In a recent article on Tunecore’s blog, founder Jeff Price made the point that you could not trust Neilsen Soundscan reports on the number of independent releases and how successful they were. The major and most obvious reason for this is because a huge percentage of independent releases are not registered with Soundscan, making them impossible to track. The article was a direct response to Tommy Boy Records CEO, Tommy Silverman’s, recent statement that breaking music from do-it-yourself artists required luck and/or the kind of money a label could provide to be successful. I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Read the rest of this entry »
Today we lay, Unsigned to rest. For so long he fueled our hopes and dreams to make it in this thing we call the Music Industry. We tried and worked so hard to free ourselves from being associated with you, Unsigned. Because of you, some of us signed some real fucked up contracts and damn near lost our souls and minds to remove your name from our artist’s bios. Read the rest of this entry »
Kill The Record Labels is a film released earlier this month about the alleged assault on hip hop by the record labels. The buzz about this movie has been around for a while, but I didn’t want to do a post about it without seeing it first.
What do I think about it? I think it’s worth the money I spent on it. With this film, you get straight-forward information about what’s happening today with the mixtape game, record labels, and independent artists. Read the rest of this entry »
There are a lot of independent hip hop artists on Twitter that are wasting their time by using it ineffectively to promote and market themselves. Twitter is a great tool if used correctly, but it can be totally useless if not. Here are 5 Twitter marketing habits you should avoid.
1. Sending me an @ reply with only a link to your music. If I don't know you and you didn't take the time to introduce yourself, I'm not going to waste my time clicking on your link. It's spam and it's annoying.
2. Letting 3rd party sites use your account so ...
7 Ways to Fuck Up Your Start-Up Hip Hop Label
Running a successful independent record label takes lots of hard work. A good business plan, good talent and proper management are essential to making this possible. Here are 7 things to you should avoid when running your independent hip hop label.
1. Choosing a name for your record label before you check to see if it's already been trademarked: Can't tell you how many times I've seen this happen. Someone chooses a label name, puts out CDs under it, and then carpets the office with the logo and name dead in the center, only to find out that someone else ...
Why You Should Trademark Your Name
Ever wonder why Common is no longer Common Sense? Or why Soulja Boy is now Soulja Boy Tell 'Em? Well, the answer to both of those questions is, the failure to acquire a trademark.
Common Sense, after building a sizable fanbase and an impressive body of work, soon learned that a reggae band owned the name before he did. Soulja Boy was sued by a hip hop artist who also owned the name first and had to either change his name or modify it in a way that was legally acceptable.
Related posts:4 Laws of Choosing the Right Artist Name Choosing ...
The Hip Hop Artist’s Survival Kit
Don't miss another opportunity to share your music or network with a good contact because you didn't have your music or info on you. Way too often, I've checked my wallet to exchange info with a contact only to say, "Sorry, I don't have any more business cards." You can avoid mishaps like these by always having a few things with you. Here is a short list of them.
1. Business Cards: In this day of great technological advancements, this old school way of passing along your info is still the quickest and most effective. It's a pain in the ass ...
How to Properly Send Your Music Over the Internet
I felt the need to write this post because so many artists fail to send me music correctly. This can be an annoyance to DJ's, bloggers, podcasters, or anyone else on the receiving end of your delivery. You need to make the process of downloading and listening to your music require the least amount of effort. If this becomes difficult for the receiver, you may very well miss an opportunity to have it heard. Here a are a few dos and don'ts to take note of when sending your music out.
Related posts:Cool Tool: Twitter Music Marketing The concept for ...
5 Ways To Get Through Writer’s Block
We've all experienced it right? Those annoying moments when it seems like your brain is on deep freeze. Can't find a concept...can't start a beat..can't find that next hot line. Sometime ago I decided that I'd find a some ways to work though the drought. Here are five.
1. Write hooks and come back to them later. Don't try to complete an entire song. Sometimes the hooks are the only thing you can get off at the moment. Why stay stuck on one tune when you can shoot of a dozen hot choruses that you can fill in later?
2. Listen to ...
