Wendy Day is an advocate for indie hip hop artists and has prevented a large number of artists from getting screwed by negotiating their deals. Google her. I had the pleasure of interviewing her a short time ago when she first released her current book.
In this short video clip, Wendy explains that not all deals are bad when you’re educated about music business. But more importantly, she goes on the explain why hip hop artist these days are better off staying independent.
Do yourself a solid and follow her on Twitter @RapCoalition. Wendy is also on our “must follow” list in our Indie Hip Hop Directory, which should already be one of the tools in your grind right now . Read the rest of this entry »
1. Cancelling sessions on the day you’re due to record:
This really pisses studios off because your cancelation prevented them from booking a paying customer. Be considerate. Call the studio at least a day before if something comes up, and you know you won’t be able to make the session. Some studios make artists pay an non-refundable down payment to book a time slot because of this, but it still doesn’t equal up to the cost of a full session. Don’t get a reputation for being a flake. They might flag you as a customer that’s not dependable.
2. Treating the studio session like a house party:
When you’re in a studio session, you should be getting down to business. Time is money. The only people that should be there, are people that are contributing to the recording. Too many artists bring a large, annoying entourage to the studio, partying and Read the rest of this entry »
File this 8 part video series under “inspirational”. If you don’t know who Derek Sivers is, he is the founder and former president of CD Baby. A highly successful service that revolutionized the way we buy music on the internet. Derek was and still is a musician and he has a lot of jewels to share about staying focused, knowing when something isn’t working, and living out your independent, entrepreneurial dreams. Collectively this series is about 50 minutes but it’s a great motivator. Check it out. Read the rest of this entry »
This is my super duper dope list of 15 Twitter grinders that always stay on top of the latest music business info. Follow this 15 and you’ll be way ahead of the game and educated on some of the most important aspects of this ever evolving music industry. But in order to get this list, I ask that you do something for me first. Tweet this out to your followers on Twitter with the button below, and you’ll get a free download of this list.
Miles Copeland managed, The Police, one of the biggest rock bands in the 80′s. Bit of trivia…The Police had a huge hit called “Every Breath You Take”. P. Diddy, then Puff Daddy, repackaged the song and made it a big hit again with the title “I’ll Be Missing You’. Here, Miles passionately shares his thoughts about the importance of management and it’s value to artists.
Ok, let me first start out my saying that I like diversity in hip hop. And yes, Soulja Boy is a branch of the tree that is hip hop. You can’t hate on a 17 year old kid who became a millionaire from his bedroom by grinding his ass off. He did it. Captured lightning in a bottle. And people bought it. Lots of them. Hate his fans. Many will and have tried to carbon copy his footsteps but nah, it doesn’t work like that. You have to pave a new road. Explore new turf.
If you think he has no talent then that’s great news for you, right? Because it shows that a rapper with marginal talent can break through with hard work. That being said; I really tried to see if this dude would develop and evolve a bit, that didn’t seem to happen much by the look of this awful performance after the interview. Enjoy
Young Guru, a well established producer in the music business, gives you the straight talk about corporations, major labels, and how artists enslave themselves by signing record contracts. This video is filled with gems and should be encouragement for every independent hip hop artist on the path to building their own business.
Lance Grode teaches Legal Issues in the Music Business at USC Law. In this video he expresses the need for labels to adapt to remain sustainable. Good info if you’re running an indie label as well.
In this video sited at Hypebot, Lupe Fiasco reveals some of the absurdities he’s had to endure while trying to get his music released under his label, Atlantic.
Meanwhile, in this post sited at Fakeshore Drive, the Cool Kids are just recovering from a nasty court battle with their label, Chocolate Industries.
Peep the tweets from Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks
Last but certainly not least, Nas wrote a searing letter to his label Def Jam, telling them in essence, to stop fucking with his creativity and “Put [his] Shit Out!”
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