Universal Indie Records said...
There are a few problems contributing to the low sales of these projects...
1. First and foremost that the majority of todays fans are brainwashed and have no real idea what the hell real hip hop is. The explains how the fuck Plies get labeled the future. I grew up in NYC when this whole shit popped off... jams in the parks, Mike & Dave parties, etc. It wasn't just the music... it was a whole feeling that you were a part of something so different. Since there wasn't that much money to be made the people involved truly cared about the music.. that's also missing today. During the time I grew up lyrics were everything and artist like Big Daddy Kane, EMPD, De La Soul, etc where our inspiration. Look who the kids have today inspiring them... Soulja Boy, Plies, Lil Wayne. People coming up now think this is what hip hop is, thus the pool of people who truly appreciate what a Big Pooh or a Q-Tip is doing is limited.
2. With the exception of Q-Tip, most of the mentioned projects have very limited visibility whether it be radio or video where the MAJORITY of todays youth tend hear the "latest" shit. Sure there are tons of internet blogs and website promoting this stuff.. but the majority of todays record buyers (ie: females) don't search the net for new music. That tends to be a guy thing.. and dudes know where they can get a torrent for the album so there are sales lost there. Gone are the days where you could hear a De La Soul, NWA and EPMD song back to back. If it's different these outlets won't take a chance on it.
3. CD sales are decreasing but they still account for the majority of "impluse" purchase. Meaning you're in the mall doing Christmas shopping, you decide to walk in FYE and see what's there and wind up purchasing a cd that you didn't intend to. Due to declining cd sales most retailers are giving less and less space to music... meaning they're only going to be stocking what they think they can sell. If they only have space for one album... and there's a new Plies and Rapper Pooh album out, who do you think is going to get the spot? Fucked up... I know... but this is the new reality.
Friday, December 12, 2008
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2 comments:
Why bother about numbers/soundscan or whatever?
Major labels tends to focus only to soundscan, and we all are witness of the lack of quality of their artist roster.
More an more artists are going the 'indie' route or releasing their products themself (f.e. Radiohead, Wendy & Lisa, De La Soul, Slum Village) because their core fanbase will always support them.
Mark my words: Major record labels don't exist within ten years.
Artists will still make their money with their merch, licensing their music, touring, etc. The internet is an powerful tool you have to be creative to use it for the the artists benefit.
It will always be a hustle to make an living as an artist (but it has always been that way).
The only problem 'hiphop' as a genre has is the large quantity of 'suppliers' (myspace, etc.). Everbody with FL thinks he can make hiphop.
We're just in the middle of the 'evolution' of music, and the strong will survive! So I'm convinced we will enjoy SV, De La and others for many years to come....
Raymond aka Dork
PS excuse my poor English, it ain't my native language
I believe that if we as the artists go back to the "Master P" approach with our music, and start poppin' the trunk again and getting the music out hood style then we can bring the love back to the fore front! Once we started chasing the majors we got mad lazy about our grind, and wanted the labels to do and fund everything. That is where we messed up because if I pay for everything then damn right I'm going to want to dictate how it is put out, and to who I put it out to! I can go to a site like CD Baby and put my album out on that site and use my myspace and blogspot pages to market my music! It is what it is, and we do have the power as artists to bring it back around. Peace.
-Will a.k.a. HipHopIsAlive&Well
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