It's a new year, it's time to ride the wave and utilize are insights to stay ahead of the curve of change. For years and years in the music industry the majority of money for artists was based on album sales. All of your promotions and tours were tools to you promote your album in hopes to increase your album sales.
Now, with the internet and the ability to download albums the minute one person gets and uploads it, things are changing. A lot of artists get really upset and scold fans for downloading their music. I feel them on one hand but from an independant artist's standpoint i look at it like: they are still downloading and listening to YOUR music!
They can easily not download, share, listen, support your music... That's the sign of the times. I'm not saying downloading is great and not buying albums is the bomb, i'm just saying, it is what is today. We can utilize it as a tool or fight it till we are left behind. On one hand i think it's great for hip hop! ( yes actually i do!) peep.
Back before hip hop/rap was popular in the mainstream, there wasn't much focus or chance of anyone blowing up off their music.
That's when folks who really made music, made it for the love of the music and culture 1st! Once you found out you could bubble off music, the art got diluded a bit. Cats who didn't really love the art, got involved because it was a legal hustle, then followed the gangsta ( which was cool), but then came the gangsta rap trend. Cats who weren't gangstas, just folks who found out that if you rapped like a gangsta then you could sell records. BOOOOO! So now that it's almost like the early '80s all over again when it comes to artists being able to become filthy rich off of rap/hip hop, a lot of the artists who were in it just for the $$$ will fall out of the game and look for other ways to bubble and not off our art.
Not saying it's impossible to make a good living off of your music or that it's a bad goal, just that it's a little harder than before. It requires waay more hustle and learning how to use our current tools i.e., internet, FREEE DOWNLOADS, etc.
These are all ways of getting your music heard and name out, without it costing you any money! just sweat capital! good ole time and energy! (sorry for the lazy, supa star type rappers.. all real cats report to the trenches!!)
Before you would tour to promote your albums, now its getting to the point where you use your albums as a promotional tool used to promote your tours, merchandise, and all the other skills and talents you possess.
I'm with it. I'm all about the cleansing of the culture by making it harder to make $ off of it. I wouldn't have wished it upon anyone but since it's hear, note the pluses and turn them stones to gold!
So here are my last 3 albums FREEEEEEEE! yes FREEEEE you can just download it, bootleg it, share it. actually I encourage all of those! Here is my paypal if you would like to donate, break bread or contribute. Anything, nothing, all good, just optional.
You can
PayPal to
[email protected] No matter if you pay through props, showing up at shows and buying merch, actually paying cash or just bumping it. I am grateful for it all, I know there are millions of other artists you could be listening to :)
Respect and here are the tunes.
Rebirth of the lastarfighta (tracks 17-33)IntromissionBukue aka Mr Generous "Hustlin like raindrops" vol 1[Try these d/l links at night or check out Bukue on his site and iTunes, because the download links above seem to be timing out at the moment. - Susan]
Labels: artists, free, hiphop, music
