Tag Archives: Pop Culture

FanGirl Consulting named licensing agent for Somos Arte’s La Borinqueña

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The Brooklyn-based indie studio, Somos Arte (We Are Art), the name behind the hit comic superhero franchise, La Borinqueña, has tapped FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management as its agent to focus on licensing, promotional partnerships, and brand integrations.

Created by the graphic novelist Edgardo Miranda-Rodriquez, the superhero emerged in 2016 as a direct response to the economic crisis affecting the island of Puerto Rico. Inspired by the Puerto Rican national anthem of the same name, La Borinqueña is an original Afro-Puerto Rican character and patriotic symbol presented in a classic superhero story.

As a response to Hurricane Maria, Miranda-Rodriguez self-published the best-selling benefit anthology, Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico, under his own studio Somos Arte.

The anthology features La Borinqueña teaming up with Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and other DC Comics heroes. All sales from this benefit anthology were used to award grants to non-profit organizations based in Puerto Rico. During the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con event, Miranda-Rodriguez was bestowed the Eisner Award’s Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic efforts.

Through sales of the graphic novels and various other collaborations, the grants program has raised over a quarter of a million dollars for grassroots organizations in Puerto Rico via the La Borinqueña Grants Program.

“Superheroes and their stories inspire us to help make the world a better place for all of us. With La Borinqueña, I set out to create a character that connects readers and fans to a real place rich with history and heritage,” said Miranda-Rodriguez. “Our hope is that La Borinqueña inspires us all to see our heroic potential to make a difference now, leaping from the comic book pages to the real world.”

Anita Castellar, CEO of FanGirl Consulting and Brand Management, added: “As a Puerto Rican woman myself, I couldn’t be prouder to build an official licensing program for La Borinqueña and to work with Somos Arte to celebrate our Puerto Rican heritage and share our stories with the world.”

In 2020, both Rosario Dawson and Zoe Saldana lent their voices to various public service announcements featuring La Borinqueña, and produced in conjunction with Voto Latino, Fair Fight, and Poder Latinx, to engage voters in the US general election and the Georgia runoff elections.

On December 18, 2020 La Borinqueña joined forces with Stretch and Bobbito + The M19s Band to produce the first song, music video, and comic book Que Bonita Bandera to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Puerto Rico’s flag which falls on December 22nd.

The song is released on 10x Grammy Award winner Eddie Palmieri’s label Uprising Music NYC (distributed by ADA/Warner Music) featuring vocals from such celebrities as Rosario Dawson, Rosie Perez and over a dozen more! On sale now with 100% of the net profits to benefit the La Borinqueña Grants Program.

FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management will serve as global Licensing Agent for La Borinqueña brand, overseeing and seeking deals across licensing, retail, and promotional opportunities, as well as build direct to consumer and ecommerce strategies.

Take a first look at the new Peaky Blinders: Faster Than Truth card game from Steamforged Games

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Fans have been offered a sneak first peek at the upcoming Peaky Blinders: Faster Than Truth card game, a tabletop gaming title developed by Steamforged Games under a licensing agreement with Banijay Brands and Caryn Mandabach Productions.

The card game is scheduled for release on February 26, 2021 and will pay homage to the award winning series that follows the misadventures of the Shelby family as they fight to maintain an empire across the lawless streets of 1920s Birmingham and beyond.

In Peaky Blinders: Faster Than Truth, players can take a walk down those very streets as they try to gather resources to beat their rivals. Players use cards to gain resources and money as well as hinder their opponents. To get through the game, players must rely on their ability to bluff and garner intelligence as they make and break alliances in the bid to come out on top.

The game has been designed for two to six players with a playing time of 30 minutes. Check out the first images of the card game below.

Take a first look at the new Peaky Blinders: Faster Than Truth card game from Steamforged Games

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Fans have been offered a sneak first peek at the upcoming Peaky Blinders: Faster Than Truth card game, a tabletop gaming title developed by Steamforged Games under a licensing agreement with Banijay Brands and Caryn Mandabach Productions.

The card game is scheduled for release on February 26, 2021 and will pay homage to the award winning series that follows the misadventures of the Shelby family as they fight to maintain an empire across the lawless streets of 1920s Birmingham and beyond.

In Peaky Blinders: Faster Than Truth, players can take a walk down those very streets as they try to gather resources to beat their rivals. Players use cards to gain resources and money as well as hinder their opponents. To get through the game, players must rely on their ability to bluff and garner intelligence as they make and break alliances in the bid to come out on top.

The game has been designed for two to six players with a playing time of 30 minutes. Check out the first images of the card game below.

Japan’s biggest anime feature movie Demon Slayer has its sights on US licensing with Lucky Helmet

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The Japanese animated feature film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train is set to expand its licensing and merchandising presence across the US through the efforts of the IP development business, Lucky Helmet.

It will mark the first in a sweep of new IP to be brought to the region’s licensing sector thanks to the firm’s appointment by Aniplex of America Inc to represent selected titles released in North America.

Lucky Helmet is a newly launched agency focused on assisting creators, producers, and other IP owners with commercialisation strategies on existing brands, as well as with the development of new content-based franchises.

The partnership will be led by Demon Slayer, a highly anticipated film based on one of the best-selling manga series. According to the film’s official Twitter account, the film had grossed ¥28.8 billion ($277.5 million) as of December 7, overtaking the American film, Titanic. It is now the second highest-grossing film in Japan, ever, behind only Studio Ghibli’s 2002 release, Spirited Away.

The Demon Slayer film is breaking records in other Asia territories as well. In China, the movie surpassed China’s Jiang Ziya to become the highest-grossing animated feature of 2020; and in Taiwan, the film quickly earned over $15 million, making it the biggest release of the year, and the highest-grossing animation release of all-time in the territory.

The movie centers on the hero Tanjiro Kamado’s efforts to save the lives of passengers aboard the Mugen Train, named after the Japanese word for infinity, on which countless people have gone missing.

The film is currently being adapted for American audiences, and is expected to release in the US in 2021 by the Sony-owned division Aniplex of America in association with Funimation.

“Demon Slayer’s box-office success overseas, in the middle of a pandemic, is nothing less than extraordinary,” commented Marc Harrington, founder of Lucky Helmet.

“We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to support Aniplex on its licensing and merchandising efforts in North America, and we are confident that the film will further excite fans, and that there will be great potential for new licensing partners across many categories.”

Lucky Helmet previously announced that it had signed four-time Academy Award-nominated animation studio, Cartoon Saloon, to consult on licensing and merchandising opportunities based on its original IP, including the animated feature film, Wolfwalkers; the International Emmy Award-nominated series, Puffin Rock, and its upcoming film, Puffin Rock-The Movie.

Japan’s biggest anime feature movie Demon Slayer has its sights on US licensing with Lucky Helmet

Posted on by

The Japanese animated feature film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train is set to expand its licensing and merchandising presence across the US through the efforts of the IP development business, Lucky Helmet.

It will mark the first in a sweep of new IP to be brought to the region’s licensing sector thanks to the firm’s appointment by Aniplex of America Inc to represent selected titles released in North America.

Lucky Helmet is a newly launched agency focused on assisting creators, producers, and other IP owners with commercialisation strategies on existing brands, as well as with the development of new content-based franchises.

The partnership will be led by Demon Slayer, a highly anticipated film based on one of the best-selling manga series. According to the film’s official Twitter account, the film had grossed ¥28.8 billion ($277.5 million) as of December 7, overtaking the American film, Titanic. It is now the second highest-grossing film in Japan, ever, behind only Studio Ghibli’s 2002 release, Spirited Away.

The Demon Slayer film is breaking records in other Asia territories as well. In China, the movie surpassed China’s Jiang Ziya to become the highest-grossing animated feature of 2020; and in Taiwan, the film quickly earned over $15 million, making it the biggest release of the year, and the highest-grossing animation release of all-time in the territory.

The movie centers on the hero Tanjiro Kamado’s efforts to save the lives of passengers aboard the Mugen Train, named after the Japanese word for infinity, on which countless people have gone missing.

The film is currently being adapted for American audiences, and is expected to release in the US in 2021 by the Sony-owned division Aniplex of America in association with Funimation.

“Demon Slayer’s box-office success overseas, in the middle of a pandemic, is nothing less than extraordinary,” commented Marc Harrington, founder of Lucky Helmet.

“We are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to support Aniplex on its licensing and merchandising efforts in North America, and we are confident that the film will further excite fans, and that there will be great potential for new licensing partners across many categories.”

Lucky Helmet previously announced that it had signed four-time Academy Award-nominated animation studio, Cartoon Saloon, to consult on licensing and merchandising opportunities based on its original IP, including the animated feature film, Wolfwalkers; the International Emmy Award-nominated series, Puffin Rock, and its upcoming film, Puffin Rock-The Movie.

Culture sculpture: Beer Buddies and the fine art of merchandising

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A two-man operation working out of a headquarters in Wheal Vor, in Cornwall, Beer Buddies has started to make its presence known on the pop culture licensing and merchandise scene through its range of best-selling Motorhead, Iron Maiden, and now Original Stormtrooper bottle openers.

Using traditional sculpting methods put to use from its Cornish workshop, this is a company that has not only struck upon a unique angle within the traditional licensing space, but continues to champion an artisan approach within the sector, finding and bridging that gap between today’s demand for pop culture merchandise and the consumer’s desire for artistry.

Here, Licensing.biz grabs a quick five minutes with Beer Buddies co-founder Richard House to talk about the firm’s foray into licensing, its successes, and what’s on the horizon for the UK business.

Hi Richard, good to catch up with you. To start, can you give us a bit of history on the Beer Buddies company? How did this all come about for you guys, and what was the moment that got you into the licensing space?

Beer Buddies is just two people: myself and Seamus Moran. We both did design based degrees and formed Beer Buddies 10 years ago, we’ve worked together ever since moving to Cornwall from the Midlands in 1988.

Buddies started almost by accident when we were asked to design and produce a Green Man wall plaque. Seamus realised that a bottled opener could be incorporated into the mouth and I came up with the name Beer Buddies. We came up with a few more designs, made them in our workshop and began selling, as demand grew and the range increased and we moved the manufacturing to China.

We had never considered doing licensed products until Jens Drinkwater of Global Merch introduced himself to us at a trade show about three years ago. Motorhead bottled beer Road Crew was selling strongly and Jens suggested a bottle opener would be a great addition to Motorhead merchandise line.

The trail went quiet for about 12 months and then out the blue we got the green light from Global and six months later the first Beer Buddies licensed product was on sale. It immediately opened our eyes to the potential of the licensing world. Motorhead sold more than the rest of our range put together.

You pay homage to a real artisan aspect of creating Beer Buddies. How do you guys strike that balance of bringing the artisan to the licensing space? What do you think this brings to the licensing space itself and is it proof that artistry and merchandise can work together?

The artisan element of our working methods probably has much to do with our age. Seamus is a sculptor in his own right and totally at home working with traditional modelling materials such as clay and plaster. Neither of us are of the Cad era. Seamus has a meticulous modelling style and an eye for detail that is unique to him and that translates into the designs and brings a very human element to the work that a computer generated design can’t.

We look for brand icons that will translate into what we do without making too many compromises to the original concept. Also, because this is so new to us having good support from the licensee is very important. Global has been fantastic in this regard and Jens has introduced us to new customers and spread the cost of royalty fees when our cash flow has been tight.

What has reception been like to the Beer Buddies’ licensed roll out to date? 

The response to our licensed roll outs to date has been very positive. Motorhead and Iron Maiden are our biggest sellers. Original Stormtrooper arrived late due to the chaotic situation at UK ports but the initial signs are that it’s going to be very strong .

How has business been for you guys over the course of 2020? With lockdown keeping people in their homes for longer, has Beer Buddies spotted an opportunity here?

Like virtually all businesses this year, Covid-19 has caused us problems. Most of our trade accounts have been closed for 25 per cent of the year and some may have closed for good. We probably won’t know the full extent of the damage until next year. On the plus side our own website sales have more than doubled as lockdown has sent online shopping go off the chart .

What’s the next big move for Beer Buddies, what can we expect from you guys in 2021?

Next year we hope to get some more Heavy Metal under our belts with Metallica, they have the right look and like Motorhead and Iron Maiden already have a licensed beer and a huge loyal fan base.

Sony to purchase anime entertainment powerhouse Crunchyroll for $1.175bn

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Sony Pictures Entertainment has reached an agreement with AT&T to purchase its Crunchyroll anime business – a direct-to-consumer service within the WarnerMedia segment – for a proposed $1.175bn.

Under the deal, Crunchyroll anime will fall under Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc and Sony Music Entertainment Inc’s Funimation Global Group, a giant on the anime scene.

Crunchyroll is recognised as a premier anime direct-to-consumer service within AT&T’s WarnerMedia segment with more than 3 million SVOD subscribers and growing. It currently serves 90 million registered users across more than 200 countries and territories offering AVOD, mobile games, manga, events merchandise and distribution.

The combination of Crunchyroll and Funimation will provides the opportunity for Sony to broaden distribution for its content partners and expand its offerings for consumers, while cementing itself as one of the largest global players in the anime scene.

“The Crunchyroll team has done an extraordinary job of not only growing the Crunchyroll brand but also building a passionate community of anime fans. Crunchyroll’s success is a direct result of the company’s culture and commitment to their fans,” said Tony Goncalves, chief revenue officer, WarnerMedia.

“By combining with Funimation, they will continue to nurture a global community and bring more anime to more people. I’m incredibly proud of the Crunchyroll team and what they have been able to accomplish in the digital media space in such a short period of time. They’ve created an end-to-end global ecosystem for this incredible art form.”

Tony Vinciquerra, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, added: “We are proud to bring Crunchyroll into the Sony family. Through Funimation and our terrific partners at Aniplex and Sony Music Entertainment Japan, we have a deep understanding of this global artform and are well-positioned to deliver outstanding content to audiences around the world.

“Together with Crunchyroll, we will create the best possible experience for fans and greater opportunity for creators, producers and publishers in Japan and elsewhere.

“Funimation has been doing this for over 25 years and we look forward to continuing to leverage the power of creativity and technology to succeed in this rapidly growing segment of entertainment.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Games Workshop partners with The Koyo Store for Warhammer 40,000 collectables

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The entertainment merchandise specialist, The Koyo Store, has secured the global rights to create a range of officially licensed Warhammer 40,000 collectables through a new partnership with Games Workshop.

The deal marks a major success for The Koyo Store as the range will not only be sold through Games Workshop’s own High Street stores, but also available for fans to buy direct at www.thekoyostore.com/collections/warhammer-40000.

The initial Warhammer 40,000 product line-up, available in-store and online and encompassing a range of pin badge collections based on popular characters and artifacts in the game world, will include Mystery Faction Pins, Paint Your Own Space Marine pins, and a Space Marine Chapter Icon 12 pin collection.

The New Year will see the addition of a selection of Artifact 3D pins, A Diorama pin set, and a Legendary Character 12 pin set.

Games Workshop is the latest major IP owner to join The Koyo Store’s burgeoning collectables line-up, which also includes partnerships with Ubisoft, (Rainbow Six Siege), PUBG, Toei (Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super), Capcom (Street Fighter) and HBO (Game of Thrones)

“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Games Workshop and the Warhammer 40,000 brand,” said Lee Townsend, founder and CEO of The Koyo Store. “We’re rapidly expanding our roster of first-class licensing partners, both within the video games industry and the wider entertainment markets. We are excited by what 2021 has in store. We already have three new licenses in the wings that are under NDA.”

The Koyo Store’s high-quality pin badges, coins and other unique merchandise have proved a hit among games, Esports and TV and film fans who are looking for great collectibles and the opportunity to claim bragging rights within their peer groups.

Based in Lancashire, the firm’s team has a strong and varied skillset, with designers, retail experts, gamers and pop culture fans working to produce epic merchandise and collectibles.

Rilakkuma lands second series on Netflix as Sagoo sees licensing programme ‘growing apace’ in Europe

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Rilakkuma, the cute Kawaii bear, will be returning to Netflix for a second series, following a successful debut back in 2019 that has given life to a growing licensing programme managed by the independent agency, Sagoo Licensing.

Production of the new stop-motion animated series is now underway with the title Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure. The series depicts an active day of incidents and meetings that take place when Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Kiiroitori, and Kaoru go to play in an amusement park that is about to close.

San-X’s Rilakkuma brand made its streaming debut in 2019, also on Netflix, when Rilakkuma and Kaoru debuted. The series featured 13 episodes following the duo’s friendship and daily life, as the popular bear went to live in his friend, Kaoru’s apartment.

The fresh content will provide a further boost to the Rilakkuma brand, which is already one of the most popular brands in Japan and is rapidly gaining traction throughout Europe. The growth is largely thanks to the property’s online presence, along with a plethora of new and exciting products coming to market.

Since working with San-X, Sagoo has secured deals with Difuzed for apparel, Graine Créative for arts and crafts, and Pioupiou & Merveilles (Shokid) for toys and gifts, with more to be announced over the coming months. 

Veronique Pichon, president, Sagoo, said: “We’re very excited to see the return of Rilakkuma to Netflix following such a successful debut last year. The brand is growing apace throughout Europe and consumer demand for licensed product is also increasing. 

“We are looking forward to further building the consumer products offering as new fans are welcomed into the wonderful world of Rilakkuma via his latest Netflix adventures.”

Rilakkuma lands second series on Netflix as Sagoo sees licensing programme ‘growing apace’ in Europe

Posted on by

Rilakkuma, the cute Kawaii bear, will be returning to Netflix for a second series, following a successful debut back in 2019 that has given life to a growing licensing programme managed by the independent agency, Sagoo Licensing.

Production of the new stop-motion animated series is now underway with the title Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure. The series depicts an active day of incidents and meetings that take place when Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Kiiroitori, and Kaoru go to play in an amusement park that is about to close.

San-X’s Rilakkuma brand made its streaming debut in 2019, also on Netflix, when Rilakkuma and Kaoru debuted. The series featured 13 episodes following the duo’s friendship and daily life, as the popular bear went to live in his friend, Kaoru’s apartment.

The fresh content will provide a further boost to the Rilakkuma brand, which is already one of the most popular brands in Japan and is rapidly gaining traction throughout Europe. The growth is largely thanks to the property’s online presence, along with a plethora of new and exciting products coming to market.

Since working with San-X, Sagoo has secured deals with Difuzed for apparel, Graine Créative for arts and crafts, and Pioupiou & Merveilles (Shokid) for toys and gifts, with more to be announced over the coming months. 

Veronique Pichon, president, Sagoo, said: “We’re very excited to see the return of Rilakkuma to Netflix following such a successful debut last year. The brand is growing apace throughout Europe and consumer demand for licensed product is also increasing. 

“We are looking forward to further building the consumer products offering as new fans are welcomed into the wonderful world of Rilakkuma via his latest Netflix adventures.”