At the beginning of this year, Glenn Delgado was named President and Chief Operating Officer, Hitz Committee, LLC, a joint venture between the JIVE Label Group and Hitz Committee Entertainment. The announcement was made by the company's Chairman & CEO Mickey "MeMpHiTz" Wright Jr.

Delgado began his career in the entertainment field as an attorney in the 1990's, specializing in the areas of music, motion picture, intellectual property and new media law. Previously, Delgado was Senior Vice President and GM of Urban Music for Virgin Records America, Inc., where he managed the day to day operations of the division. Prior to joining Virgin, he worked in Arista Records' Business and Legal Affairs department.

Urban Network recently spoke with Delgado about the expansion of Hitz Committee, and how the organization is redefining the industry business model.

Briefly tell how you and Memphitz came together, and what drew you to become biz partners?
Memphitz and I became partners in 2004, while we were both at Arista Records. At that time, I was Vice President of Business Affairs and Memphitz was an intern. As an intern, Memphitz undertook projects which required him to go to various floors in the building, including the business affairs floor. We met and over the course of a year, Memphitz struck me as a very talented and very creative individual who had the same drive and determination that I had in wanting to win. So one day I called him into my office and told him that I was working on starting a label, had a bit of funding and thought that he and I could be business partners, with him handling the creative side and with me handling the business side. We've been business partners ever since.

Talk about some of the artists/projects you have coming out?
Currently, we are releasing records from our artists Huey and K. Michelle. Huey, is a rapper from St. Louis, who had a hit record with "Pop, Lock & Drop It." His first single from his sophomore album entitled Strictly Business is called "PaYOW!" and features Bobby V. K. Michelle is an artist we signed in December 08. She is from Memphis, TN and we have a record out on her called "Self-Made." Finally, we are working on a second single for our artist Trai D, who is a rapper from Dallas, TX.

Tell us about the new venture with BET, and any other film/TV projects?
Memphitz is the host of a new show on BET called ‘The Deal.' ‘The Deal' features the hottest artists, videos and styles in hip hop. Focusing on the next generation of hip hop culture, ‘The Deal' provides an exclusive look at the game-changers in music, gets real about the issues affecting the hip hop community and spotlights what's hot, right now, from established to rising stars. The show also features segments called "Certified Fresh" and "Spit Ya Game" where artists showcase their skills. In addition, we currently have one motion picture property in development that we hope to get into production within the year.

What is your take on the business today and how the two of you are expanding the company brand?
The record industry is in a midst of sweeping changes dealing with declining record sales and global piracy. However, music consumption overall is up and I think you can no longer think of yourself as a record company but as a music company, selling music in any form or configuration. Memphitz and I consider our company an entertainment company, with music at its core. Through our joint venture relationship with the Jive Label Group, we have a fully funded television and motion picture division, which we will use to develop cross-marketing opportunities (in the form of television or motion picture productions) for our artists and music.

Mickey "MeMpHiTz" Wright Jr. & Glenn Delgado