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Corporate Clubbing's Family Values Future

Author: Jonty Skrufff
Monday, May 24, 2004
Ministry Of Sound chief Mark Rodol announced this week that he plans to turn the clubbing conglomerate into a 'Disney-style superbrand that can be attached to a huge range of products', instead of investing in new projects such as magazines or record labels (London Standard).

Just one day after the announcement, Barclaycard sponsorship guru Alaric Churchill confirmed his credit card company are to sponsor five upcoming Summer Session festivals with the South London clubbing group, including a night of 'nu-wave electro disco', co-hosted by The Cock (featuring Larry Tee, Princess Julia and Tasty Tim).

Ministry's decision to concentrate on branding came two years after Mark Rodol declared 'the super DJ and the superclub game is over' (The Guardian) and a year after they lost a reported £15million through the failure of various Ministry backed record labels (notably So Solid's Relentless Records) and lifestyle magazines Ministry and Trash.

"Dance music has shifted," Rodol said, when closing Ministry magazine.

"Even though we were still making £500,000 a year on the magazine, I didn't want to go on producing a product that doesn't reflect the brand."

According to the Standard, the group is now back in profit, with their Elephant & Castle flagship venue remaining successful some 13 years after it first opened.
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