NEW YORK (Billboard) - It's no longer just the hardworking women who make money at strip clubs. These late-night hangouts, with their booming sound systems and gender-mixed crowds, have become big business for the record industry, particularly for hip-hop labels.

"Strip clubs have become the main breaking place for records, especially in the South," says Jermaine Dupri, president of urban music for Virgin Records.

The music industry increasingly has embraced the strip club out of necessity and convenience. Tighter radio playlists mean it's harder than ever to break a track on the FM dial, and regular dance clubs -- where songs get played for a moment and then lost in a mix -- tend to play what's already on the radio. At strip joints, DJs are able to play full tracks and can take a chance on underground and unproven material.

Two principal DJ collectives have sprung up that target the strip club circuit -- the Hen House in Detroit and Atlanta-based Hittmenn DJs, a 72-DJ collective established three years ago by Robert "Kaspa" Smith, now president, and CEO Greg Street.

"Right now our DJs reach 32 million people in 29 markets," Smith says.

PART OF THE LIFESTYLE

That's major reach for lifestyle promotions, Interscope urban promotion executive Kevin Black says. "When we work records, we work lifestyle venues like barbershops, beauty shops, skating rinks, bowling alleys -- anything with a culture to it. And strip clubs fall into that category."

"Word-of-mouth is still one of the biggest promotion factors out there," Universal Motown VP of rap promotion Troy Marshall adds. "That has helped turn strip clubs into big business."

NEW YORK (Billboard) - It's no longer just the hardworking women who make money at strip clubs. These late-night hangouts, with their booming sound systems and gender-mixed crowds, have become big business for the record industry, particularly for hip-hop labels.

"Strip clubs have become the main breaking place for records, especially in the South," says Jermaine Dupri, president of urban music for Virgin Records.

The music industry increasingly has embraced the strip club out of necessity and convenience. Tighter radio playlists mean it's harder than ever to break a track on the FM dial, and regular dance clubs -- where songs get played for a moment and then lost in a mix -- tend to play what's already on the radio. At strip joints, DJs are able to play full tracks and can take a chance on underground and unproven material.

Two principal DJ collectives have sprung up that target the strip club circuit -- the Hen House in Detroit and Atlanta-based Hittmenn DJs, a 72-DJ collective established three years ago by Robert "Kaspa" Smith, now president, and CEO Greg Street.

"Right now our DJs reach 32 million people in 29 markets," Smith says.

PART OF THE LIFESTYLE

That's major reach for lifestyle promotions, Interscope urban promotion executive Kevin Black says. "When we work records, we work lifestyle venues like barbershops, beauty shops, skating rinks, bowling alleys -- anything with a culture to it. And strip clubs fall into that category."

"Word-of-mouth is still one of the biggest promotion factors out there," Universal Motown VP of rap promotion Troy Marshall adds. "That has helped turn strip clubs into big business."

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