Steve Stoute was recently hired by the New York Knicks to help rebrand the franchise and make themselves cool again. Of course, Stoute is known for being a music executive although as someone who has been in New York and understands the culture, Stoute has the credentials to bring some new initiatives to the team. Considering it's the Knicks we're talking about here, Stoute's job isn't going to be easy. In fact, it's gotten off to a pretty rocky start thanks to his recent appearance on ESPN's First Take.
Throughout the interview, Stoute compared himself to Drake while also talking about how the Knicks are planning on getting a new coach. The head coach comments came as a bit of shock to people and in the aftermath of it all, the Knicks released a statement basically saying, Stoute doesn't represent the front office.
“While Steve Stoute is a valued contributor to the Knicks’ marketing and branding efforts, he does not speak on behalf of New York Knicks personnel and basketball operations," the statement says. "Any decisions regarding the operations of the team will be made by the new President of the New York Knicks.”
With this latest PR disaster in mind, it's clear that when it comes to the Knicks, some things just never change.
Pioneer DJ Is Changing Its Name
Back in May, Pioneer and Pioneer DJ confused many media publications when it was reported that Pioneer was selling off its remaining 15% share in Pioneer DJ. Pioneer sold a significant majority of its DJ arm to investment firm KKR & Co. in 2015 — as such, the two no longer share offices, employees, owners, operations, product lines, etc.
Now, as of January 1, 2020, Pioneer DJ is changing its name to AlphaTheta, and the confusion continues. Pioneer DJ brands, such as its CDJ and DJM lines of products, will retain the Pioneer DJ branding. It is only the corporation that will change names.
In the announcement, AlphaTheta said the change was made to “better reflect our values and vision.” Any betting man would also suggest that the change was to more effectively differentiate their business from Pioneer’s, which now focuses primarily on non-DJ/pro audio facing brands.
You can read the full press release from AlphaTheta below.
Pioneer DJ Corporation has changed its company name to AlphaTheta Corporation as of January 1, 2020. Our brands and brand names, including Pioneer DJ, will not be affected.
We’re updating our corporate name to better reflect our values and vision. The change is not related to any merger, sale, or reorganization.
We take great pride in our commitment to the music industry and we’ve chosen our new company name, AlphaTheta Corporation, based on our passionate vision to innovate, inspire, and entertain.
WHY ALPHATHETA?
Music can guide the human brain into extremely powerful states of mind.
Peak human experience can be enhanced with an optimal balance of creative music, superior sound technologies, and group coherence. AlphaTheta refers to the brain wave frequencies achieved in these peak states. Our vison [sic] is to use our innovative technologies to enable and enrich these peak moments.
AlphaTheta enables you to go Beyond the Music.