Kill The Labels (Full DVD)

Real Talk

Top 10 Articles on DIY Hip Hop

Let’s start with this: How Do I Break Into The Global Hip Hop Market? Sure, we’re just diving right the fuck in, but that’s the goal, right? You want to be internationally known, respected and paid. Let’s not dick around here. (On that note, keep an eye on Global Hip Hop Market, the best international rap blog in the known Universe.)

2. Working backwards, check out How do I get on Soundscan and Billboard Charts? This tackles the technical tasks you’ve gotta deal with in order to get registered with the evil empire at Nielsen and start getting your numbers like a real rock star should. Spoiler Alert: It costs $500 a year so you better be planning on selling some records.

3. It could use some detail work, but The $0 Promotional Plan is still a solid map. As far as how to be worth promoting, well…that’s a slippery slope. Here’s the best summary piece: Be Innovative, Episodic and Interesting and Get Free Publicity. (That really is the formula, by the way…it’s just harder than it sounds.)

4. On the same media promo angle, up next we’ve got How Do I Get My Music Reviewed? For further advice, check out Adam B’s recent warnings for DIY rap stars, I Will Not Listen to Your MP3s and the follow-up rant, The Gripe List.

5. The DIY Hip Hop Business Master Class is a lot like the Case Study articles I do on hip hop producers: all the best stuff in one place. This article is more like a remix of the best business and strategy lessons from ?uestlove, Slug, Wendy Day, and even Paul Wall. Really. (And for more quality interviews, check out the archives at Art of Rhyme and Philaflava.)

6. Does Radio Play Still Matter? Uh….yes. Yes, it does. No-brainer, but still a must-read.

7. SOME HARSH TRUTH: First, start with Three Reasons I Stopped Writing Audible Hype, which basically boils down to: “a) “New Business Models” Are For Rich People, and b) Marketing is Simple and Boring as Fuck.” There’s more, but that’s the gist. Also, the manifesto-rant that started Audible Hype: Music Business 2.0 Without the Bullshit.

8. So far on the list, we’ve been overlooking the most important part: live shows. Start with How Can I Get More Gigs? For more to chew on, check out this series on the question “Is Touring Still Necessary?” Basically: yes, but not until you’ve got enough of a fan base to be turning a profit on the road.

9. If you’re doing hip hop production, go sign up for the RSS feed over at Crate Kings right now. Every day, dope videos…educational, inspirational, always on point. Definitely the best hip hop production blog you’re gonna find.

10. Finally, in case you’ve been skimming this list because you want a record deal, READ THIS. Then start over and actually read all the articles I’ve linked to here. You don’t want a contract. You don’t need a deal. You do probably need a loan, though…if that’s the case, start here: Investing in Artists – The Human Part of the Capital Attraction Equation, by Bruce Warila.

via Dj MSP

“HAND IN MY POCKET” - 360 RECORD DEALS LOOK TO BECOME THE NORM

Ask any respectable artist (read: one with a likely career in the industry) about a 360 record deal and they’ll tell you that it’s nothing short of a pact with the devil. For decades, labels have charged copious amounts of dollars for recording, manufacturing and distributing albums, but the show money was always their bread and butter. But according to Edgar Bronfman, CEO of Warner Music Group, the option to have the label in your pocket every turn of the way is no longer an option — it’s become mandatory.

Bronfman argued to a hostile crowd that it doesn’t make sense for labels to pour money into artist development when CD sales, their primary source of revenue, continue to decline (although he did say that digital sales now make up 20% of their revenue). Without other ways to make money from an artist, he said, they wouldn’t continue to promote artists.

What all this boils down to is record labels becoming increasingly disconsolate that they’re living in a world where artists are growing less dependent on them. Does a Drake or U-N-I need a record label to give away free music at one of their shows or online?

Let’s be real here.

Artists are accomplishing more and more without the security blanket of a major corporation so who’s going to feel pressured to split every slice of the pie with a company that can’t even promote their product to the fullest extent of their dollar?

I'm already ahead of the pack...what I'm doing will give me the biggest 360 Deal in history....Mark my words

via Smokinsection