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pioneer in the DVD Magazine game, James “Kraze” Billings has turned his love for hip-hop and knowledge of video production into a phenomenon of mass proportion. The New York native has parlayed his versatile industry expertise into a multimillion dollar enterprise and his company, Kraze Entertainment, is not only responsible for the development of the popular DVD magazine, All Access DVD, but is also one of the originators of the DVD magazine format in itself. Recently the success of the All Access Brand has expanded to television, reaching over 24 million Americans on the Starz/Encore Network. How did you get started with All Access DVD? I came out with a documentary called Street Poetry. I had entered it into the Urban World Film Festival in 1999 and we got a great response from MTV and other companies such as October Films and Miramax. The problem with that was I never had any clearance for the footage I was showing at the film festival. So at that point I toyed around with the idea, and I asked a lot of my boys, “Do you guys read magazines all the way through?” Because I always felt like I was buying magazines but never reading the whole magazine. Most of my people were the same way. They read what they thought was interesting but never dealt with the whole magazine. So around the year 2000, I started asking people, “What if there was a magazine that you could watch instead of read, would you watch the whole thing?” And everybody was like, “Yeah, definitely.” So that’s when the birth of All Access came in. When you first started, was it hard to obtain solid interviews? Well, I was a signed artist when I was 15, so music has always been a part of my life. After I didn’t really make it as an artist, I ended up working for FUBU right before they catapulted to three hundred and fifty million. Music, fashion, and films go hand in hand. Everybody came through that FUBU office, so me being the FUBU filming guy kind of helped my relationships with the artists. When you work with a reputable brand, people take you seriously. So, it was a much easier transition when I left FUBU and started doing my own thing.
What’s next for you and your company? We just signed a twelve episode deal with Starz/Encore which is the third largest cable network in the country. You know you have HBO, and then you have Showtime, and then Starz/Encore. The All Access Show just debuted on air last month, so were real excited about that. We went from being a DVD magazine that’s catering to the streets to where a major cable network feels that were a strong enough brand to infiltrate middle class America. And for us to go from selling between twenty-five to fifty thousand DVD units, to now being in front of 24 million people every week is a great experience. Not only were we able to secure a national television show, but we were also able to secure a similar situation outside of the country, in fifty different countries, catering to 119 million different households.
So you pretty much encountered all facets of the hip-hop industry. I went from rapping and trying to be an artist, to actually going to school for television production and then I ended up working in the fashion industry. Now, I’m back doing the film thing and I’m thinking about going back in the studio. If Puffy can do it, so can I.
What kind of revenue does that bring in? Our projections for DVD sales outside the country for the first three months is about 500,000 copies and that equates to us making about 2.5 million dollars in 2007. That’s just one revenue stream, and that’s outside the country. We haven’t even tackled where we are now.
Talk about how being versatile has helped you in your career? The most important thing is that I was able to do more than one thing. I didn’t stick to trying to be an artist. Being able to move around in these different circles created my versatility and that definitely helped me get to where I am today. We have the number one spot in the DVD market and are able to say that confidently.
How were you able to land such a major television deal? We were able to build a brand that people wanted to associate themselves with, meaning these major companies. Let it be known that they’ve been following our career. They’ve been seeing how influential we were in the marketplace with All Access the DVD. Everything that we’ve done got us to where we are with these companies because of the moves we made and the relationships that we built with that brand of All Access. They’re not just giving cats TV shows, so you gotta understand the magnitude of how we finagled our way through our branding and our product. There were a lot of odds stacked against us, but we’re used to breaking down doors. We were the very first to coin ourselves a DVD magazine.
Tell me about some of the things you’ve covered on All Access. What we’re known for is either breaking a story or bringing more light to a story you might have heard about or read a little about. We ask those hard questions and really get those answers; uncensored, candid, in your face, straight raw from the artist. With each and every issue, you’re either going to get something dealing with controversy, beef, or sex, because really, that’s what fuels hip-hop and I think we’re the most known and well respected DVD on the market today. Recently we brought a lot of light to the Green Lantern situation. We were able to do an exclusive sit-down interview and talk about his departure from Eminem and 50 Cent. There has been a recent influx in DVD magazines being released. How do feel about this and do you see these new guys as competition? How’s that song go by D4L? I bet you can’t do it like me. They can’t do it like us. I don’t want to discredit anybody, but I will say this - it’s flattering when you have people imitate what you do, but when you’re the leader of the pack, that’s just what it is. It’s great to influence people and I don’t want to discourage people that want to pick up a camera and make a DVD, but at the end of the day, it’s a business. Its not just about picking up a camera, it’s about having those relationships with the artists. I commend those cats out there for creating them DVDs, but you just got to be a little more creative. Where did you get your funding to start All Access DVD? All Access DVD was self-funded; it’s always been self-funded. I haven’t taken any money from any banks or any outside venture capitalists. The money is derived from me and my partners at the time. It came from our 44
pockets and our hard work.
You’re from New York and a lot of the content in your DVD relates to Southern artists. Do you think New York can make a comeback? The whole East coast is getting ready to make a major, major run to gain their shine back. But I’ve always supported Southern artists, if you go back to my volume two, I have Lil’ Jon on my cover and Trina and I was the first to interview Jazze Pha as a producer. It’s an evolution; it’s going to move from Atlanta like it moved from New York. I think it’s going to be more Midwest in time than anything. But it’s really not a South, East, West, or North thing; we should all be supportive and pull each other up. What kind of advice would you give to others coming up? First I got to say, tune in to my television show on Starz in Black. Secondly, make sure you support the All Access DVD. Thirdly, make sure you go get a pair of my shoes, the A-Dub sneakers that come out nationwide in 2007. Support the things you believe in and make sure you have people supporting you. I’m not afraid to ask people to go buy my DVD, because those are the things that you need to do. If you want to get anything in life believe in yourself, and know that there is nothing that can’t be done and won’t be done unless you don’t do it. Log on to www.thedvdmagazine.com for more updates on Kraze and All Access DVD. - Words by Eric N. Perrin