About Daryle Lockhart

Daryle Lockhart, taken in 2008 by Steve Rutherford

Hello! I’m a marketing artist who has served brands in industries ranging from auto to fashion, including Honda Motor Company America, The Walt Disney Company, Sony Music Entertainment, Virgin, Universal, Sony Japan, Triple 5 Soul, Vibe Magazine, NASA, The United States Veterans Administration, and Belk Department Stores.

I’ve launched several successful ventures that reach niche lifestyle audiences across the world. I am known for an international (and sometimes intergalactic) perspective on business, as well as a dedication to science education and social action!

CAREER

I got my start having fun. While studying film at New York University, I was making a small living as a DJ. This lead to a job as urban music buyer for all of HMV’s USA stores. My focus and knowledge of hip-hop, house, and acid jazz music caught the eye of major labels, and soon I was snatched up to run promotion and marketing departments. From 1990 – 1999 I had the honor of being one of the few, proud pioneers promoting hip-hop and new urban music to radio, television, and film. I designed and executed marketing and promotion plans at Virgin, Sony, Capitol, Universal, and Loud Records.

In 1996, I launched an independent marketing consultancy, to continue the work I was doing in entertainment marketing for any label, brand, or artist. I’ve had the pleasure of working on successful events and campaigns with a wide range of talent and brands in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Africa, and the UK.

I also took advantage of a great opportunity to sharpen my creative skills on animation projects. For three years, I worked on “Doug”, “Doug’s 1st Movie”, “Sabrina, The Animated Series” at Jumbo Pictures, which was acquired by Disney, and the cult favorite “Courage, the Cowardly Dog” at Stretch Films for Cartoon Network.

In 2000, I made the move – officially – into interactive media. I created (and sold) the first interactive presence for an artist or entertainment property in social media at Community Connect, Inc. (now a central part of Interactive One) for R&B artist Brian McKnight. In 2002, I created “21st Century Style“, a music series with Enyce Clothing Company (now a part of the Sean John portfolio) that gave the world its first look at Grammy Award-winning artist John Legend. In 2003, I launched fashion label Triple 5 Soul‘s music series with an exclusive mix CD celebrating their 15th anniversary. In 2004, I brought Honda Motor Company, Vibe Magazine, and SonyBMG Music Entertainment together to showcase new artists in a series called “First Up”.  In 2005, Trace magazine brought me in to start its interactive music project with a podcast series that started from its “Music Uncommon” issue. In 2006, I  created and produced “Hands-On”, an invite-only video game tournament that brought urban video game enthusiasts together with hip hop artists. Later that year, I brought Seagram’s Gin to Tom Joyner’s BlackAmericaWeb.com to present the “Listening Lounge”, which showcased new artists in an area where they can hear and purchase, and in 2007, he brought AT&T together with BlackAmericaWeb.com for an exclusive video performance series called “In Studio Jam”,  which is still running. In 2008, I created the RushmoreDrive-In channel for IAC/InterActive Corp. That brief experience showed me that there was a great need for a new face in multicultural movie blogging, so I launched the award-winning TheBlackBoxOffice.com, a popular arts and entertainment website that singlehandedly changed the way multicultural film is marketed online. Shortly afterwards, I was named Vice President of the African American Film Critics Association, the largest and oldest group of multicultural entertainment journalists in the country. In 2010, I joined The Walt Disney Company’s Radio Disney division, bringing his experience of breaking artists, strategic marketing, sales, and brand management together to serve the #1 family entertainment brand in the world.

My marketing and science worlds collided in 2011, when I hosted my first STEM Awareness event for NASA with Administrator Charlie Bolden and Associate Administrator of Education Leland Melvin. I was also an invited guest at the launch of STS-135, the final flight of the Space Shuttle program. I launched “Starport”, an initiative that promotes science and math education through application in the arts, that day.

I’ve raised over 11 million dollars in ad revenue for media publishers, and my marketing strategies have sold 20 million units for entertainment companies in the US and Japan.

More importantly, I’m still having a lot of fun.

For a more detailed look at my career and professional accomplishments, check my linkedin.com page HERE.

FAMILY

My wife, children, and I live in North Carolina.

Member of:
African-American Film Critics Association
High School of Art & Design (NYC) Alumi Group
Fashion Institute of Technology (NYC) Alumni Group
New York University‘s Tisch School of The Arts Alumni Group

Hobbies:
Reading science and science fiction.
Comic Book Art collecting.
Writing.
Electronic music.
Watching and collecting obscure film and music. (film favorites: mysteries (noir), anime, science fiction. music favorites: progressive, electronic, and jazz)
Astrophysics and theoretical astrophysics.

Sports:
New York Yankees
Chelsea FC
Carolina Panthers
Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Galaxy

I’m also a student of the kuk sool won and toyama-ryu iaido martial arts disciplines.