Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME)

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About Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME)

Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME) is a Black-owned full-service entertainment group with global reach, but with its heart in the hometown of modern American music. MIME’s family of companies includes an independent music publishing company, music distribution company, sync licensing company, and recording studio brand, all focused on providing worldwide exposure to Memphis artists without requiring them to leave their hometown for a music industry hub like New York, Los Angeles, or Nashville. MIME is now expanding this approach to other cities with a mission to create a global network of hyper-local recording, A&R, distribution, and artist development businesses.

MIME was founded in 2015 by original Stax Records songwriter/producer and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter (CEO) and 20+ year business and legal veteran Tony D. Alexander (President and Managing Director). Inspired by the full-service environment of Stax and driven by an artist-first approach, the two set out to re-establish Memphis as a key music industry hub and expand its influence around the world, all while developing and promoting diverse talent on both the creative and business sides of the industry. MIME is dedicated to true diversity from the C-Suite down, with hiring practices that put women and people of color in real positions of power.

Porter and Alexander met through their work at The Consortium MMT, a non-profit organization founded by Porter to cultivate the music industry in Memphis. Together, they began searching for a recording studio to purchase, intending to launch a record label. After discovering what is now the 4U Recording Memphis building, they decided to purchase it and build their own state-of-the-art studio, with construction beginning in January 2016 under the eye of noted studio architect Michael Cronin. Since opening in 2018, the studio has served a wide variety of clients in R&B, hip-hop, gospel, and more, including Moneybagg Yo, Yo Gotti, NLE Choppa, Hittkidd & Glorilla, Wess Morgan, and Kirk Whalum.

During the two years it took to complete construction on the studio, Alexander studied the music business intently and determined the best way to ensure success was to create a completely integrated business. MIME’s next move was to establish its credentials in music publishing and sync licensing for TV, film, ad campaigns, and other media by acquiring Heavy Hitters Music in June 2018. Founded by the late Cindy Badell-Slaughter and her husband Bill Slaughter, the boutique song catalog and music publisher brought MIME the publishing credibility it needed, having worked with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, The CW, ESPN, HBO, Showtime, Disney, UFC, The Hallmark Channel, and many more to secure placements for the songs it represents.

Learning from Porter’s experience at Stax Records, which ultimately failed due to a bad distribution deal, Alexander then set out to bring music distribution in-house under the MIME banner. Also in 2018, MIME purchased the assets of Beatroot Music, then primarily a content management system for publishers and labels but including features that made music distribution a snap. MIME hired a team to build out these features, leading to the creation of a top music distributor that has signed hundreds of hand-selected distribution deals with artists such as Doug E. Fresh, Big30, Lyrica Anderson, DJ Drewski, Big Homiie G, Kolyon, Ryan Destiny, and Young Lyric while also directly distributing music from record labels such as NLess Entertainment, 1801 Records, Riveting Entertainment, and One Eight Entertainment. Unique for its size, Beatroot also has direct relationships with major services including Apple, Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Tidal, Pandora, and Sirius XM.

With their full-service infrastructure complete, MIME established independent music publishing company MIME Publishing, which handles Porter’s legendary post-Stax songwriting catalog and other copyrights of some of the most sought-after young producers in hip-hop and R&B. In 2021, they opened the 4U Recording Atlanta studio, establishing a homebase in the world capital of hip-hop. Much of MIME Publishing and Beatroot’s operations are also based out of the Atlanta space, allowing them to find local talent and give them global exposure.

MIME’s family of companies work together to create unique synergies unavailable anywhere else, allowing all its branches to super-serve their clients. For example, Heavy Hitters Music has secured high-profile placements for Beatroot-distributed tracks “Said Sum” by Moneybagg Yo on behalf of producer YC for one NBA and two NFL syncs, “Hey Hey Alright” by smoke&jade on Netflix series Selling Sunset, “Keep Up” by Chelsea Grams in an ad campaign for Samsung, and “No Enemy” by wuuds on MTV reality show Are You The One? In addition, because 4U Recording studios are open around the clock and their staffers are cross-trained in all aspects of the music business, MIME’s companies can offer artists personalized, 24/7 customer service, enabling them to reach a human being at any time of the day or night.

For more information, visit www.mimecorp.com.

Tony Alexander – Co-Founder, President & Managing Director

Tony D. Alexander is Co-Founder, President, and Managing Director of Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME). In this role, he oversees all operations at MIME’s vast family of companies, including 4U Recording studios in Memphis and Atlanta, music distributor Beatroot Music, sync licensing company Heavy Hitters Music, and independent music publishing company MIME Publishing. These entities all work together toward Alexander’s vision to develop and promote diverse talent on both the creative and business sides of the music business while re-establishing Memphis as a key music industry hub with global reach.

Alexander is also a veteran business executive with over 20 years of experience developing and implementing corporate strategies and leading a disparate group of companies. Wherever he has worked, Alexander has been committed to ensuring improved finances, heightened productivity, and enhanced strategic outcomes. He is a serial entrepreneur who founded, co-founded, or was an early employee at six different businesses in various industries that were successfully acquired (NuAge Technologies Inc., The Gwenet Group LLC, Alveolus Inc., WeCom Systems Inc., OptimumPath LLC, H-Power Inc.).

As a registered patent attorney, Alexander understands innovation and regulation. He has focused his legal practice on client counseling in all aspects of procuring, licensing, and enforcing patents, trademarks, and copyrights, with significant experience in trade dress and trade secret matters. His background broadly encompasses intellectual property, technology transfer, venture capital, and regulatory compliance, with an emphasis on emerging companies.

Alexander is also an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, where he teaches Food & Drug Law, Patent Law, Entertainment Law, and Trademark Law. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and the Music Business Association (Music Biz). His work has been featured in publications such as The National Law Journal, Nature Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Compliance Monitor, Billboard, the Commercial Appeal, Music Week, South Carolina, Business Journal, and In Business Magazine.

Alexander is a magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College. He also holds both a Master of Science and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A committed community activist who serves as Senior Pastor of a growing Memphis congregation, Tony has been married to his best friend, Dr. Gwendolyn Alexander, for 25 years. They have three children — Natalie, Philip, and Memphis Paige — and reside in Memphis, TN.

David Porter – Co-Founder & CEO

David Porter’s life and career span the decades and genres of Memphis music. As a child in the ’50s, he sang in a gospel group with Maurice White, future founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, and performed in secular shows as “Little David.” Right after high school and working at a grocery store across the street, Porter approached Jim Stewart’s Satellite Records for an opportunity to be an artist at the label. When Satellite rebranded as Stax Records, Porter became its first staff writer at the age of 22. He also brought in other local musicians including Booker T. Jones, William Bell, Andrew Love (leader of The Memphis Horns), and was instrumental in connecting Isaac Hayes to the staff of the label.

Porter and Hayes formed a partnership that rivaled Motown Records’ Holland-Dozier-Holland team. Their writing and producing work for Sam & Dave earned eight successive R&B Top 10 hits for the duo, including “Hold On, I’m Coming,” “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby,” “Soul Man,” and “I Thank You,” among others.

Promoted to Vice President of Stax Records, Porter co-wrote and produced with Isaac Hayes and additional label artists, including Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor, The Emotions, The Soul Children, and Carla Thomas. Porter returned to making records as an artist in 1969, releasing four albums and eight singles for Stax’s Enterprise subsidiary, with two singles gaining national attention.

When Stax declared bankruptcy in 1975, Porter paid some employees out of his own pocket until it was clear that the financial hole was too deep and Stax was not going to survive. Fantasy Records purchased the Stax catalog in 1977 and Porter was hired as the Executive Vice President and head of A&R to oversee back catalog releases and new signings. While the Stax era had come to a close, its impact on American music and the international recognition it earned cannot be overstated.

Porter’s work has been given a second life with the advent of sampling. Music by The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Wu-Tang Clan was built on samples of Porter’s songs, and Big Daddy Kane’s 1988 hit, “Ain’t No Half-Steppin,” contained a sample of “Blind Alley,” a song Porter had produced and written for the Emotions in 1972. “Blind Alley” was also sampled for Mariah Carey’s 1993 #1 hit, “Dreamlover.” Will Smith’s 1998 Top 5 pop hit, “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” included a sample of a song Porter had cowritten and produced for The Bar-Kays, “Sang and Dance.”

Over the course of his career, Porter has been recognized extensively for his songwriting achievements, including induction to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, Grammy nominations, and inclusion alongside Hayes in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time list. Perhaps most symbolic of his commitment to Memphis, the road running alongside Stax Records has been honorarily named “Mr. David Porter St.”

Porter still calls Memphis home and has devoted himself to sharing his experiences in the entertainment industry with the next generation of creatives. In 2012, Porter launched a nonprofit music mentoring program, The Consortium MMT, which offers classes in Memphis on songwriting, production, performance, and the business of music. This program is the first of its kind having videos of artists such as Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Bobby Womack, Jimmy Jam, and countless other major stars giving their creative secrets to aspiring talents in their goals for music. He is also co-founder and CEO of Made in Memphis Entertainment, or MIME. Since 2015, MIME has expanded to include state-of-the-art recording studios in Memphis and Atlanta, as well as businesses in sync licensing, distribution, and publishing administration for independent artists nationwide.