SIGNED OR INDEPENDANT?
- Thread starter 408FACTOR
- Start date
Indie by FAR! Its more work & less fame but if ur shit is taking off then u can eat like ur platinum.
I would never sighn with a major. I know some people would say "yeah whatever. If they waving millions in ur face you'd sighn". Bullshit. If I'm selling 100,000 plus a year on an indie what the fuck I need to be on a major for? I'd rather be an underground hitter then a pop star.
I love money like the next man but @ the end of the day I'd rather have full control of my art. When u don't control ur art its not art anymore. Its somebodys property.
And fame aint good for most people. Look @ the Game. He's a perfect example of an artist that can't handle fame. He should be on suicidle watch.
If all majors were killed off & the game went str8 indie hip hop & music in general would be better off. A lot of artist wouldn't even be played out so much if BET, MTV, VH1, radio didn't play them the fuck out.
I got a lot more 2 say but I'd thought I d use this as an opener.
I would never sighn with a major. I know some people would say "yeah whatever. If they waving millions in ur face you'd sighn". Bullshit. If I'm selling 100,000 plus a year on an indie what the fuck I need to be on a major for? I'd rather be an underground hitter then a pop star.
I love money like the next man but @ the end of the day I'd rather have full control of my art. When u don't control ur art its not art anymore. Its somebodys property.
And fame aint good for most people. Look @ the Game. He's a perfect example of an artist that can't handle fame. He should be on suicidle watch.
If all majors were killed off & the game went str8 indie hip hop & music in general would be better off. A lot of artist wouldn't even be played out so much if BET, MTV, VH1, radio didn't play them the fuck out.
I got a lot more 2 say but I'd thought I d use this as an opener.
they both have ups and downs
if you want to reach a wider audience then a major is the way to go because they will push your product if they feel it is good
but that is also the downside to it because you have to go in the direction that they think most people will be able to relate to so you might not be able to be yourself
but if your independent you make more money per sale and keep all your creativity but you also have to get a distrubution deal and pay alot of money for promo and studio time plus more money for features and beats
in a perfect situation you could sign to a major and put yourself out there in the publics eye then when your contract is up you could go to independent and still have a large fan base and hopefully some money to start up your project
there are alot of talented independent artists who cant afford the best studios or the sickest producers so they will never fully shine like they should
but also there are alot of artists with a major deal and they end up being broke because they thought they could live like "rap stars" and ended up having to pay the label back for lost money
there is no right or wrong to this question i guess my advice would be do what feels right for you and dont rush into anything
if you want to reach a wider audience then a major is the way to go because they will push your product if they feel it is good
but that is also the downside to it because you have to go in the direction that they think most people will be able to relate to so you might not be able to be yourself
but if your independent you make more money per sale and keep all your creativity but you also have to get a distrubution deal and pay alot of money for promo and studio time plus more money for features and beats
in a perfect situation you could sign to a major and put yourself out there in the publics eye then when your contract is up you could go to independent and still have a large fan base and hopefully some money to start up your project
there are alot of talented independent artists who cant afford the best studios or the sickest producers so they will never fully shine like they should
but also there are alot of artists with a major deal and they end up being broke because they thought they could live like "rap stars" and ended up having to pay the label back for lost money
there is no right or wrong to this question i guess my advice would be do what feels right for you and dont rush into anything
i look at it like this if i was young like The pack was i would sign just like they did gather a bunch of connects even tho they really didnt get a kickback they learned alot and got connections which now that they are unsigned they can start capitalizing
it all depends on what you want in your carrer ?? R u the type to wanna show your face and market yourself?? or you just wanna make music and have a label do it???
its alota factorz that come into play
it all depends on what you want in your carrer ?? R u the type to wanna show your face and market yourself?? or you just wanna make music and have a label do it???
its alota factorz that come into play
Kotch does 150k+......But Keak, Big Rich, and Kafani didn't play the game right or else they'd be huge right now.....My advice is; next time someone offers ya'll Bay Rappers what looks like scraps(75k-150k) use the money for music related expenses only (5k-10K official looking video, 35k "radio promotion", 25K MTV Jam of the week money, 15K magazine advertising, and sit on whatever is left). Unfortunately not paying the right people will stagnate your hustle and keep you underground....Anyways the real money come when you are famous, from endorsement and not the music so why sweat "rap money" anyway....
U can get endorsements w/o going magor. My boy Bigg Craze & Hot Ones Records are being endorsed by Coke. I'm sure it aint a million dollar endorsement like Luda or somebody but that should help his label & he's signed 2 Koch.
I hear what u saying though cuz aint nobody underground gonna ever get Diddy/Jigga kind of cash but u aint gotta be filthy rich(either though it would be nice) 2 build a legacy & make good money in the rap game.
And becoming major doesn't always mean you'll get endorsements.
To me w/o the web being able 2 reach any place in the world who the fuck needs a major.
I hear what u saying though cuz aint nobody underground gonna ever get Diddy/Jigga kind of cash but u aint gotta be filthy rich(either though it would be nice) 2 build a legacy & make good money in the rap game.
And becoming major doesn't always mean you'll get endorsements.
To me w/o the web being able 2 reach any place in the world who the fuck needs a major.
Tell that to all the artists (especially BAY artists) who were signed to a major in the 90's and got dropped because no budget was put into their promotion.
The major label game is DEAD. It's not how it used to be. You can make waaaaaaaaay more money doin indie if you are as hungry for it as you claim....Examples: see Tech N9ne, Nickatina, ICP and many others.
Majors don't sink truckloads of money into artists like they used to. On top of that, if you DO sign to a major there's always the chance of another artist on said label taking most of the attention. A perfect example is YBB...Ray Luv and Young Lay were on YBB thru Atlantic Records....Both had solid albums...But at the time, Atlantic was focusing on Aaliyah. Most of the promo budget went there and that was that.
With a large percentage of consumers downloading music these days,the whole game has changed. So being "signed" doesn't really mean shit anymore. An artist can make it happen on their own if they're serious enough.
Um Lynch & Bo solos sell 100k on a reg & both are indie. And who said they gotta be a Bay or Sac artist? We're talking about an artist in general.
Even if u selling 50k that's good.
If I was doing 25k that's a good on an indie if ur doing a lot of shit hands on. 6-7$ per unit doing them kind of numbers aint bad. Add the fact that artist(smart ones) do shows, sell verses, got the DVD hustle going & a few other things cracking. They may not be rich but if u got a house & a couple of whips then ur living the American dream right there. U aint gotta be rich. The music industry isn't even designed for everyone to be rich. If u just looking to live off strictly rap money then ought to just look @ it as a hobby.
Even if u selling 50k that's good.
If I was doing 25k that's a good on an indie if ur doing a lot of shit hands on. 6-7$ per unit doing them kind of numbers aint bad. Add the fact that artist(smart ones) do shows, sell verses, got the DVD hustle going & a few other things cracking. They may not be rich but if u got a house & a couple of whips then ur living the American dream right there. U aint gotta be rich. The music industry isn't even designed for everyone to be rich. If u just looking to live off strictly rap money then ought to just look @ it as a hobby.
maybee at one time.
but if you think c-bo or brotha lynch are even doing 20k nowadays, you have to pass some of that good your smoking this way. thats some good shit! as far as verses, dvd, and all the other shit, man rap music isnt what it once was. we could argue back and forth all day, but i can guarentee that in the bay and sac region, yeah, theres a hand full of artists probably making a little bread no doubt, but overall theres no one pushing even 50k. e-40, yeah. outside this region i dont know what other indie artists are doing. your right about one thing though, it should be a hobby!
but if you think c-bo or brotha lynch are even doing 20k nowadays, you have to pass some of that good your smoking this way. thats some good shit! as far as verses, dvd, and all the other shit, man rap music isnt what it once was. we could argue back and forth all day, but i can guarentee that in the bay and sac region, yeah, theres a hand full of artists probably making a little bread no doubt, but overall theres no one pushing even 50k. e-40, yeah. outside this region i dont know what other indie artists are doing. your right about one thing though, it should be a hobby!