Would you pay for a "underground artist verse" and how do you decide
- Thread starter Diggz Dime
- Start date
....
Really it all depends, me personally don’t get me wrong I respect a spice 1 or a celly cell, if they want to charge a G that’s fair they got the credentials to back it up, they have put in work longer than some folks on here even been bumping music. I don’t think I would drop a G though, being a indy dropping a G on a verse you got to look at it, how beneficial is this for me, yea it might get a few head turns of people saying he got so and so on his album. Really that could work in your favor or hurt you. Awhile back you having some big features was a positive thing it kind of made people look at your album and maybe consider buying it, now first thing people think is he got a lot of money or he wack and he need all them big name features to make his album sale. Id rather be ready to drop 1000 on promotions or another round of pressing cds, if you got good music and good promotion skills you will go further with the with or without features.
As far as rappers that are on your level as far as what they’ve put out, and what they’ve accomplished I think it should just be a swap deal you do a verse for me I do one for you, or you do a verse for me and ill do a service for you no need to try and tax someone if yall both trying to come up and working towards the same goal. I mean If you a strong indie and you pushed some units, and you ask for a few hundred for a verse that’s cool, I don’t feel any man should have to work for free, even if a artist said he would give me a free verse or beat imma do what I can to make them feel re-compensated for his service. Really I got respect for all artists, if they charge what they charge and I cant afford it I aint going to be mad about it imma just keep it moving, we straight maybe we will click up down the line or ill be able to do something for you down the line. There is always a fine line, but all talented indie artists on the same level in my opinion should look past money and get back to the days when people was clicking up making good music. Networking don’t seem the same to me, its more like who do you know that you can hook me up with that will pay me for a verse or a beat, networking used to be hook me up with some other talented cats and lets bang out some hits.
Really it all depends, me personally don’t get me wrong I respect a spice 1 or a celly cell, if they want to charge a G that’s fair they got the credentials to back it up, they have put in work longer than some folks on here even been bumping music. I don’t think I would drop a G though, being a indy dropping a G on a verse you got to look at it, how beneficial is this for me, yea it might get a few head turns of people saying he got so and so on his album. Really that could work in your favor or hurt you. Awhile back you having some big features was a positive thing it kind of made people look at your album and maybe consider buying it, now first thing people think is he got a lot of money or he wack and he need all them big name features to make his album sale. Id rather be ready to drop 1000 on promotions or another round of pressing cds, if you got good music and good promotion skills you will go further with the with or without features.
As far as rappers that are on your level as far as what they’ve put out, and what they’ve accomplished I think it should just be a swap deal you do a verse for me I do one for you, or you do a verse for me and ill do a service for you no need to try and tax someone if yall both trying to come up and working towards the same goal. I mean If you a strong indie and you pushed some units, and you ask for a few hundred for a verse that’s cool, I don’t feel any man should have to work for free, even if a artist said he would give me a free verse or beat imma do what I can to make them feel re-compensated for his service. Really I got respect for all artists, if they charge what they charge and I cant afford it I aint going to be mad about it imma just keep it moving, we straight maybe we will click up down the line or ill be able to do something for you down the line. There is always a fine line, but all talented indie artists on the same level in my opinion should look past money and get back to the days when people was clicking up making good music. Networking don’t seem the same to me, its more like who do you know that you can hook me up with that will pay me for a verse or a beat, networking used to be hook me up with some other talented cats and lets bang out some hits.
I FEEL CATS WHO DONE PAID DUES IN THIS GAME HAVE A RIGHT TO CHARGE FOR THEIR TALENT....LIKE I CHARGE 1500- AND FOR LOCAL NIGGAZ IN MY TOWN ITS 750..FOR ARTISTS WHO HAVE PAID DUES IN THIS SHIT LIKE ME,WE TRADE VERSE FOR VERSE,LIKE ME AND YUK,BO,KILLA TAY ,MOBFIGAZ ETC....
ITS ALL NETWORKIN AND TRYNA EXPOSE YOURSELF TO OTHER ARTISTS FANBASE..AND SOUNDSCAN DONT DETERMINE FANBASE...FOR EXAMPLE MY SHIT AT AROUND 10,000 BUT I CAN GAURANTEE,ITS IN THE HANDS OF WELL MORE THAN DOUBLE....
BY THE WAY I DONE BEEN ON SHIT THAT DONE SOUNDSCANNED CLOSE TO 500,000-DO YOUR HOMEWORK
C-BO TIL MY CASKET DROPS-AROUND 125,000
C-BO FINAL CHAPTER- OVER 100,000
C-BO LIFE AS A RIDER- AROUND 80,000
C-BO THE MOBFATHER-70,000
WEST COAST TRIPPIN COMPS VOL 1 & 2-OVER 80,000 COMBINED
WEST COAST MAFIA GANG-25,000
KILLA TAY MR MAFIOSO- OVER 60,000
LUNASICC MILLIN WORDS-MR LUNASICC-OVER 40,000 COMBINED
I COULD KEEP GOIN BUT MY FINGERS IS GETTIN TIRED
HOLLA AT YA BOY!
ITS ALL NETWORKIN AND TRYNA EXPOSE YOURSELF TO OTHER ARTISTS FANBASE..AND SOUNDSCAN DONT DETERMINE FANBASE...FOR EXAMPLE MY SHIT AT AROUND 10,000 BUT I CAN GAURANTEE,ITS IN THE HANDS OF WELL MORE THAN DOUBLE....
BY THE WAY I DONE BEEN ON SHIT THAT DONE SOUNDSCANNED CLOSE TO 500,000-DO YOUR HOMEWORK
C-BO TIL MY CASKET DROPS-AROUND 125,000
C-BO FINAL CHAPTER- OVER 100,000
C-BO LIFE AS A RIDER- AROUND 80,000
C-BO THE MOBFATHER-70,000
WEST COAST TRIPPIN COMPS VOL 1 & 2-OVER 80,000 COMBINED
WEST COAST MAFIA GANG-25,000
KILLA TAY MR MAFIOSO- OVER 60,000
LUNASICC MILLIN WORDS-MR LUNASICC-OVER 40,000 COMBINED
I COULD KEEP GOIN BUT MY FINGERS IS GETTIN TIRED
HOLLA AT YA BOY!
BINGO
I don't have a problem if joe blow charges 2,300$ a verse.Whatever you feel your worth.I'm just sayin,if I was a CEO or artist,I'm not paying anyone "cash" to get down on my album.I'd pay for air fare,and accomidations....but there's to many people in West Seattle alone who would get down for free.If they can't come hard enough,find another.
I don't have a problem if joe blow charges 2,300$ a verse.Whatever you feel your worth.I'm just sayin,if I was a CEO or artist,I'm not paying anyone "cash" to get down on my album.I'd pay for air fare,and accomidations....but there's to many people in West Seattle alone who would get down for free.If they can't come hard enough,find another.
You are paying for 2 things when you pay an artist for verse:
1. Using the artists name and fanbase to help sell your album
2. You like the artist and have been a fan, and would like to do a song with them.
If a cat is going to put your name all over their album to help sell it, why should you do it for free? They will go out and sell their albums, and they aren't going to come back and give you anything in terms of cheddar if you do it for free. Especially if you can't trade a cat a verse, because they have no fans. Some of us rap for bread and meat, and this is how we make a living.
There are local cats that deserve to be paid. If you don't have the cheddar, then don't attempt to get the verse. If we rapped on everyone's albums for free that asked me to do a verse, I wouldn't have any raps left to sell to people that wanted to pay for a verse. With me it's case by case. I charge some more, and charge some a little better player price.
If you want some fire, hollar at me. I got the hottest 16's in the NW for the best price. I'm the lyrical WALMART.
1. Using the artists name and fanbase to help sell your album
2. You like the artist and have been a fan, and would like to do a song with them.
If a cat is going to put your name all over their album to help sell it, why should you do it for free? They will go out and sell their albums, and they aren't going to come back and give you anything in terms of cheddar if you do it for free. Especially if you can't trade a cat a verse, because they have no fans. Some of us rap for bread and meat, and this is how we make a living.
There are local cats that deserve to be paid. If you don't have the cheddar, then don't attempt to get the verse. If we rapped on everyone's albums for free that asked me to do a verse, I wouldn't have any raps left to sell to people that wanted to pay for a verse. With me it's case by case. I charge some more, and charge some a little better player price.
If you want some fire, hollar at me. I got the hottest 16's in the NW for the best price. I'm the lyrical WALMART.
People wanting to be compensated for their work isn't "hollywood", it's called doing business and thinking anyone should work for free is for chumps. Everyone deserves payment in one form or another. Pricing on the other hand isn't so black & white.
An appropriate price is in the eye of the beholder. If you're an artist thinking about getting some features, here's a tip... Pay what you think is reasonable for what you might get in return. If someone wants to charge you $1000 for a verse, you've got to decide if you believe that single verse and putting their name on your album cover is going to make you that $1000 back. If you're confident it will, go for it and hope it actually does. If not, maybe that money is better spent elsewhere.
Also, even if an artist was featured on an album that did decent numbers, remember, it wasn't his name in big letters on the front cover and he's not responsible for those numbers. In addition, just because you get a feature doesn't mean you automatically get their fanbase and what 151 just posted is a good example. He featured on albums that total almost 500,000 units sold but his album only scanned approx. 10,000. Assuming he's actually sold just as many unscanned, the total still only hovers around 20,000, give or take, and that includes features from C-Bo, Coz Pacino, Young Meek, Cyco, Ridah, Yukmouth, Killa Tay, Mob Figaz, JT The Bigga Figga (copied from TowerRecords.com). He's fortunate enough to be able to trade for verses so there's no out-of-pocket expense but for those of you who arn't in that position, you need to consider all this.
Also, when you buy a feature, you're buying the potential for more exposure along with the possibility of selling more units. Basically, you got to do the math with all things considered and see if the deal makes business sense before anything. And remember, price is always relative because there are no garauntee's (which shouldn't even have to be said).
An appropriate price is in the eye of the beholder. If you're an artist thinking about getting some features, here's a tip... Pay what you think is reasonable for what you might get in return. If someone wants to charge you $1000 for a verse, you've got to decide if you believe that single verse and putting their name on your album cover is going to make you that $1000 back. If you're confident it will, go for it and hope it actually does. If not, maybe that money is better spent elsewhere.
Also, even if an artist was featured on an album that did decent numbers, remember, it wasn't his name in big letters on the front cover and he's not responsible for those numbers. In addition, just because you get a feature doesn't mean you automatically get their fanbase and what 151 just posted is a good example. He featured on albums that total almost 500,000 units sold but his album only scanned approx. 10,000. Assuming he's actually sold just as many unscanned, the total still only hovers around 20,000, give or take, and that includes features from C-Bo, Coz Pacino, Young Meek, Cyco, Ridah, Yukmouth, Killa Tay, Mob Figaz, JT The Bigga Figga (copied from TowerRecords.com). He's fortunate enough to be able to trade for verses so there's no out-of-pocket expense but for those of you who arn't in that position, you need to consider all this.
Also, when you buy a feature, you're buying the potential for more exposure along with the possibility of selling more units. Basically, you got to do the math with all things considered and see if the deal makes business sense before anything. And remember, price is always relative because there are no garauntee's (which shouldn't even have to be said).
Be the first on the block to get a 12 Bar verse from Fridge... $450
That's one dollar for every pound of fat that's backin' my tight ass flow... and I'll throw in 4 bars for free.
That's a total of 16 bars, probably written about dougnuts or Barbecue.
That's tight.
Pay up if you want it... 'cause if you really want it it's probably worth it.
That's one dollar for every pound of fat that's backin' my tight ass flow... and I'll throw in 4 bars for free.
That's a total of 16 bars, probably written about dougnuts or Barbecue.
That's tight.
Pay up if you want it... 'cause if you really want it it's probably worth it.
Supply and demand. It all revolves around if it would make financial sense to you. If an artist charges $1000 for a 16 and you think you can sell 200 albums at $5 each JUST ON THE STRENGTH OF HAVING THAT ARTIST, then it pays for itself and if you played your cards right you're able to do some good networking. Another thing is that you seperate yourself from all the "non-serious" rappers. Not to say if you don't spend you're not serious, but it's a lot of bullshitters out here. I've done verses for people for free who have no album out and had them not even put out any product. My blood sweat and tears are sitting at a studio collecting dust. Instead of taking 3 hours out of my day I could've been making a few $100 some other way. Time is money. Plus generating money within the hip hop community is a good thing. Just like you shop in your community to keep the money in your hood, same thing. It's nice to network and do tracks for free but this is a business for a lot of us out here. However what you charge is up to you and if people think it's too high they won't spend with you. With that being said, anyone who needs a hot 16 for $100, holla at ya folks! I guarantee any local cat can sell at least 20 albums on the strenght of having DIVIDENZ on their album...
the people who really understand this shit are the people who are currently makin moves...its all chess related...the most strategic move will put you in the right position for the next one....nothin happens overnight..and if u weak ...it would be a waste to get features anyway..all u doin is turnin your album into compilation
Personally I understand that everything always breaks down to business in the end. The way I see it there aren't too many cats in the Northwest with a solid enough fanbase for me to warrant spending cheese on. Yeah yeah I hear a lot of people saying that the sold ______ this many units. But for me the way I base my musical budget is can this artist sell out a major venue in Seattle by themselves with nobody else on the bill. If they can then I don't have a problem droppin cheese on a verse. I would more likely be apt to trade verses for studio time or promotion.
Example of a good business collaboration Byrdie and Reggie Watts from Maktub
Byrdie is a well known emcee on this board but not a lot of people really knew who he was til this track.
Reggie voted in the Stranger as one of the most noticable faces in the Northwest and is part of Maktub who sells out whatever venue that they play in Seattle and will probably have the hottest album to drop from a Northwest since Nirvana's Nevermind album. Good business move for Byrdie yep I think so...
Example of a good business collaboration Byrdie and Reggie Watts from Maktub
Byrdie is a well known emcee on this board but not a lot of people really knew who he was til this track.
Reggie voted in the Stranger as one of the most noticable faces in the Northwest and is part of Maktub who sells out whatever venue that they play in Seattle and will probably have the hottest album to drop from a Northwest since Nirvana's Nevermind album. Good business move for Byrdie yep I think so...
haha....catz iz crazy....dont get it twisted...if u CAN get 5 g'z for a 16...do it...I was jus tryna figure out how sum cats cum up with theze prices...cuz i know for a fact that sum cats like humpty hump and rawkon were charging under 600 for 16's and those are both cats involved in the making of CLASSIC hiphop albums....i kinda feel dude that said sometimez cats EGO's get in the way...but then again...i feel cats who said that they dont wanna jus be out there doing verses for cats thats neva gon put shit out...cuz thatz a waste of time...me personally...i'll make a hot cd with out any features...like my man nas did...and if i do get a feature on my shit...like a big name...im only gettin him on there to spit HOTTER then him, and have cats like damn.."thiz nigga out flowed so-n-so"..jus like eminem did to jay...i aint bout to get outshined on my own album...I kno that u get names to help sell ya albums...my shit was a more rhetorical question...the reason i would have a problem paying dudes is simply cuz im arrogant...and i'll be dammned if i pay someone to do what i can do betta...unless they got a name..like...umm..lil flip...he aint no lyrical genuis to me, but i kno his name would sell...but anyway...syko,151,cool nutz...all yall are makin moves...get ya cheddar mayne!!!..n yo...was c-bo the dude on the new jersey drive soundtrack?...or was that mac mall...who eva it was...that was a classic ass song
and red head steve...we only pressed up 1,000 copies...n those are gone, but I got some cd-rz...jus hit me up, n i'll get u one...matta fact...if any one wantz that diggz dime on cd-r...jus holla at me...i need to get my copiez of that reign craft...i heard catz was spittin on it...
and yea...tha maktub group does sell out every spot...i used to work at funsterz and every friday they came thru and were doing like 500 people....
and red head steve...we only pressed up 1,000 copies...n those are gone, but I got some cd-rz...jus hit me up, n i'll get u one...matta fact...if any one wantz that diggz dime on cd-r...jus holla at me...i need to get my copiez of that reign craft...i heard catz was spittin on it...
and yea...tha maktub group does sell out every spot...i used to work at funsterz and every friday they came thru and were doing like 500 people....