Power and Influence: Gen Y’s Moguls

Few celebrities are as equipped to promote themselves as Gen Y celebrities are. Indeed, three such Millennials are shaking up the entertainment and business landscapes by using whatever means necessary to grow their ventures. Thus, it should come as no surprise that three of these moguls – hip-hop star Beyonce, teen music star Justin Bieber, and basketball star LeBron James are each leveraging their positions of influence to constantly reach consumers.

Beyonce

At 28, hip-hop star Beyonce is what many members of Gen Y aspire to be. In July, she was number one on Forbes’ list of “Best Paid Celebs Under 30,” as she raked in $87 million from a 93-stop world tour and endorsement deals with Nintendo and L’Oreal, among others.

Her rise in the music industry has been nothing short of phenomenal. In February, the RIAA announced that she was the top certified artist of the decade and she was listed by Billboard as the most successful female artist of the 2000s. Outside of her music empire, she has been involved in a variety of other business ventures that she uses to promote her personal brand including the House of Dereon clothing line, which she launched with her mom.

As a sign of Beyonce’s status as a mogul in the entertainment scene, she was #4 on Forbes’ 2010 list of the World’s Most Powerful Celebrities and a 2009 profile of her business success noted that she “constantly works and reworks her act, watching every two-hour performance on tour–even after her hundredth appearance–taking notes on how to improve.” It’s just one way she is able to stay fresh and relevant.

If none of this convinces you of Beyonce’s power and reach – and it should – consider this: In March, both Beyonce and her husband, rap mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, got a personal meeting with President Obama in the White House.

Justin Bieber

Love him or hate him, you simply cannot ignore the impact he is having on the music scene today. Only 16 years old, Bieber already has two platinum albums and was the first artist to have seven – yes, seven – songs from a debut album on the Billboard Hot 100. His rise to stardom speaks volumes about the power Millennials have in spending and dictating who becomes popular. If one thing can be said about ours, as opposed to other generations, it’s that we are more adept at “voting with our dollars” than any other generation because of how fast we process information flow.

After all, how is it possible that Bieber, a self-taught musician who was discovered on YouTube in 2008, was able to rise to stardom so quickly? The answer is simple: he’s that marketable. While tween girls are his primary fanbase, his ability to reach consumers via Twitter – he has 4,761,167 followers as of this writing – and YouTube – he has the most viewed video of all-time – suggest that his appeal is a lot wider than anyone could have imagined.  From a marketing perspective, his story is one that has massive appeal because it proves that the average young person writing on a blog or uploading videos of themselves singing on YouTube may one day experience the same success he has.

LeBron James

How far does LeBron James’ influence extend? As one of the most vaunted free agents in NBA history, James made headlines – and received criticism – for an hour long special to announce his signing decision on ESPN. The program, dubbed “The Decision,” garnered nearly 10 million viewers! The Miami Heat star clearly aspires to use his success on the court to promote his own business empire. He is a friend of billionaire Warren Buffett, and has made it known he wishes to become the first billionaire athlete. That path will be made easier given his endorsements, which run the gamut from Nike to State Farm.

Who can we even compare LeBron to? In the 1990s, Michael Jordan was seen as being a “God-like” figure to many young kids, more of a myth than an actual person. On the other hand, James has been more accessible to children and Millennials alike, given his constant presence in the media. Much of this accessibility is due to the fact that, unlike Jordan, who came out of the University of North Carolina, James was groomed to be a star at a very young age as a basketball prodigy in Ohio where he earned the title of Naismith Prep Player of the Year in 2003. He’s so popular that when he finally created his Twitter account in July, he attracted 150,000 followers in six hours. Just as a generation of kids wanted to be “Like Mike” in the early 1990s, a whole generation of kids is growing up now want to be just like LeBron – with his influence and all.

Will these three young influencers continue to stay relevant amid a media culture that is constantly building up and tearing down celebrities? Will they find that they can continue to leverage the media tools they have in the past to connect with fans? Yet the biggest question remains – how big will each of their empires get?

Photo Credit: RMTip21