The Format Media was founded in 2020 by Haben Zecarias, Kultabassokerho, and MacWell Creative Studio, among others. Before the official launch, I joined the media start-up as a shareholder, strategic designer, graphic designer, music journalist, and social media specialist. Like everybody else, COVID made it difficult for us to seek funding, and the company was laid to rest in 2021.
One of our primary aims was to generate public discourse about the challenges in the music business and popular culture. This was done through social media channels and video podcasts. Diversity and inclusion were at the core of our operations. Our team consisted of people from different backgrounds and genders. We wanted to make sure that we practised what we preached.
We went viral many times when discussing racism and mental health challenges in the Finnish hip-hop scene. We made important openings about the history of different genres, for example, afrobeats and trap music.
April 2020 - Mar 2021
Shareholder
Strategic Designer
Graphic Designer
Socia Media Specialist
Music Journalist
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Viral posts about racism and mental health challenges in the Finnish hip-hop culture on The Format's social media accounts.
Copywriter
Publishing
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The legendary and pioneering Finnish hip-hop radio show Kultabassokerho found it's new home on The Format's YouTube channel. For the first time, it was in a video format. A total of 8 episodes were filmed. Guests included Yeboyah, Elastinen, ibe, Mariska, and Joniveli, among others. Starting from 0 subscribers, the mos popular episode gained almost 25,000 views.
The Sauce was the original video podcast concept by the founding members of The Format Media. It was a relaxed discussion between rapper Kalle Kinos, DJ and radio host Lina Schiffer, The Format's main brains, Haben Zecarias, and younger music enthusiast Venla McNamara.
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The show touched on various topics, from gambling addiction to doing field interviews with up-and-coming artists.