Frank Cooper III Brokered Beyonce-Pepsi’s $50 Million Deal. Here’s Where He Sees Industry Going Next Trapital

Take a quick look at Frank Cooper’s resume and you might think, “what HASN’T he done?” He’s both Berkeley- and Harvard-educated. Coming out of school, Frank cut his teeth with two iconic labels — Motown Records and Def Jam. And most recently, he’s been Chief Marketing Officer for world-renown brands like Pepsi, BlackRock, and breaking news, he just took the same role with VISA.  

But if you ask Frank, his early years inside the music industry formed the backbone of his illustrious career. It’s during this time period where Frank developed cultural aptitude — and specifically, how to connect larger societal needs with brands he’s led. 

Frank’s unique pedigree that spans music, entertainment, and finance makes his views on business all the more fascinating. And believe me, Frank has a lot of thoughts about today’s ever-changing music landscape — whether it’s in the inflow of capital or the ripples that Web 3.0 will create. Here’s all the talking points Frank and I covered on today’s episode of Trapital:

Episode Highlights
[2:12] How Working In The Music Industry Laid The Foundation For Frank’s Career
[6:37] Differences Between Hip Hop and Grunge Rock In The Mid ‘90s
[8:15] How O.G. Artists “Set The Table” For Today’s Artist Entrepreneurs 
[11:56] How Frank Put Together Beyoncé and Pepsi $50 Million Deal 
[15:45] Frank Reviews The Latest Super Bowl Halftime Show (And Names The Best One Of All Time)
[20:35] Helping Blackrock Create A New Purpose Statement Beyond Purely Profit
[23:48] How The Big Short Movie Convinced Frank To Join The Financial Industry 
[26:22] Frank’s Thoughts About NFTs, Metaverse, And Web 3.0
[29:37] Early Tech Adoption Among Hip-Hop Artists Over The Years
[31:05] Does Frank Own Anything In His Digital Wallet?
[34:05] Frank Thinks Some Brands Are Too Early To Web 3.0
[37:18] Frank’s Harvard Business Review About Diversity In The Workplace
[38:18] Clarence Avant’s Influence On Frank’s Career
[43:17] What’s One Of The Best Pieces Of Advice Frank Has Ever Received?

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Host: Dan Runcie, @RuncieDan, trapital.co

Guest: Frank Cooper III
 
 
Trapital is home for the business of hip-hop. Gain the latest insights from hip-hop’s biggest players by reading Trapital’s free weekly memo. 


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Frank Cooper 0:00  
I'm actually not a big believer in traditional financial literacy by itself. I think all the research I've seen suggests that it doesn't change behavior because it's too academic, it's filled with jargon, it's long-form, you know? People's eyes glaze over when you're having the conversation, but I do believe that financial education is absolutely critical.
Dan Runcie 0:25  
Hey, welcome to the Trapital Podcast. I'm your host and the founder of Trapital, Dan Runcie. This podcast is your place to gain insights from executives in music, media, entertainment, and more, who are taking hip hop culture to the next level. Today's episode is with Frank Cooper, who is just named the new Chief Marketing Officer at Visa. Frank and I recorded this episode before the announcement, so we didn't talk about it here. But I was glad to have Frank on because his experience has been so deep in entertainment, in branding and in marketing. Dating back to his time as an executive at Motown, Def Jam, and then more recently, his time with Pepsi, Buzzfeed and BlackRock. And when you think about his career, it is the perfect combination of understanding brands, what they can learn from the entertainment space and how he's brought that to each sector, which is why it was so relevant to have him on this podcast. We talked about some of the deals he had done with Beyonce and other major artists. We also talked about broader trends with marketing, brands, what they can learn from creators, why