Hip-Hop’s New Business Model: Major-Label Rappers Stay ‘Independent’

Wiz KhalifaPhoto: Alexis Maindrault

 

With his independently released mixtape So Far Gone, Drake went from digital dynamo (2,000 downloads in ten minutes) to Grammy nominee all before he signed on any dotted lines. Or maybe not: While a major-label bidding war supposedly raged, rumor had it that he was already signed to Young Money/Universal. Either way, the excitement around his quick, seemingly unassisted rise translated into true stardom. And today, a number of up-and-coming rappers, eager to re-create his magic, are at pains to represent themselves as boot-strapping independent artists — even when they’ve got freshly inked major-label deals.

This phenomenon existed before Drake. “I was over at Interscope when we signed Souljah Boy,” recalls Archibald Bonkers, manager of Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs and A&R for HHH Artists from 2004 to 2007. “At the first radio meeting after he was signed, [the label decided to] do nothing. They didn’t want to mess with the grassroots.” But recent examples of rappers who have secretly signed to labels while continuing to market themselves suggest that the trend’s truly taking hold among those still trying to make their break. The idea is simple: Artists market themselves gradually, via social networks and blogs, avoiding oversaturation. They make their music using low-budget production techniques. And then, once their “indie” success wins notice in the mainstream, their label backers come out from behind the curtains.

According to industry insiders, Pittsburgh’s Wiz Khalifa has been signed to Atlantic Records for close to a month now. (You may have noticed Kush and Orange Juice, the title of his most recent mixtape, trending on Twitter and Google.) Asked about the signing, Khalifa said, “Whatever people want it to be, that’s what it is. I didn’t say yes, I didn’t say no.” Either way, he released Kush independently, planning, as he told VIBE.com, the publicity behind the project himself. “The mixtape was done last month, but I really wanted to do it up and make sure something like this [buzz] would happen,” he said. “I got some more tricks up my sleeve, too.” 

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s Spree Wilson recently inked a deal with Jive records without disclosing it. “They want me to market myself,” he explains. “Mixtapes, pre-projects — all before the album, [in order] to create a buzz.” (Release dates for Spree’s upcoming projects have yet to be announced.) And Warner Bros. calls Brooklynite Theophilus London — who independently released I Want You in August April and counts Solange Knowles among his fans — a "new signee," despite the fact that it's known that he was signed late last year.

These marketing plans are meant to capitalize on, and strengthen, an artist’s independently generated buzz. Practical concerns aside, this carries the always-magical whiff of rebellion. “Rebel music always does well, because kids always want to rebel against something,“ says Archibald Bonkers. It’s the new hip-hop cred: succeeding without a record label. So why sign to a major at all? “Money. That’s the only thing,” says Khalifa. Rappers “have to start rolling the weed and sweetening the lemonade.”

By: Erika Ramirez

Copyright © , New York Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

 via nymag.com

Cool video that definately gets better as it goes on (though it really doesn't fit this song at all lol).

For the last few days I’ve been going back and forth in the comments section of my favorite music industry blog, Hypebot with a gentleman by the name of Jason who owns the little known label called Viper Bite Records. The post we were so passionately discussing was primarily about metrics but also rasied the question of whether or not the full length album was still a relvant business model. The conversation struck a nerve among readers and became so intense that I’ve decided to expand on these topics in a post of my own.

Here is an except from the original blog written by Alex Mann of Trendrr called, “With Mixtapes & Social Media, Is The Album So Far Gone?”.

“Drake has developed a budding musical career without the release of a full-length album and initially without the backing of a major label. He has already affiliated himself with hip-hop’s most popular stars and is making money from concerts and brand endorsements.

This brings us to a final question worth considering:

Can artists still afford to rely on the success of an album, or has Drake defined a unique marketing model for emerging musicians?”

Although Drake’s story may not be the barometer that every musicians should follow, it still offers a broader implication for today’s overall talent pool. Can a recording artist sustain themselves by selling full length albums alone? The answer in my opinion is a resounding no.

Here’s why:

• Listeners attention span is shorter than ever. Most of us won’t even read this blog post all the way through let alone listen to a full length album by an unknown artist
• Musicians are not as good as they used to be. Technology has created a laptop version of our more talented predicesors which is evident in the quality of the music being released
• Physical albums have lost their value. CD’s are no longer worth the $14 piece of plastic that they are printed on (and are also not very environmentally friendly)
• Playlists and mixtapes have replaced the full length album. If you’ve ever borrowed an iPod worth of full length albums you know what I’m talking about. Even Genius isn’t smart enough to handle that boring task.

and lastly…

• Music sales in general are way down. See chart below:

In an attempt to curb some of these strikes against recording artists today, I suggest that we lower our overhead, adjust our expectations, accelerate our learning and diversify our product offering. All of which should be outlined in a good old fashion business plan. I speak more in depth about this in a recent post on Creative Deconstruction.

Jason on the other hand feels that the love of the music is enough to sustain him.

Let’s see how long that lasts. Musicians by nature are emotionally attached to their artistry. Businesses on the other hand are devoid from emotion. In order to sustain yourself in the music business I argue that artists must find a happy medium. This of course is easier said then done…but that’s just the way it is.

(via @Bruce Hornsby)

Read the original post here.