I’ve seen enough emails, twitter threads, and YouTube videos of artists crying their eyes out about how they’ve lost anywhere from fifty bucks to over thousands of dollars from getting scammed. One of the best hustles back in the early 2000’s (and some how still today) is charging an artist to perform at a showcase with other artists in a room full of artists. Some promoters state that this is the way you prove yourself and network with other artists. However, a simple follow of a hashtag on instagram and you can not only hear other artists’ music but also see them perform in their videos. From there you can decide to follow them and collab later or move on. You’ve just save time, gas, and more importantly your money. Not saying you shouldn’t go out and perform but if you’re going to do it that way, at least be smart about it. You’d think after years of complaining and dealing with the strife of a struggling creative that people would catch on. Unfortunately, they are not and after being not only a producer but an A&R as well I’m starting to see why. Most artists, not all, aren’t paying attention to the market.
Here’s what I mean. Technology has now afforded those who could not get in front of an audience to now be seen by millions of people by the push of a button. Want to showcase your talent? Record a 1 minute video and post it to all of your social media accounts and thousands of your followers will see it. You can then see every person that has liked, commented, or followed/subscribed and build a relationship with them. The bond between an artist and their fan base is incredibly crucial in making a living. Its the reason why Nipsey Hussle could release a $100 album that sold out in ten minutes. After that, the artist could decide to take that same money he/she was going to use to pay a promoter to get on a showcase and combine their funds with other artists whom their friends with and put on their own show at a venue they could afford. That alone will not only help them increase their fan base because the other artists (hopefully) would bring other people to the show but they may actually make a profit! This business model has been around since the early 2000’s. Yet, we still see the radio station sponsored showcases of rappers performing in front of other rappers only to get a few followers who are also rappers. [and they better follow them back]Some vets would call this common sense but let’s dig a little deeper. Let’s get to the actual question that all of us who are these artists’ friends, family, and colleagues want to know. Why?
Well for starters, not many artists actually care to read media outlets like billboard, Rollingstone or HitsDailyDouble.com. On the hiphop side, its not uncommon for a rap artist to not be familiar with RapRadar, DJ Booth or even 2DopeBoyz. These media outlets provide very great insight on the music business and what’s happening in the industry. Yet, many aren’t looking for the next article because a lot of them don’t think the information affects them in anyway. I vividly remember a blog back in Houston called Day and a Dream talking about how venues were increasing prices for rap acts to host a show but would charge only a third to rock/country bands. If you’re a rap artist in Houston looking to host your own show, but you won’t even check out the local news catered to your industry then no wonder so many complained about the cost of venues. A lot of them actually thought that was just the price and that it was too expensive when in reality, there was a clear bias against them. They actually thought they were just broke!
Without going into a super long rant the thing I want to point out is that if you are an artist of any genre you need to understand the scene at least. There’s a reason why your Instagram engagement has gone down drastically. There’s a reason why you’re seeing so many tik tok videos. There’s a reason why you’re seeing so many smaller labels pop up all over the world. However, if you’re not paying attention to what’s affecting the bigger artists then how can you adjust? Kehlani recently put out an album and was heavy on creating content and a deeper connection with her fans. Do you know why? Its because she couldn’t tour. So her sole focus, and Atlantic’s, was to do whatever they could to get as much steam behind her last album as possible for streams. That and the album was scheduled to come out anyway and the outlook of when this pandemic would end was looking bleak. If you’re an artist can’t understand that, or at least research into the why, then how are you going to have any success.
I recently tweeted something that every creative should take into consideration when it comes to having a career in this business. Many say they want to do grandiose things but you can’t do if you don’t know what’s going on or even the resources on how to do it.
