“After bucks / Crush crews after us / No games / We ain’t laughing much / Nothing but big things / Check the hit list / How we twist shit / What changed but the name / We still here / You’re rocking with the best / Don’t worry if I write rhymes / I write checks…” –Diddy, “Bad Boy For Life” by P. Diddy and the Family.
“Flava In Ya Ear” smashed the New York airwaves in 1994. In an era when car stereos promoted music in the same way that ringtones do now, “Flava in ya Ear” breathed life into Craig Mack and ushered Bad Boy Records into the mainstream. It was essentially the record before the record. It allowed Biggie’s incredible debut to be released on the East Coast’s freshest Record label. It shifted focus from Def Jam and directly onto music’s newest executive. Sean Combs corporate ascent is the ultimate hustler story. Diddy grinded his way into the limelight, and he could dance his way to the top on Christopher Wallace’s Ready to Die. With the exception of some powerful accusations from 2Pac and Death Row Records, Bad Boy Records was East Coast royalty–and Diddy was the king.
In a mere year he did what no other Hip Hop record label was able to do effortlessly. He released two platinum-selling R&B album’s (Faith Evans’ platinum-selling Faith and 112’s double platinum, self-title debut), and was accumulating a talent-laden roster, that included arguably Hip Hop’s biggest star, Biggie Smalls. March 9, 1997 surely changed the path of the label just as it did a culture. The successful Ready to Die, which has sold over four million copies to date, was followed by the commercially stunning Life After Death, which has sold over 10 million units. Bad Boy was flawless for the next four years, dropping a string of successful albums albums that included Puff Daddy and the Family’s No Way Out (seven times platinum) and Mase’s Harlem World (four times platinum). It’s a run of success that quite frankly may never be replicated partially due to music industry climate.
The music plays differently a decade later. And the label that released it is just a shell of what it once was.
When Bad Boy Made Money And Lost Credibility
Diddy, maybe more so than any other Hip Hop entity, has built a brand on image. He utilized Twitter as marketing tool well before many SEO companies caught hold of the idea. Ciroc vodka’s drastic increase in sales is undeniably tied to Diddy’s image. His Sean Jean clothing line has made massive strides in the fashion world, forming a joint venture with Zac Posen, purchasing Enyce and grossing around $100 million a year. He made an otherwise uninteresting reality television series, “Making the Band,” can’t miss TV. The series made him marketable and just about any product with entertainment value associated with him profitable, but it also damaged his Bad Boy Records brand.
I’ll never forget after watching the infamous “Cheesecake Episode” where Diddy told a group of hungry emcees to walk to Brooklyn to get a cheesecake. My friend Jay looked at me and said, “Nobody will ever take those guys serious.” He was right. Diddy ruined their credibility in a mere moment and saved face by disbanding the group right around the release date of their project. The next few seasons saw Diddy undress artists on national television. It was great TV, but working conditions lacked artistic freedom, and respect for ones craft. It’s no wonder that the drastic roster turnover and lack of sustained careers at Bad Boy is a common sight. His professional relationships with Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj have helped repair some of the lost value in his name as a record executive. But Bad Boy is a tough—and in many ways a damn near impossible—sell to established artists. LOX aside, think about the last time you heard a commercially or critically successful artist or group talk about possibly signing with Bad Boy. Much the same way Death Row lost credibility with Suge Knight’s strong arm tactics; Bad Boy has lost credibility with Diddy’s television antics. The comparison doesn’t end there, as Bad Boy has released less and less music at a rate that is approaching Death Row numbers before the label’s demise.
A Closer Look At The Bottom Line
“These haters speculate / They always watching mine / She know what time it is / Just like my watch line / My clothes line / The cologne bitch / I know you smell this money sitting on this throne bitch / I’m strong bitch / I own shit / Gave myself a ten digit bonus…” –Diddy, “Another One,” by Rick Ross f. Diddy.
The numbers that Bad Boy Entertainment openly promotes are misleading. It’s routine to read on any Bad Boy related site that Bad Boy’s annual sales have reached an overall average of $100 million. What is more often than not left out is the fact that, Bad Boy Entertainment consists of not only Bad Boy records, but Sean Jean, Justin’s (Diddy’s Atlanta Restaurant), and publishing companies that Diddy owns. So when the label boasts $100 million dollars of annual sales, it has more to do with Macy’s than music. There were zero releases from Bad Boy in 2011. Only the 2010 release of Coming Home by Diddy Dirty Money, saw any significant sales attention in 2011. That album was certified double platinum by the RIAA in May of 2011.
The roster has turned over several times in the last decade. Of the former Bad Boy artists, it’s a “Where the hell are they now?” list. Loon was extradited back to the US to face felony drug charges, and G-Dep fought drug addiction and ultimately confessed to a murder that took place nearly 20 years ago. Black Rob finished a six year bid and resurfaced on Duck Down. Meanwhile, Carl Thomas is AWOL, and Mase is somewhere between the church and G-Unit. Shyne signed with Def Jam after finishing a 10 year bid. And the “Making the Band” artists are at best Playboy pin ups, and at worst former local celebrities. In an interview with DJBooth.net, Carl Thomas once said, “Bad Boy is the type of label that is wonderful if you wanna break an artist. Now if you wanna sustain a superstar, that may not be the situation for you.” With the exception of Diddy, and the now disbanded Danity Kane, no artist in the last 10 years on the Bad Boy Roster has went platinum or gold twice. Yung Joc, and Cassie, who were both thought of as the Bad Boy revival, saw successful debuts follow with either a disappointing sophomore project or no project at all. With the exception of two critically acclaimed Janelle Monae projects, there hasn’t been a sustainable successful Bad Boy artist in nearly 10 years.
Sean Combs The Executive Versus Diddy The Entertainer
The downfall of Bad Boy the label directly results in the way Sean Combs branded Diddy and Bad Boy as one. Any transition from record executive into artist is complicating, and his was no different. Diddy became the label’s flagship artist after the passing of B.I.G. Despite the platinum success he has had as an artist, he is no longer viewed as a top-notch producer in most circles. And even Combs himself will admit his limitations as a rapper and/or vocalist. His business acumen aside, he’ll likely never have the artistic appeal that a Dr. Dre, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z or 50 Cent have with their respective labels or audiences. A feature on an Eminem or Hov project can be career defining; the same can’t be said about a feature on a Diddy project. The $75 Million records sold worldwide don’t sound as appealing when recent projects have struggled to consistently chart. Sean Combs the mogul has trumped Diddy as the artist since 1997. When Suge threw those infamous shots at The Source Awards about managers dancing in videos, it turned out to be bigger than East/West or Bad Boy/Death Row. With the exception of Janelle Monae, almost every artist released on Bad Boy had some sort of Diddy appearance. Careers were built on Diddy appearances and those careers rarely transcended beyond Bad Boy. The Bad Boy roster has again been rebuilt, and there might be a few lucrative years ahead. But based on history, there is no reason to believe that any sort of sustainable success will follow at Bad Boy.
Despite being a record label that hasn’t recently seen the type of success associated with other moguls (Aftermath, G-Unit, Cash Money, Roc-a-fella/Roc-Nation), Diddy’s brand and image has been a fixture in mainstream media. His extremely successful “Making the Band” franchise has resulted in millions in television revenues and three albums that have charted gold or better. He has been the face of “Rock the Vote,” the originator of “No Bitchassedness” and has turned Circoc into Hip Hop’s high end Vodka of choice. Diddy’s popularity is at all time high, while his sales as an artist pale in comparison to the glory years. Diddy’s talk about transitioning into film and out of the music industry, in truth, happened close to a decade ago. His recent signees are most likely his last grasp at regaining his standing as a prominent Hip Hop executive.
So while Diddy publicly courted artists like Jay Electronica and Odd Future, critics and fans scratch their heads and try to picture where artists like the aforementioned would fit on Bad Boy. Signings of Machine Gun Kelly, and French Montana, are positive moves. And while both have the opportunity to have long careers, it’s questionable that Diddy will invest the time to allow that success to be seen on Bad Boy beyond one album. It’s Diddy’s job to be excited about his current roster. Hell it’s Diddy’s personality to be excited about anything he touches. Two recent Grammy nods ensure that Janelle Monae will remain an important R&B voice. But aside from that, where do MGK or a Red Café fit in? The label has historically reached for “106 & Park” audiences, and if that strategy didn’t result in albums sold, Diddy was quick to move on. Diddy’s brand has helped him amass near $500 million dollars. Forbes predicts him to be the first hip hop billionaire but all that money hasn’t kept Bad Boy’s music relevant commercially or critically for the better part of a decade. Maybe it started when Shyne, the next heir to the Bad Boy kingdom, heard his verdict. Maybe it happened when a group of hungry artists were walking to Junior’s to get a piece of cheesecake. But somewhere along the road, Diddy as the “Powerhouse Record Exec” lost his aura. It doesn’t make him any less Hip Hop, but it does make it all the more unlikely that Bad Boy musically becomes notorious again. We know he won’t stop, can’t stop—but lately Sean Combs as a music executive has lost his pulse.
Luke Gibson is a freelance writer residing in Philadelphia. He has contributed to HipHopDX.com, The Courier Times and is presently finishing a book of poetry.
I see we “all” agree Combs is DOo DOo
If it looks like shit, and smells like shit….it’s safe to assume that it is shit.
I could go on forever about my personal opinions of Puffy. But why should I say anything? Just ask any artist he’s ever signed. Puff is a POS who’s made Forbes money riding the backs of other peoples talent.
Wow. Somebody said it. This article is far from hating, but all of us in the early ’90s who were believing in Bad Boy really soured on the movement after Black Rob/G-Dep passed.
Puff always took the high road, but it was for self-interest… and what he’s done with this Ross x Biggie shit is fucking disgusting.
I haven’t given a fuck about a Bad Boy artist since 8Ball & MJG left, and doubt I ever will since Jay signed Electronica.
Labels used to be fun, now we just sip Ciroc and act like we own labels too.
That’s one hell of an article. What’s a little ironic about the article is part of the title of it: Making Moves With Puff. That’s a song title of one of Craig Mack’s songs in “Project: Funk the World.” It’s a shame that Diddy was dick-sucking Biggie and not worrying about Mack, even going as far to lie to Mack, Fab 5, and the audience of “Yo MTV Raps” that Mack was releasing another album in Bad Boy, along with getting the music video of “Get Down” with lots of shadow to cover Mack’s face because Diddy felt that he was too ugly.
That’s basically the problem with Diddy. He’s way too full of himself and dick-sucks anybody who is a big star and can make lots of money for him, like Biggie.
Buff daddy is and has always been a hater. He ruined Craig Mack’s career out of jealousy. Graig Mack wasn’t down with exagerrating. He really kept it real. No thug shit. Reality raps.
And yes I agree, cosign that.
Puffy never raped the game half as much as these white bitches…They killed hip hop.
everyone who signed with puff died went to jail or got jerked.never liked badboy and never will
Truth be told, no matter what you say, Diddy knows how to make hit records; NOT HIT CAREERS, in music at least. The things he’s done with television, clothing, and all of his other products is amazing; especially looking at it from a business perspective. The music industry though doesn’t need gimmicks, leave that to pop music; no one stays around in this game if they don’t have strong backing from their label or a very strong core listeners.
In all honesty, everyone dropped Craig Mack when Biggie came out. I’m not saying that Mack was a bad rapper, because that’s not the case, but labels only have time for two maybe three great artists at a time.
Diddy forgot that Badboy is an independent label. And that means you have to hustle and never stop, he went on to do something else and left the label behind. That can’t happen in the music industry because you always have to recreate yourself.
Sean Combs business man > Diddy music man
I liked craig mack. His voice and flow were unique. I dont know what happened but diddy has to shoulder part of the blame. Its guys like diddy who are to blame for the current state of hiphop. Independent is the way to go.
craig mack was wack and his face scared the public. we can blame puff for a lot of things, but craig wack not taking off isn’t one of them.
diddy is a fag listen to xzibit’s radio interview where he exposed diddy for taking him to a gay club. diddy had to do serious damage control and had xzibit come back on air to say it wasn’t true.
diddy
russell simmons
kanye west
lil wayne
drake
all gay. literally. no joke. some of these men have kids. anything to keep the front. i predict kanye coming out of the closet sometime soon and others will follow.
You out your mutthafuckin mind sayin craig was wack.. what you mean he was ugly? lil wayne one of the ugliest fucks alive, that dont stop him making lots of cash.
LOOKS LIKE MOST OF HIS ARTIST WERE CAREER CRIMINALS, THAT FUCKED UP THEIR OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE LONGEVITY IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS…
Puff daddy isnt a producer. He just tell producers what to do
Puff Daddy cheated all his artists out of money
Puff Daddy didnt visit Shyne and Black Rob when they were in jail but he visted some faggot from the south called Lil Wayne
Puff daddy didnt release a proper Biggie album after Biggie’s death with original and unreleased songs. He had the nerve to let biggie rap with a bunch of faggots like the hot boyz etc
If you sign with badboy then you must do what Puffy wants. Thats why the LOX left
almost all of his atists released one album and then they were missing in action
Puff Daddy killed hiphop with his awfull pop samples.
Puff daddy didnt pay his producers. Easy Moe Bee is still waiting for money because of his productions on ready to die.
Puff Daddy doesnt care about hiphop he thinks that lipstick, clothles and other gay stuff is more important.
puffy is a hack who hasn’t contributed anything to hip hop since biggie smalls.
biggie was on his way to being the biggest sellout in rap but diddy lived to do it.
fuck diddy, right in his gay ass.
ask yourself, why was fonsworth bently hanging around diddys house during making the band?
guy is a sexual deviant and a blatant bisexual money fiend.
biggie was on his way to being the biggest sellout in rap but diddy lived to do it.
dumbass biggie would never sell out.
thank you for looking out for me when i was in jail.
thank you for cheating us out of money diddy
THat was a great article. I feel like Diddy is the reason why Bad Boy has struggled and lost its status……I thought they wont stop, but the label has gotten tremendously weaker since 2002
great article and I agree w/jus about everything..If i was an artist, the last place to go is Bad Boy. Once an artist gets hot, Diddy cashes in and just totally shelves that artists. I feel bad for MGK and French Montana but as long as they stay connected to their peers, they can remain relevant in these hard hip-hop times.
i love diddy but i agree with this the conclusion of this article. diddy has no interest in music anymore, his other ventures are making him more money.
love and diddy are 2 terms that just don’t fit together.
Besides the music it has always been bussiness as usual in the industry, Puffy did bury lot of careers on his march towards mo mola but the way i see it, the bulk of the blame goes to all those artist who were not biz savvy enough to sign reasonable contracts. Getting all that money all of a sudden was too sudden for most of them, come to think about it, if you are just a bit smart you will reinvest what ever you made from album sales, shows etc into businesses rather than pull up in a big car with big chains. It is 2010 and diddy on the way to being the first hip hop billionaire and guess what? he knows how to make money.
Wow. U don’t need to look far past the comments to see how damaged Diddy and Bad Boy’s music brand is damaged. I was in high-school when Bad Boy was at its heyday and introduced widespread materialism that dominates much of music today. Seems like yesterday. At the end of the day, I feel like Diddy is going to just drop hot music at some point. LTTP was really dope. All the criticism in this article is on point. We need to see some results right now. Meaning some hot music. Get that out and people and the past won’t really matter
he Sucks….Killer Mike is better.
this is fail. sure diddy is the worst at maintain careers but all the labels have suffered too. outside of eminem what has aftermath down nothing. the old cash money where are they now. outside of wayne nothing. b.g , turk. junveline. e.t.c
well those people left cash money but they signed busta drake and nicki so they rly didnt loose
@ lol: they left Cash Money because Baby and Slim were taking their royalties and even Wayne was about to leave but Baby offered him the “presidency” of the label so he stayed. true story
aftermath straight thats no doubt cashmoney keep up with the times as well
diddy is a pimp
birdman is the #1 stunna
Bad Boy needs a game changer! Has anybody here ever been mind fucked? Well…Mr. Combs is mind fucking you right now. He’s mind fucking the shit out of you.
The difference between Him And all Others that came and went …
Is that Diddy will NEVER STOP . Ever .
He’s Relentless dispite all the people that talk Sh!!
I saw a article Just like this 10 years ago.
I’ll see you in another 10
so true!
good analysis, well written, hes vanity has made all his artist a joke like he is.
Glad you finally caught up with the times, article writer.
It’s never been a secret what cat was about. Jigga is doing the same thing now that Puff has beend doing forever. Only difference is Jigga makes bullshit ass music that actually sells cause people feed off of his BRAND and not base anything on the MC. Jigga the MC died a long time ago.
Jigga, although he took styles and ran with them to get paid (Nas, Rae, and Ghost…even Jaz-O to a certain and even AZ and of course Biggie after his death), you can actually say he created something as in dope rhymes and albums. Puff ain’t create shit his whole life. He’s a symbiot. He’s a bloodsucker. He and Russell Simmons are the worst…pimpin the culture and raping those who are the culter. As I type this, I see a gatdamn ad for this RushCard. Man he’s the ultimate worse. Bitch ass nigga.
Anyway, no secret about Puff. Puff was truly always about Puff. Puff didn’t do ish out of any parts of what’s genuine.
Eat a dick, Puff. Straight up.
I dig the article 100%. Puff definitely keeps it moving if he sees a part of his brand not selling. But also, he gets money and is basically on to the next one.
Another artist that was screwed by Diddy was Kane or Cane, Diddy’s answer to Eminem, but whom was truly mediocre.
Just remember this quote from Mark Curry way after the fact and this should pretty much wrap up ANYTHING or belief that any doofus has for Diddy:
Even worse, Puff charged the artists for his appearances on their records and videos, usually without them realizing it until they received their paltry publishing royalty statements. That’s when they discovered that a large sum of their money had gone to fees which were doubled, tripled and even quadrupled because of Puff’s “special guest appearance.” He charged artists, for example, for having his Bentley in their videos which he insisted upon then took a tax credit for business use of the car.”
Off Mark Curry’s “Dancing With The Devil.”
Nuff said
Why don’t you guys get this mad about the ignorance that we (blacks) portray to the world with all this bitch, nigga, kill, etc. shit! Mad at Diddy? Get mad at shit like Gucci, Waka, and Ross. Fuck, will somebody please bring back the positive vibe of the late ’80’s with the African medallions. Fuck rap! Every black man does not appreciate being viewed as a hustler, thug, killer, or lazy ass.
I agree with you, but your points have nothing to do with the article.
Puff was never in it for the music or culture, he saw a massive untapped market on the upswing and knew how to suck everything out of it until it was inside out. His albums saturated hip-hop by not even sampling already-popular hit songs, he shamelessly threw raps against instrumentals of them and repackaged them as new songs.
Does anyone not remember that god awful Come With Me joint for the equally god awful Godzilla remake? Good lord, that was back in 1998 I first saw that and even then I had to laugh because it’s the perfect example of the sort of shrewd businessman he is: have no shame, look ridiculous, make money, move on.
It’s a gigantic waste of time to even theorize when and why Bad Boy soured and how he can bring it back. He’ll bring it back whenever there’s money to be made and nothing more. Puff isn’t a producer, rapper, nor does he have any remote creative connection to hip-hop music or culture, period. That’s why he can easily sign artists who don’t know any better, bank on their debut albums, cheat them as much as possible, and throw them away like yesterday’s condom. The way he exploited Big’s death with a straight face says it all, and then he turns around to produce the film about him (thus making the biggest chunk of the profits), and portrays himself as a heavenly good guy doing it for friendship and loyalty than the snake he is.
Bad Boy is much less a record label and much more a factory on a mission to make him richer than anyone could dream of being for no real reason other than greed and narcissism. You give him and Bad Boy too much credibility when you put it in the same league as other labels, at the very least, looking to release good music and let talented artists get heard. It’s a front that he only uses from time to time, when he can and when he feels like it, to make a little more money at the expense of the careers he sucks dry like a vampire to exploit and ruin. There’s just way too much to list on the details of how he’s done this over the years.
co-sign to the fullest!
you talkin dumb shit, hes a good producer and a goof business man
Good article and on point. Suge gets a bad rap, rightfully so, but never exploited artist’s in the same way Diddy did. The proof is in the pudding, Crooked, Snoop, Dre, Kurupt all continue to have careers, even Lady of Rage can hop a bet cypher and get loved. Theres not a former bad boy artist that is relevant or gets love from hip hop circles like that. Diddy is a vampire.
Give P.Shiddy hit crown: AS THE BIGGEST PAPER GANGSTA OF ALL TIME.
– Big is cart-wheeling in his grave!!!
If Hip-hop’s dead…
…Puff, Russ, Jay, Lil’ Jon(& his weak bama-ass crunk Shit), the majority of shit-kickin’ southern rappers & this entire gen. of soft, tights wearin’, fake Off. Ricky following fans are all to blame.
Diddy makes 1 hit wonders he does all the work if u can’t remain a factor after that 1st album he is done with you. He is a business man with too many businesses he is tryig to manage………………………..
CHECK OUT THE MUSIC
http://soundcloud.com/inevitable-success/sets/taste-of-success/
I predict that Puff will storm into the HipHopDX offices with goons and Beat the Life out of staff writer Luke Gibson with Ciroc bottles to the dome!!!
All jokes aside I feel that he is too extra.. but he hasn’t signed anyone with talent in a long while, Black Rob went platinum.. G Dep got his junky ass on BET everyday for bout a year. He does need to fall back and let the artist build up b4 he stands next to him and bops. But I will say it over again.. stop playin like “Hello Goodmorning” wasn’t the best collabo of the year! the fact that is wasn’t even nominated shows that ppl let their hate for Puff cloud judgement. Plus look at the facts Labels that started with his or was jumping when BadBoy came are damn near ALL EXTINCT! for the writer to bring up JayZ is a joke.. he killed Rocafella right when it was becoming a real label.. by real I mean other artist had a movement growing as large as Jay’s. RuffRyders?? Def Jam??? Death Row?? Rap A Lot??? No Limit???? Slip n Slide??? DJ Clue shit never got off the ground… G Unit??? Amalgam or whtvr the fuck. Duck Down??? It sounds to me like Puff will keep his label afloat at all costs because he believes in it even if it losses him $$$$$
remember him whispering on the tracks in the early years? Of course, its all about him…
All brands worldwide live of some poor assholes, doing the work for their masters. All of his artist knew that he had the key to success – and to hell.
Even when Bad Boy was on top one could argue that the downfall was inevitable. Life after Death only went diamond because Biggie was dead. Black Rob was a one hit wonder. Mase was a by product of the time, not meant to have a long career. G Dep was no different than a Memphis Bleek. More of an under-link than a true star. 112 didn’t handle their business right.
Point being… Artists have to know what they’re getting into when they sign. Realize the % Diddy is getting, and in reality the creative control he will have over everything you do. Cause whether Bad Boy releases 100 albums or 0 albums, Diddy is finding ways to make more money. He’s the brand. Not the artists unfortunate enough to be ridin with him at that particular moment.
the shyne issue brung diddy his downfall
I’m still buggin’ off of how Dude did Craig Mack. Who do you know that comes out with a platinum single, a gold single and a gold album…only to be dropped a year later?!! Dude didn’t even get a second album. You could almost feel bad for the Lox but they should have stuck with Ruff Ryders to begin with. Imagine if they would have ended on Def Jam when DMX got signed there. If Diddy caught lightning in a bottle with G-Dep and exploited the hell out of it, Harlem shake and all. Child of the Ghetto was a pretty good album though and G-Dep, I feel, was a hell of a lot better than people gave him credit for. If I’m artist tryin’ to get put on and had the choice of goin’ independant or signin’ a million dollar deal with Puff, I’m goin’ indie before you can finish the question. BTW, whou would yall sign with: Bad Boy or Aftermath?
*independent
Fuck all who r hating on my man Puff jst because he’s forbes numero 2 u hav a ryt 2 hate i mean come on Haters,where is Ja Rule,Dmx,Memphis bleek nd others who were hot during their prime,were they signed Bad Boy?Faith sold millions of records under Bad Boy nd decided 2 fuck with her husband Russow nd luk where is she nw?Diddy is responsible 4 dat,Mase turned 2 God during his heyday nd ya’ll got dat nerve 2 hate of puff….broke ass faggots, Diddy is a hustla Period
For all the wrong he’s done, Suge was right about Puffy during that speech at the Source Awards. You can’t be on a label where your boss is your much less talented labelmate, and will try to steal your shine.
@Lesego is 100% correct. Haters like @Nike Champ 718 and @oskamadison are all haters and/or jealous. While Bad Boy did have some upsets and failures over the course of its history, its success and track record can’t be matched and never has been, by any other rap/hip hop label in history other than the record label giant Def Jam of course. Its the last standing popular label/crew that came out of the 80s and/or 90’s hip hop/rap era(s) and still continues to pull in an annual revenue of between $200-300 million.