Friday, April 17, 2009

Labels Getting Too Lazy To Promote Artists

Say it ain't so !

Word, are you even surprised ? We all know that for years, the bigger the label in the music industry, the less likely you are as an artist to get their attention and/or support, unless you are already creating a world wide buzz on your own. Let's be honest, for years the big labels have been really lazy and lacking in effort when it comes to maximizing the efforts of their artists campaign.

The fact is "labels" have been falling off for quite some time now, but have they given up altogether ? Nah, I don't think so, but I do believe in this period of "uncertainty" in the music business has made some labels really lazy when it comes to promoting their roster of artists.

Take for example the sad story with TVT records. Even with a roster of successful artists such as LiL Jon & The East Side Boys and Pitbull among others, the label still went under and filing for bankruptcy in 2008. After months of legal battles , LiL Jon managed to escape the record label and started new at The Orchard. So did Pitbull. He also left TVT due to the label's lack of a promotional/marketing effort.

Since their departure, both of these rap artists have taken their career to a whole new level of success. I'm telling you right now, you can't go to any urban club in North America without hearing some Pitbull and LiL Jon a few times throughout the night.

Digital distribution and new media company, The Orchard, caters to the likes of some impressive independent artists. Is this the new model for emerging artists trying to breakthrough ? Should you go indie or major ? So many big stars in the music industry have defected from thier major labels and gone the independent route. Is it a no brainer that big stars remain big stars, whether or not they are signed to a major ? True, but not always (as in the case of fall offs).

The next generation of musicians and artists has been born in the digital realm, which means more opportunity for music to be mobilized by consumers. More importantly this is a chance for music makers to create a direct connection with music fans on a more accessible level. This would cut labels and middlemen out of the picture altogether. Only the necessary members of an artist;'s team would be apart of their business ventures (e.g. a business manager, lawyer, accountant, etc.)

I think we are currently living in the best possible time for new artists to totally take over the music industry. Especially artists who are willing to go deepest dirty depths of the music business to deal with the best of them. You have to put it all on the line and take risks while implementing solid strategies to succeed.

What are some of your independent music successes ? Leave some comments and we'll talk about it. Great success stories could be featured in one of these blog posts. Get at me ya'll.

4 comments:

  1. Great post man, I totally agree.

    It seems easier for a major label artist to stay successful moving to an independent label since they already have made some noise in the industry.

    indie labels that focus time and resources in the right places for promoting their artists will do well compared to an artist lost in the roster of a big label that has time for no one and isn't staying up with current trends.

    Digital distribution is definitely a viable outlet for music these days.

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  2. Thanks for your comments.

    I agree, digital distribution has definitely changed the game. There's a whole new realm out there for artists to take their music to fans on a global scale.

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  4. Excellent article. Very interesting to read. I really love to read such a nice article. Thanks! keep rocking. rap promotion

    ReplyDelete

Rap music business - Marketing and Promoting the Future of Hip Hop