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Please Don’t Pretend Piracy Hasn’t Killed This Industry.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. I’m not going to lie, I (allegedly) pirate shit all the time, and so do you. I kind of have my own set of rules concerning the practice though, just like you. For instance, I might (allegedly) download a movie illegally, but only in the case of something I’m not sure I want to see on the big screen. However if I love the movie, I will pay the exorbitant price of $30 to own in high definition on a Blu-Ray disc. And guiltily, I will probably upgrade my Blu-Ray disc when the Special Double Dip Edition comes out. The same goes for any album I love; I’ll definitely spring for the deluxe vinyl edition or oh-you-fancy-huh CD box set.
However I think as far as the music industry goes, things have gone too far. The last straw for me, which made me shake my head in disgust was watching the aftermath of the Dr. Dre “Under Pressure” leak. As you may have noticed, we did not post the song here. Why? Because we respect the artist. And that is not just in the case of Dr. Dre, but pretty much anyone, even if we don’t like them as people (i.e. Benzino). We’re not in the business of fucking up people’s careers or artistic vision for a few extra clicks. That’s not how we play. Any music that is released here is with the consent of the artist. We didn’t sell 2Pac bootlegs right after he died, either.
But the general attitude of the rap blog community seems to be “well, once it’s out there, it’s out there and there’s nothing you can do about it”. That statement is true, but on the same token, it is a fallacy that suggests a crime is okay because everyone else is doing it. Hey, everyone else here at this party has raped the 15 year old girl in the back room, so what’s the difference if you do it too? Yes, that is an extreme comparison, but pretending like your actions don’t contribute to the big picture is incorrect, because everyone is thinking that way.
I was pretty disgusted to see a blogger (and I don’t remember which one or who, or I would name them here) try to tell Dr. Dre in a blog post that he shouldn’t have made us wait so long for Detox anyway, so that justifies his leaking of the song, more or less suggesting it’s Dre’s own fault. Is this Alice In Wonderland? What the fuck has the world come to where some dude in his apartment tells Dr. Dre what’s what? It kind of like “Hey Picasso, don’t be mad that I broke into your home and stole your unfinished painting, the world wants to see it now, so fuck whatever plans you had for it”.
And if you really want to get into why it’s fucked up, beyond the fact that it has interrupted the creative process, business strategy, and fucking release date for Detox, it’s this: essentially, douchey bloggers are collecting checks from ad dollars made from the non-permitted downloads of a song that Dre probably will not release now, because of the leak. This makes our type seem like the cockroaches of the industry.
As many may remember, I went in on Shake of 2 Dope Boys a couple of months back for being shocked – shocked – that he didn’t get a warm response from Lupe Fiasco, who was mad at him for leaking his music, and then threatening to never “support” Lupe on the site again (yeah, that panned out). The backlash we received from members of the blogging community – many of them who engage in similar practices, was not surprising. Again, my issue with this situation (despite some erroneous reporting on my part) was the privileged attitude of a young blogger that believes himself to have every right to leak an artist’s stolen, unfinished music whenever he chooses, and then expects to get a hip-hop hug from said artist backstage. Too bad you fucked up, dummy.
The third episode I witnessed that inspired this article was some idiot on Twitter telling El-P that he downloaded all of his albums illegally, and that if he didn’t like that, it’s his own fault for not having a better business plan. This, clearly, like the two examples before it, is another lame excuse by someone who wants to justify their stealing of something directly to the artist’s face, for some reason. Guilty conscience, maybe?
But there are a few positives to piracy. The first is, FREE SHIT! Everyone loves free shit! You never have to buy anything, ever again! Now you can steal it! And there’s no leering Tower Records employee watching you while you do it. Dope! This one comes with a price, sure, but for the fans, it is a positive. The only downfall here is that you don’t get the thrill of the heist that you might get from walking out of Tower with a pocket full of $10.99 tapes.
Another positive of piracy is that, in some cases, it removes the prospect of certain artists being forced to try to make a “hit single” for today’s audience. Take Raekwon or DJ Shadow, for instance. Both artists found themselves trying to cross over, in some respect, with albums like Immobilarity or The Outsider, which downright offended the fans. While the artists will probably stand by even their worst works, the bottom line is that they made records like these in order to please the major label system, in hopes of carving out a hit record that would help sell an album that sounds nothing like the single. This stopped being about the longtime fans, and more about the disposable ones. But, once music itself became a “worthless product” – meaning something you can only make money on if you have a massive ringtone hit – many artists stopped even trying to achieve this. Guys like Raekwon could now focus on making albums, not singles, and he released his best album in years with Only Built For Cuban Linx 2. If there is no money in it either way, then why not make it the way you want it? Ironically, Rae making the realest music ever landed him gigs with Kanye and Justin Bieber, which we’re sure got him a pretty penny. Thanks, piracy!
The other positive to piracy is that it allows music to travel much faster and get into the hands of more people. Artists like 50 Cent, Lil’ Wayne, and Drake owe their careers to piracy of their mixtapes (which they allowed and controlled), leading them to much bigger, lucrative things like Vitamin Water companies and million dollar world tours.
But the negatives far outweigh the positives. Realistically, the above examples are almost flukes and are not indicative of the industry as a whole. Method Man will never be able to recreate the sound he had on Tical and will probably continue to release wack albums that will not make him any money, to which the bloggers would respond, “he doesn’t deserve it!” Despite the quality of the music, if it sells (or had potential to sell in pre-MP3 world), he deserves compensation for the work put forth, just like the guy who mops the floor at Showgirl Video. And Saigon is another artist that has released a shit-ton of mixtapes that led him to nowhere. How do you think he feels about people downloading his music illegally?
People often complain that “hip-hop is dead”, which to me, is one of the most ridiculous statements, usually said by folks that haven’t paid money for music in five years. So let’s get this straight, you want an artist to perform for you, maybe even do a little tap dance, but you aren’t willing to tip him? Not only that, you want him to perform it the way you want it, according to the rules handed down on two stone tablets in 1987 by KRS-One on top of Mt. Sinai, but you still are unwilling to pay a dime? Got it.
Money makes the world go ’round, and without it, you aren’t going to see much “keeping it real” from artists, except in the rare cases of guys like Raekwon. What motivation does someone have to create music that applies to the rules of classic hip-hop if they aren’t going to make anything off of it? Sure, one could argue that a true artist does it for the love, but this is America. Eventually that artist is going to have to get a job at McDonald’s and will disappear into obscurity if his art cannot support him. And no, 50 year old Chuck D does not want to be touring and hocking Public Enemy t-shirts, he wants to be at home with his family, collecting royalty checks. Piracy will not allow him to do that. So, don’t be offended when you see your favorite rapper doing AOL commercials, he has no other choice.
And lets not forget the labels and the record stores. The independent hip-hop movement is dead, as labels like Definitive Jux and stores like Fat Beats (and HipHopSite, actually) eventually succumbed to nobody buying anything, and in turn, nobody is releasing anything. If you cant see that happening, you are in denial.
Coming back around to square one, this is unfortunately the way it is now, so we must adapt. The once flourishing music industry is broken thanks to piracy, so everyone that wants to remain a part of it must find a new way to get their hustle on. While it may not sound like it, I do embrace piracy, and don’t support RIAA lawsuits against twelve year olds, but I think there needs to be some respect given to the industry, the artists, and at least some way of giving back. The solution is unclear, but please don’t pretend piracy hasn’t killed this industry.
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the new business model should be like this. Artists produce a great album and make it available for free or donation (for the honest people out there). If it is good enough then go on fucking tour or make appearances or sell some shirts. I’ve paid thousands of dollars collecting music through the 80′s and 90′s, overpaying for all of it. Be creative or shut the fuck up.
the new business model should be like this. Artists produce a great album and make it available for free or donation (for the honest people out there). If it is good enough then go on fucking tour or make or sell some shirts. I’ve paid thousands of dollars collecting music through the 80′s and 90′s, overpaying for all of it. So I don’t want to hear it.
the new business model should be like this. Artists produce a great album and make it available for free or donation (for the honest people out there). If it is good enough then go on fucking tour or sell some shirts. I’ve paid thousands of dollars collecting music through the 80′s and 90′s, overpaying for all of it. So I don’t want to hear it.
@mvw105 co-sign
I download yes, but also used to buy vinyl. Not to mention i must of purchased 1000s of cds and tapes before Napster.
Artist like Tech9 (although I’m not a fan) don’t sell records but he goes on sold out national tour because he don’t sit around for record labels to pay him. The point is, if you work hard with your craft like the 9 to 5vers do, u can actually make even more money and have longer careers, because u can’t download a experience of a live concert standing next to people who enjoy the same shit.
yeah, internet slowed down records sales, but a lot of these guys also became huge stars because of internet and free downloads.
I discovered Eminem on this site before he got signed and I would of never found out that Hieroglyphics were still making music without the internet. hiero still tours every year all over the world and still making bank.
the crazy thing is cds are becoming the new vinyl. I went to F.Y.E. store the other day and they were selling Pharoahe’s first album for $75 and first kool g rap & dj polo cd for $50. in the used section.
“I (allegedly) pirate shit all the time”
ahahaha, that’s the funniest comment I read in a while
sorry for the multiple comments. stupid “smart” phone
So what if the artist doesnt want to tour? i havent downloaded anything in about 8-10 years. I expect to get paid on my job and get a bonus for a job well done(above and beyond), so if an artist makes a good CD i purchase, and if its a banger, ill catch em in concert or buy merch(bonus)
As a former record store employee (for over a decade), I still blame major labels for the beginning of this cycle. They were so unwilling to adapt and capitalize on the digital delivery of music, that consumers were taking things into their own hands. And then, after 3-4 years of piracy, the labels finally decide that this isn’t going away, and they can’t control it, but still came out and said, “Hey, you know all that stuff you figured out how to get for free? Do you mind paying us for it now?” And then couldn’t figure out why they got two blazing middle fingers thrown up at them.
I remember sitting in a conference room in 2004, saying if you want to save record stores, then labels were going to have to bite the bullet and sell their CDs for the same $9.99 that they were charging on iTunes. I managed a Newbury Comics, one of the fairest-priced “indie chains” in the country, and even we were seeing a drop-off, so there was no way FYE and Tower were going to survive at $17.99 list prices. Sure, we have some dedicated music fans out there – but that’s, what, 20% of the market? Tops? The average teenager doesn’t give a shit about tradition, or what it’s like to spend a weekend in used record stores digging for gems…they want Soulja Boy’s new single and they want it now via download. They don’t even give a shit about anything else on Soulja Boy’s album until the radio tells them to.
I got out of music retail and into teaching when I saw the writing on the wall. And trust me, I feel terrible that great stores like HHS and Fat Beats had to shutter as a result of the online age – I see them as collateral damage with no real fault to be placed on them. The major labels had too many people making decisions that should have been put out to pasture after Born In The USA came out. And it came back to bite them, but honestly, they don’t care. They made their money. They don’t care that Saigon didn’t.
As for business models, I love eMusic. Give me a monthly subscription, provide me with material, and I’m happy to pay for it. I still visit Newbury Comics weekly, and pick up 5-8 CDs a month. And I’ll DL stuff from here and a couple other places if I know it was intended to be free. All of that makes me feel like I’m still doing my part, and that’s all I can do. No judgment passed on anyone else – do your thing.
Isn’t there research to suggest that those who pirate the most music are also the ones that buy the most. Also this negative impact really depends on the type of following an artist has. A tru “cult” following ala jimi hendrix or bob marley will see a lot of people buying everything imaginable from the artist as well as everything they can get bootlegs of. If I get a copy of something and I really like it I buy the CD cause I hate listening to mp3s and I like having the cover art as well. And then once I see it on vinyl I grab that as well cause I like to listening to everything better on vinyl. Drake isn’t going to fall into this category nor is lil wayne (I’m not hating just being real). Wu-tang is an example of music of music I think people will buy for years to come. If you take a more commercial artist like Jay-z I think he will still sell as well. Its may not sell that well in the first week like in traditional record sales have in the past but over time people will buy. Music collectors always going to be music collectors.
Pizzo, dead on man.
I just came from buying the duck down 15 year album only to hear my friend ask me why I coped it; “dont you have all that music already?”
Clearly I do, but, there is something nice about buying music and actually having something to show for it, not just a album cover pic on Itunes.
These young cats will never understand the musical landscape that existed in the past, its kinda like asking us to remember when TV was first introduced. Its an old, tired story that based on the the power some feel at home blogging is going to be a long time changing.
Its sad that musical motivation is whats dying, not hip hop. How can we expect someone to dedicate their lives to something that cant even pay the bills? Ive spent my while life trying to find ways of living that didnt involve money motivation, and failed. We gotta eat and live maaan.
I hope kids start having respect again, or maybe lose their sense of entitlement somehow.
great post Pizzo,
peace
KC has it right on the nose. The outright refusal of the major labels to compromise a single inch for the better part of the last decade is what has made them obsolete.
The majors now are basically a corporate example of “dead man walking.” Rather than accept a pay cut & stay in business by cutting their retail prices (& profits) in half — or more — they continued to demand ALL of the money instead of SOME of the money.
Problem is, insisting on ALL of the money results in a dead end for the business model. Settling for SOME of the money means remaining solvent, possibly relevant & potentially even sustainable in the long term.
So, while it bums me out that kids won’t grow up loving and anticipating trips to the record store to pick up the cool new album by their favorite band — & it does make me sad; not to mention all the art & design & love that goes into LP/CD packaging that’s going to be more of a boutique novelty from here on out, rather than the norm — while it’s a shame that this era is drawing to a close, I can’t help but watch from the sidelines & raise my glass as the major label ship slowly sinks into the icy waters of obsolescence & failure.
Why? Because they could have prevented it. Every choice they made in the last 10-15 years has been the wrong one, guided by preserving the profit stream, despite all logical & common sense reasoning to the contrary. The music industry’s success stories are so vastly outweighed by their record of oppressive & exploitative deals, misleading contracts & general policies of indentured servitude that its demise is only appropriate.
So up & coming artists will have to work harder; good. Toughen motherfuckers up & weed out the douchebags looking to catch a free ride into the high life based on their “talent.” (Oh, & don’t let me forget to mention the misguided small-time knuckleheads who base their business models on how gigantic multi-national conglomerates run their games. I seriously laugh out loud every time I see some unknown band trying to charge me a buck on their website for their precious MP3. The optimism & balls of that little “profit stream” never ceases to amaze & amuse.)
I’m looking forward very enthusiastically to see what shape the music “industry” takes next. Meanwhile, I’m still buying CDs & records — & yes, downloading stuff that I’m curious about.
(Also, KC — I wonder if I know you…! I’ve been a Newbury Comics regular since 1997; first Harvard, but mainly Newbury St. for the last 8-9 years.)
Pizzo good post, I enjoyed it. You left out a few important things though that helped piracy:
1) Rap is over fucking saturated with every joe blow buying Pro Tools and rapping in their basement. Why not buy some beat software and loops and create cheesy beats? That sounds like a plan!
There is too much shit rap and not enough good rap which leads people to be lazy and “try” aka download songs before they buy them. Or maybe there is a lot of good rap that gets lost in the clutter of the junk?
2) Artists weren’t being creative and were selling us shit before this all happened. I remember working in high school and buying a C-Murder cd for $18 (over ten years ago) that had one good fucking song out of 20!!!!! Try doing that for 5 cds in a row just to hear a single…. You lose patience.
Who’s fault is it? Everybodys!
Good article, dude.
I worked at the defunct Sam Goody for a while, and at the same time I was spending all my money in hip hop CD’s. Hey, I was living with my moms back then. Each CD was about $18, well, more like $14 for me after my employee discount. Around that same time, however, Napster and Limewire were making lots of noise. Those were my beginnings as a “illegal downloader”. After spending thousands of dollars in music for most of the 90′s and early 2000′s (I got over 600 CD’s) I said “fuck it, I’ve given enough”, and I still get a rare album every now and then (last I bought was Guilty Simpson).
Most of the shit I’ve downloaded, though, is Old School stuff that 1) can’t be found in stores almost anymore and 2) stuff that I got on tape that I wanted to put in my ipod. So, in that aspect, piracy has been good for me.
Nowadays kids are going crazy downloading and not giving a fuck, it’s a new generation that thinks that there’s nothing wrong with that. But not all kids do it like that, although most do. It’s sad.
I call myself the responsible downloader. I mean I discovered artists like Swollen Members, Foreign Legion, Styles of Beyond, Ugly Duckling, etc… The list goes on from blogs and such. I downloaded their albums cause I never heard of them before and bugged the f out when I heard them so what did I do next? I went to the store and I bought the CD then I made mix cds of obscure or underground artists and gave them to my friends with the track listings and artist names. They in turn bugged out and went to the store and bought the cds! Then i always search to find when artists are playing in my area and then I try to organize a bunch of peeps together to go!
THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS WE CAN GIVE BACK TO THE ARTISTS WE LOVE!!!
I love Hip Hop and have been listening faithfully since 83 and yes the industry has changed but please buy the cd if you like the artist and go to the shows and cop a shirt or something. Hell artists make most of their bank from shows not album sales, always have. I mean cats can make 50-100k a night and that’s not just Jay, Wayne or Em, many artists make more than my yearly salary a show! So yes I download but then I promote the artists I love and do what I can to get their music out to people. Get involved and be part of the solution not the problem. If your a fan act like one and do the right thing!
I admit I do download albums if I’m not sure I’ll like it. I no longer have to drop $15 on a cd that is completely terrible or only has a few songs (I’m looking at you Mos Def “The New Danger”). I’ll listen to it a few times and if I like it, I’ll buy it. If not it goes in the trash. I know it’s wrong, but the way I see it, the artist that I feel puts out a good product that I like will get my money, which he would get anyway, but I will no longer have to pay for albums that are in my opinion not very good.
I hate the fact that some artists don’t even give fans the option of buying a physical copy or a legal download. There’s a lot of great music we’re never going to get a final mixed & mastered version of that’s not in mp3 form. Vinyl’s hot again, thanks to indie rock heads & those that are into rare groove, funk, disco, jazz etc,
Like the showgirl video reference……dope!
Hahaha thanks Boog!
It seems the discussion has two primary issues.
1. musicians making a living
2. the quality of the music
With regard to #1 (artists making a living), 99.99% of musicians never have (and probably never will) break even on their music. Most music artists have day jobs. Music is rarely profitable for music artists of any time period.
With regard to #2 (the quality of music), let’s take a look at where this music came from. And I’m talking about Black music. It came from Africa and it came from slavery, and it came from church. If you look at the history of the music, it was the healing/inspiring power of the music, along with limited career options that led Black people into music. But the music was rarely profitable.
I would argue that the commodification of the music doesn’t improve the quality of the music. In general, what improves music are shifts grassroots culture. The migration of Black people from Africa to plantations to cities to ghettos was what fueled blues, jazz, funk, and hip hop.
It was not the absence of mp3s that shaped Black music. And I would argue that anything that shifts how people view the cultural role of music is an opportunity for music to evolve into something more relevant and compelling.
If anything, the stagnation of how music is distributed is the greatest enemy of good music. As for the musicians, history has shown that they will continue to “try” to make great music regardless of the circumstances.
How about…You cannot go to a Best Buy, Fry’s or any other major brick-n-mortar store and find underground anymore.
You either: Buy an inferior Mp3 Download, Order online (good luck if you don’t have plastic, or illegally download.
Labels and big stores have killed off underground. Also add in the fact that all labels kill sampling and what do you have. Shit music!
I have heard two albums in the past 10 years worth buying. Those albums: Y Society: Travel at your own Pace & EMC: The Show. How did I get put onto those…Damu and his free beats and Youtube Videos and Masta Ace’s Website.
On this site, there are some decent Mp3′s that artist leak, but most songs that they push for promo are wack too. Terrible music and lyrics. These artist wanna get paid?…Put out some good shit. I want to buy some music…but for some reason Good artists give me shit.
Step up your game, put out some good “LEAKS” and give us a reason to buy. Otherwise…people will continue to peep and take the 1 or 2 good joints out of 18. Why pay good money for shit Cd’s.
You feel me….
Main point: Artists need to focus on making good music.
“If you find a bag of weed on the floor motherfucker
What the fuck you gon do
Pick it up, pick it up “
Labels shot themselves in the foot by putting garbage music out..Their bum artists couldn’t make good albums, so they stopped selling singles to force us to buy albums. We weren’t stupid, so after getting burned a few times, we started downloading the songs we liked and left the album in the stores..if the album was good, we still bought it, because even when Napster was popping, cats still sold records(we wanted the cover and credits). Piracy as the cause of the decline in sales is bull because if the product was good, we purchased it anyway because a CD in the hand is worth a million iTunes songs on a computer that Apple can delete anytime they feel like…
P.s. Dr. Dre blows and all of you know he fell off…that song was booty anyway which takes us right back to downloading to keep our hard-earned cream… Also, taking 10+ years to make an album leads to leaks because you have people waiting so long…Shooting themselves in the foot, indeed…
It’s hard not to shake my head in disbelief here as I read these comments. I think Pizzo makes many good points. There are a few points that I also don’t see being made here…
I keep reading this nonsense that “artists aren’t making quality music”. Like back in the old days when every single disc that came out was an instant classic ? Because you don’t like that particular artist that gives you license to download the entire album without paying, then criticize the artist cause this album didn’t scratch that spot under your ear ? This new attitude that the artist doesn’t deserve to be paid until after you have stolen his/her work and only after you are suitably impressed always surprises me. If you want to see entitlement you should visit a mirror. My point is, weather you believe it or not, the artist has performed a service and does deserve some sort of compensation. Because we have found a new way to steal their music other than shoving it into your coat and walking out of the store with it doesn’t change the fact that you are still stealing from them. Weather you think their album is garbage, and the next person thinks it is a classic is irrelevant. The fact is money does go into making these albums. There are costs involved, the artist should receive some compensation.
I might have a unique perspective to add to this. I have been a hiphop fan since ’88. So I couldn’t tell you how much money I have spent over the years. I can tell you as a fan and as somebody who has worked in the distribution end of the music industy how much it has changed. I watched the industry slowly kill itself to a certain degree. I watched as the price of singles inflated all the way to $7…yes…$7 for maybe 1,2 or if you were lucky 3 songs. This was for a CD single too..the production costs of which are minimal! Then I watched as towards the end of the 90′s they killed off the single entirely as a means of forcing the sale of albums. Then I also watched the final peak in sales and the beginning of Napster and other illegal downloading mediums gained popularity. I saw the music distribution business dry up, me included as branch offices closed and employee’s were laid off. Myself included. I have watched the greed that the industry practices employed into the 90′s follow into the next decade when the industry didn’t see the writing on the wall and did not try to adapt to the new digital landscape.
So is the industry to blame ? Oh..most definitely. Few people dislike corporations more than I do. I do take a certain amount of pleasure in watching huge whorish conglomerates vanish even if it is at my own expense to some degree. I am also disgusted with these so called ‘hiphop fans’. I didn’t know until recently that being a music fan meant you are entitled to something for nothing. That seems to be the new reality after reading the replies here. Don’t think that this hasn’t come without consequence. Major labels have always been somewhat whack, but now they are almost entirely whack. The underground artist doesn’t even have a chance at major label distribution and promotion. This is a huge disadvantage for underground artists. So yes, when you don’t buy the underground independent artists release, you are hurting the artist directly and you are hurting hip hop directly. If you are a fan isn’t this counter productive to what you want ? Which is real hiphop ? There was real hiphop on major labels once, but now I see garbage that they pay magazines and websites to promote. At this point, the fans are the problem.
Bruce – I agree with a lot of what you said; your post and my post have a lot of common ground.
Where I disagree with you, in some respect, is your last line “At this point, the fans are the problem”.
You seem to be in my age group (I’m 35), and I’ve come to adapt my definition of “fans” as opposed to what other people call “fans”. You and I, and Pizzo, and Mr. Graham, and a lot of other people we all know, aren’t what I would consider your run-of-the-mill “fan”. Maybe I’m feeling all self-important, but I think that the time, money, and passion people like us have put into hip hop go beyond fandom – a tier above. Now, are people in our tier without blame for what has happened? Of course not. But, I don’t think there are enough of us to really make a difference either way. In one way, we got taken for granted during the whole destruction of the industry.
The failure is in the cultivation of that next generation of hip hop listener, where precious few have demonstrated the desire to follow in our footsteps. Maybe it’s a “These kids today..” mentality – which I definitely have – but with the advent of the internet, new music is so easy for them to find, consume, and dismiss that the discovery of something new doesn’t hold the weight it did for us. You were probably like me, where you would buy a tape, listen to it, read the liner notes, see who that rapper thanked and shouted out, go find out about them, and the cycle continues. There was more invested in seeking out new music.
Major labels used to not have a problem with acts selling 200K. Elektra could live with Pete Rock & CL Smooth, because Metallica was making them enough money to cover it. But while we look at the problem with hip hop and major labels, ALL music is suffering at major labels, and the big name acts can’t cover for the smaller ones anymore. So the labels need them to ALL be big names, and to do that, they follow the formula of the week.
And because the major labels are content with churning out the same garbage in easily-found packages, that’s what the new consumers (not “fans” anymore, at least, not in the sense we use the word) are trained to look for. They simply can’t be bothered to go out to a record store and buy something on a whim. I teach 7th grade, and my student are legitimately confused as to why I still enjoy going to a record store. They don’t get it. But they all have Flo-Rida on their iPods, and their .99 is just as good as mine, so there’s no need for the labels to cater to me when there’s more of them.
So, new artists will mold their styles to what sells. What’s more, if those artists are in their early 20s, then they’re influenced by their formative years, which included Ja Rule, Mase, Nelly and that era of music (did you know to my students, DMX is old school? Yup. I threw up in mouth a little.).
Anyway, long story short (too late) – there’s plenty of blame to go around.
“If you want to see entitlement you should visit a mirror. My point is, weather you believe it or not, the artist has performed a service and does deserve some sort of compensation.” —– Brucepthegod
I think that Bruce hits on one of my biggest issues with some of the comments in this post. Some of these dudes are sounding like there is true ENTITLEMENT. The comment that ” I’ve paid thousands of dollars collecting music through the 80’s and 90’s, overpaying for all of it. So I don’t want to hear it.” is some bullsh#@. So are you saying that all these new cats should get jerked because you feel like you overpaid for your music back in the 80′s and 90′s. Get The F#$% Outta Here. Suppose that you were a waiter, which I am sure that a large amount of us have been in the past, (or worked for tips), and you provided a service over and over again, and everyone kept jerking you, and you didn’t make any money. You would probably say that it isn’t worth it and quit, wouldn’t you? I know I would. If everyone who was providing good service, or music, keeps quiting because they aren’t making any money, what are you left with? A bunch of new cats who don’t know any better, aren’t as seasoned and experienced, and therefor (even though their hearts are in it) don’t provide as good of service as we need.
I would probably say that this is part of the issue with maturity of hip hop nowadays. The overwhelming majority of artists that I grew up on, and were dope, realized that music couldn’t provide enough of a sustainable living and got out. What we are now left with cats that are all 18-26, with not enough life experience, and wonder why hip hop doesn’t grow up with the listeners. For the most part, it continues to focus on the materialistic immature topics. I would argue that the average hip hop head starts to get disenchanted when they find a career, a husband/wife, or have a kid, and they find out what life is truly about. I will still instantley buy a De La Soul, Common, The Roots album. Damn, I bought Ahmad’s album online 2 weeks ago. I do that because they talk about real stuff, and they are dope as hell.
My Two Cents.
Pooch
Brucethegod said:
” I keep reading this nonsense that “artists aren’t making quality music”. Like back in the old days when every single disc that came out was an instant classic ? ”
—- Bruce….back in the day every song was not an instant classic, but if an artist have you say 14 tracks at least 12 were bangers. Lets see: Pete Rock and CL…classics almost all of them, OC…classics, Common..classic, Queen Latifah…Black Reign…classics…Biggie…Classics….Pubic Enemy…classics.. EPMD…classics…Rakim….classics…Big Daddy Kane….CLASSICS….the list goes on.
These artist from back in the day gave you classic material because all of these artists challenged them to come with better material than the next. Now you have idiots with gold teeth who never finished jr High putting stuff out. Come on son..
Brucethegod said:
“My point is, weather you believe it or not, the artist has performed a service and does deserve some sort of compensation.”
I agree, however, just because he/she put 18 tracks down does not mean anything. It has to be good stuff. I don’t pick up a carton of a dozen eggs to get 10 cracked rotten ones and just eat 2 good ones. An artist can’t think he’s gonna put out 16 crap tracks out of 18 and its all love. Maybe some one will buy that but not true heads.
Look I come from way back too. I cannot stand the wacka flocka, soulja boyz. This is disposable music from disposable artists.
Lables and artists themseleves are too blame for Raps downfall.
For instance, whether you like him or not Jay-Z is a trendsetter. He know damn well most rap is shit. If he went back to the way he used to spit others would follow. What does he do…disses autotune and covers it with an autotune track with T-Pain.
Problem with Rap is its gone pop.
Undergound heads continue to support underground artists. Period.
young buck the rehab comes out 7 sept listen samples at amazon buy the album and support the man
young buck = realest and best rapper alive
I do pirate, but if I enjoy something, I add it to my ever-growing list of Albums To Buy. It’s 30 albums long so far, and I want all of them, in physical form. This list includes the epic known as Labor Days, which is top priority to me, and which I never would have discovered without the wonders of file sharing.