Hip Hop

I have always believed that mediocrity kills. In the music industry, specifically the Hip Hop market, I feel that artist and labels are dishing out mediocre products. The labels get in the way of artist creativity and request artist to perform what sells. With the power of the Internet, you hear artist who are not ready for the long haul in the music industry, but since the decline of music sales, labels jump after artist who have a local buzz and a hit song. Yes, these records generate monetary sales via ringtones, licensing on film/TV, and radio royalties. But, I believe that these mediocre artist and songs will be a detriment to the essence of hip-hop. Even Asher Roth stated "if we keep rapping about this nonsense and this unattainable materialism, we’re screwed." 
 On just about every well-known hip hop blog you will find topics about the exploitation of the music. Fans are starting to tune out at the redundancy of the radio’s playlist. I mean come on, how many of you have said to yourself while riding in the car “ man, didn’t they just play this?” If the music execs of these labels don’t consider the long term affects of how they conduct the business of the hip hop market, then they will continue to see drop in sales. The time will come when artist realize that iTunes, amazon.com and other internet retailer’s will give them the distribution needed without the major labels backing. The emergence of the Internet has transformed the traditional business module for all major recording labels. The World Wide Web has enhanced the brick and mortar ways of marketing, promoting and retail. The Internet has given birth to the new era of music, but will consumers embrace these artists that are not carbon copies?

Spotify and the recording industry...

Can Spotify be helpful in music sales? I have a hunch that the music industry still has a chip on its shoulder from not jumping on the phenomenon that was Napster. So, they must learn from their mistakes and partner with Spotify, which is a digital music service. However, Spotify specializes in its free streaming services at a monthly rate. My mother always told me, why would anyone buy the cow when they can get the milk for free? With that said, what can the music industry gain by joining forces with Spotify? For one they no longer have to worry about lengthy battles in the courtroom for copyright infringement. The recording industry won’t potentially lose millions of untapped revenue if Spotify’s service is trendsetting. However, music labels get the bulk of their income through album sales. Streaming free music online wont allow the music industry to bounce back from their decade long decline. I believe the recording industry will have to start focusing on producing quality material. They had their chance in changing the future of the industry but failed miserably. The music business has always had a formula when creating a hit. That formula has been abused over the years. Every artist sounds the same. Music does not have that emotion it used to generate. It is my honest opinion that the music industry needs to focus on creating great quality music. Stop being scared of the mistakes that were made in previous years. Stop being afraid of an unknown band that give’s crowd’s chills because that band doesn’t fit the standards. Give consumers something worth buying. The music industry wont change until it stops getting in its own way.