Bootlegging Killed it (hiphop related)
El_Mezcalito
312 Posts
Negative images might have something to do with it. But whats causing that 21% sales decline is BOOTLEGGING.Hiphoppers are the worst. Theres no rock mixtapes. Its real hood to hook up your boys with the new shit theyre not up on.My shit, Sound Chronicles Vol I, is indie, but its been posted on 4 blogs (so far), links on Okayplayer, Justus League, Philaflavor boards... and thats just what I know of.I got dudes telling me about this new "CRazy" track by Sean Price. I'm like actually, thats my fuckin song, and its called "Jesus Price," and its off my fuckin album.Hiphoppers bootleg. Thats why sales are down. Negative images are a negligible part of the problem.
Comments
Remember there was a time when you though Timbaland and Dirty South was wack(?)
The game is the same. Technology changed.
** The ONLY thing that has changed is that people are stealing garbage now, instead of buying it. **
never thought Timbo was wack and I think Pastor Troy, the Geto Boyz & 8Ball & MJG are way doper than Mike Jones, Lil Scrappy & Allstar. Plus I'd much rather listen to the fucking fu-scnickens & Organized than Papoose, Jim Jones or even Nas right about now. Please don't get it twisted and think I'm on some east coast bias - even Jay's putting out wack shit. I just think it's a shame when you're hoping for Jeff & Fest to save the day.
the industry has been bitching about declining sales since the fucking 70's. They create the new shit then bitch that you can duplicate it easier and easier. Now that there's some shit they can't grasp (downloading) their fucking panties are in bunches. Fuck 'em all - make dope shit - you sell fucking records. You don't like how your industy's controllling its assets - fix it and stop fucking whining.
WRONG - I did not compare apples to oranges. I compared the old to the new within that style and I think the older dirty south cats are doper artists than the current crop and to blame bootlegging for the artists not connecting with a music fan that transleates into records sales is - TO ME - an excuse.
Not directed at you Georges.
Dude, sales have been climbing since the 70's. especially in rap (obviously).
"Make dope shit and it will sell" -- NO, unfortunately, it doesn't work that way anymore. It doesn't matter how dope you are, how well marketed you are, every single album, rap and other, are losing money. Every label, every distributor, every retailer, CD's and DVD's ACROSS THE BOARD. This is not about quality of product, this is about stealing.
I was about to say....
Meet me over at Waxidermy. Oh wait, that place sucks even harder than The Strut.
Oh well, looks like I'll have to actually get some work done.
You have to admit, the circumcision thread is a new wrinkle in the fold.
Pun intended.
please do some historical research before talking out your ass. In the 70's "Home taping is killing music," the 80's the walkman was reducing sales then the advent of the CD created a "new dawn" and resurgence of the industry. People were told to re-buy their entire collection cuz this was the best and last frontier. That turned out to be a lie - they slashed prices left & right in a frenzy to sell more & more Hootie & Alanis records without thinking of the consequences of selling a record below the MSRP. That my friend began the trend to where we're at today of "why should I pay $12.99 for something that I think should cost a little more than the price of a blank CD." back in the day, the top tier artists captivated their audience with a firm grip and their sales reflected it. There was even room or parity within a genre. They sold out tours, were on the covers of their genre's top mags etc.
Even Jay, with the juggernaut of marketing outlets available to him is at a "failure" 1.5 million sold. Maybe that's all it should do - the record's wack (and I'm a kool-aid drinking fan of his too). Bottom line - who's album should be multi-plat that isn't and what are they doing other than complaining??? I don't see anyone out there on the road touring properly (and by that I mean doing a show sans bullshit). I see the same artists going on a paper chase without regard to make shit fair for everyone. Remy Ma gets on a panel on the state of Hip Hop and claims, "I'm just trying to get dough - fuck all this bulding shit" and I'm supposed to have sympathy when her shit bricks??? get the fuck oudda here
In the 70's, people might have said, "home taping is killing music," but sales were in fact rising in general. Yes, CD's were introduced and people were told to rebuy their collection. And the industry is looking to do that again with a new format.
But, blank CD's came, and still Nirvana and Backstreet Boys sold billions. The mid 90's saw a peak in record sales which have declined steadily since. This is due not to blank media like CD's, but to illegal downloading.
I don't think the touring game has changed at all. I think you're jaded. And yes Remy Ma is retarded, but retarded rappers are nothing new.
I'm assuming you were purposefully exaggerating but no artist has ever sold a billion copies of any single album. The Eagles' "Greatest Hits" is only 28x platinum vs being, you know, ONE THOUSAND TIMES platinum.
OK, well i still disagree and think that current rap artists are connecting with lots of fans, and I think you have selectively chosen some weaker current artists to bolster your argument. T.I., Lil Wayne and Killer Mike, while not at the level of experience of your 8balls and ugks, are certainly making some real rap music worth checking and i don't think music sales have dropped due to a general decline in the 'quality of music'
I just got a personal taste though -- I've seen my album, or songs from it, posted on several boards (Okayplayer, Justus League, Philaflavor), and several blogs (one actually called "hiphopbootleggers"), and LOTS of people on the boards were saying they were loving it. "Best Sean Price song ever!" ... but they don't buy it off iTunes and they don't buy the CD. I think stuff like that is a pretty new phenomenon, and it really does hurt sales. These dudes are bumping my tracks and they don't even know its mine ( www.myspace.com/soundchron )[shameless plug]
Your assuming that they would have bought the album in the first place.
Just asking. Where is your CD online for sale? Do you have it in download format?
I'm not jaded - I sold records without having to make excuses.
What tours have Killer Mike, TI or LIl Wayne sold out??? If Wayne was the kingpin he thinks he is, he wouldn't have had to cancel his philly show (IN A CLUB) "for security reasons" cuz he would've gone with a reliable promoter who could secure proper security.
the CD is at ughh, amazon + fye online ..
UGHH: http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/detail.asp?UPC=GSE0175CD
FYE (cheaper here): http://www.fye.com/viewfdsearch.htm?query=soundchronicles&profile=Music&sortBy=music
its also on iTunes. Our distributor re-wrote our data and misspelled some shit. .. should be fixed tomorrow. but its up -- search "Sound Chronicles"
I actually didn't use those examples of TI and Lil Wayne. From my understanding, many people agree that TI is dope. He's seems like the type that should be doing well now.
I can't speak on Lil Wayne. But one cancelled show doesn't seem like a big deal.
What records have you sold? Did you have any bootlegging issues? Touring issues? Not necessarily trying to make a point, just interested...
so you're dope and everyone's stealing your shit and those before you were wack, but folls bought their shit???
compilations of new material usually isn't the best path to platinum range rovers....
my point is, the quality of records has nothing to do with decline in sales. its the bootlegging that is to blame. my shit is dope, yes. shit before me has been good and bad, and medium. but people USED to buy shit, sometimes they were happy with their purchase, sometimes they'd regret it. Now, people download, and whether they love the album or hate it, they keep it, and deprive the artist of a sale.
I don't know man, maybe if people didn't bootleg it haha
not to diss, but maybe a lot of stuff is only supposed to sell 2-3 thousand records. and if it's supposed to do more what are you doing to motivate cats to buy??? We went crazy with drops & t-shirts and shows, but I live in a dirty south "haven" and I never see kids walking around rocking Fate Eastwood shirts or hear them hitting up the college hip hop stations.
yeah, I was kidding man, my shit isn't going platinum. But my record, like every other record on the market today, across the board, is doing worse than it could. worse than it would have 5-10 years ago.
what am I doing to motivate cats to buy? we had a pretty decent marketing campaign, what you'd expect for the ship goal -- i won't bore you with details, but it included press, radio, street/lifestyle, ads. the usual.
I feel you dunny - it's a tough fucking grind these days. There's so many more factors now that didn't exist in the "golden era." It would be a tough thing to start your hustle now - stay up, just don't blame the game.
oh and send me a copy!