“Real Love” has always been a personal favorite). Ms. Blige also seems to be in a healthy mental space after an ugly divorce. It’s great to see good things happen to the What’s the 411? singer.

This week, she announced a new partnership with Lionsgate films.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

The singer/songwriter/actress has signed a first-look TV deal with Lionsgate to develop and produce series via her newly launched Blue Butterfly Productions. The deal also includes a component by which Blige can create content for the studio's array of platforms.

"I couldn’t be more excited to be working with Lionsgate," said Blige. "They are incredible collaborators and have been natural partners from when we first started talking. I can't wait to bring all of our projects to life."

The Mudbound actress is making moves.

For the past few years, Reese Witherspoon has turned her Hello Sunshine production house into a powerful Hollywood launchpad for women-led stories. I can see Mary J doing the same for black women with Blue Butterfly Productions and Lion’s Gate.

REVENGE: A Dreamville Film, comes out July 2

Didn’t I just write about this?! Here’s what I wrote last week in the Mary Meeker update:

Artists can release a behind-the-scenes mini-series podcast that document the creation process of their next album. Some artists have already done this. Think Beyonce’s Homecoming but far less expensive to produce.

A boutique record label can also create podcasts to document their management style and process. For instance, Dreamville is beloved by the culture. But not everyone who loves the label will actually sit down and listens to Revenge of the Dreamers III (some will lie and say they did, but others will be honest). A podcast like that is a unique, but easy to create product that certain fans will be more willing to consume.

This is about meeting fans where they’re at. As I tweeted yesterday, it’s similar to the Beyonce sales funnel that I made back in April. Each piece of content offered or item sold is a different way to reach fans at different stages. A documentary can bring in a casual fan more easily than a compilation album will. If the documentary does its job, a segment of that audience should become more loyal to Dreamville, and more willing to buy more from the label in the future.