"You rap niggas made me laugh/Ya'll crazy ass, and I dont give a fuck what you sold, that shit was trash......"
This is gonna be a controversial post...but fuck it, I want the hits....
I'll be discussing cosignage (ya'll like that?) and such. Ya'll ever see an artist get signed and you're like "How the fuck did he get on? Whose cock got sucked for this shit to get out to the public!!!!"?
When asked, I keep my personal feelings about the music to myself and give people my POV from a professional standpoint. I dont talk on things I dont know about because people can smell bullshit from a mile away. People know that I'll be objective and honest. I'm glad my opinion means so much to a lotta people, but hey if asked, I owe it to someone to be real with them. It's the Golden Rule; if I were an artist, I'd want the same. My opinion is just one of billions, and despite the rush it gives me on the inside (muahahahaha/pause), I hate to see people living and dying by MY word. You were doing what you were doing before you asked for my input and you'll be doing what you're gonna do after I give my input so it is what it is...
The thing is....a lotta artists are so used to having yes men around them. Their entourage is usually
- artist
- weed mule
- the one jumpoff who the artist and maybe the whole crew can run through at any given moment; she usually says things like "The artist is a good friend of mine", "I'm not a groupie, we're just friends", etc. Usually gets defensive when other groupies get around said artist and the denial of the groupiedom they portray is so hilarious ("We only did it once and he gave me a bag/cash, so no I'm not a groupie").
- the livewire who provides "security" services....
- artist's "boys" who he doesnt want to leave behind "in the hood".....although that "hood" may actually be a suburb in Long Island....
- insert affiliate (producer, dude who gets groupies for artists in clubs, DJ, etc)
My very first conflict with having to work a campaign for an artist I didnt like was during one of my first gigs ever in the biz. We were doing a marketing campaign for an artist from the Left Coast and I had to do some online marketing. I heard the tracks and was immediately turned off...In my head, I'm like "Who the fuck cosigned this shit? I gotta work this shit?" I did what I was assigned (and more) but I told one of my bosses that I wasnt feeling the artist AT ALL and that duke was trash. My boss looked at me and said "That's the business bro....I dont like all the artists we market, but you gotta do what you gotta do"....
Off top, I can definitely say that a lot of artists get on for a lot of the reasons like
- favors owed
- their manager and some label exec fucked around and that caused the signing of said artist
- network. I dont knock anyone's hustle.....but this game sometimes can definitely be about who you know...
A lotta people throw the term "A&R" around quite loosely. Off top and to keep it simple, the job of an A&R is basically to find talent for a label to market and push. They handle dealing with an artists sound and the day to day process of making an album including legal, finding production, choosing singles, etc. I personally think that without a strong A&R team, a label is fucked because
- if you have no talent to market, you have no incoming revenue stream; in this day and age of 360 deals and such, no artist=no possible endorsements, sponsorships, merchandising, licensing, etc
- many (read: scores and possibly hundreds) of labels have folded because the quality of artists signed and marketed were simply not appealing to the public.
- when people see that the acts a label signs are subpar, this will kill the label's chances of survival.
Music is a funny thing. Brand loyalty is such an unguaranteed thing in music (especially urban music) that you can be here and gone tomorrow. IMO, a key thing to remember is that you as an artist are a business and brand first. All of the top artists in their respective genres (U2, Jay-z, etc) know their branding and how to place themselves in the public forefront. I sometimes listen to Volume I: In My Lifetime like "Goddamn this is a prophetic album"....its like the Jay we know now knew he was headed for that path if you really listen to that album....
But at what point does an artist learn how to balance sacrificing their art and wanting to blow? Can't answer that but I can tell you for sure that a label is concerned with the bottom line and money first just like any other business.
It's a helluva gamble. I personally dont know man....A&R, it's a bit crazy...the industry itself is a revolving door, but with A&R you have a shitload of more pressure on you. I personally work better in marketing an artist when I really believe in the artist. Like "NO one can fuck with him/her right now. Their potential is off the meter". My thing is, are artists ready enough mentally?
- Your whole life has the potential to be in the public eye.
- The label, especially now, aint gonna invest $ into an artist that wont bring back revenue. A lot of ya'll think that it's just "I'm signed, this is it right here, lets put out an album now I can eat"....Money. That's all it comes to. A label has to recoup the budget it gave you then you can "eat".
- Money hungry "family and friends"
- Groupies, whores, skanks, etc of all sorts. If you cant turn pussy down, good luck.
- Thick skin. Artists need to know that not everyone will like their music. It doesnt make me a hater. It gives me $10-$12 that I can save by buying music that I really will feel and you goddamn right I reserve the right to be discriminate. It's like if you dont like someone's music and say why, you're branded as a "hater". Artists aint perfect...but it's like if everytime you see them perform on TV or live/hear their music and they continually suck, why the fuck should I, the consumer, support their music? They obviously dont take their craft seriously, so why should I?
Its funny because there was an act signed during one stint and we had to market them. I totaly tuned them out thinking to myself "Are they serious signing these people? This HAS to be politics..." Apparently I wasnt the only one who felt so....said artists had footage of their entire audition at a label on Youtube. They put the footage on Youtube and got roasted online (dozens of negative comments), and from what I heard, their Soundscan numbers were ABYSMAL. Not gonna go too much into it but I ended up at another company and their campaign was up to be worked on. I stayed away like the plague.
All personal bias aside, if niggas cannot perform, it kills my respect for them. Live performance can be the key way an artist can make $, especially on the college scene. If an artist doesnt have stage presence they might as well choose another career path. If they dont recognize the $ that cant be made on the road by giving an ill show, thats on them and their management. I've been won by artists as well as lost by me going to a show and then seeing how they translate live. If I'm interested in working with an artist, I will see how they perform. Look at it from a customer's POV: I spend $20 to get into this show+drinks+weed $ (if you smoke at shows); I want my fuckin' money's worth. I'll give it to Wale that he knows how to have some semblance of mastery over a crowd, even without UCB behind him. (The live band aspect is sort of overused by a lot of urban musicians IMO).I've seen Kid Cudi perform live numerous times (if i remember correct, the Highline Ballroom show a while back with Wale headlining was his first time in NY performing) and it's like each time, he got worse; I was actually lost from the first time I saw duke; it's like I'm seeing him for the first time after hearing so much and then I got disappointed. Not only his lack of presence (it's bigger than just physical appearance and clothing to me, so he can wear skinny jeans all he wants) and nervousness (I do admit that NYC can be a BEAST, but if you aint built for Cuban Linx, it aint for you), but I actually wanted to hear something other than "Day N' Nite" and all of its 1000 variations, like "Can they get him in the studio and make some MORE music? This is some one hit wonder type shit." (I do like how the guy artistically expresses himself sometimes; his visual asthetics aint that bad artwork wise, etc. If ya'll are fans of his, you should support his album and cop. Im not so I wont be coppin'). I've also been to shows where I felt like the artist's performance was so good that I shoulda paid more than I did (Raekwon, J.Cole, Wale, etc)...and some of those shows I've gotten into for free.
I learned to not go by who/what mainstream publications say is hot. They do the same list every year and out of 12 or so, only 2 or three keep their relevance up to par.
Its all relative. I might not like an artist. You may.We can agree to disagree (or not). It's your $. Thanks for reading.
Lately, I've sorta been going through a lot but I had a good convo with a loved one that put a lot in perspective. Back to the clownery. A lotta these are random but they make me laugh and it's MY blog so POW!
