Most of my emails/blog posts are witty and informative. But this time, there is a need for me to be serious and state some facts that may encourage you to do things a little differently.
At a very rapid pace, music retail is dying. There are many reasons for this and we have our opinions on where to point the fingers. Right now that is not important. However, it is very important for you to know what genre of music this death will affect first.
Hip Hop is probably the most influential type of music there is. It has more than put its stamp on pop culture. But that is not good enough, because it is getting harder to find your favorite new hip hop disc in stores. Here are a few examples of what is happening to Hip Hop.
- Last week, Wale came out to a harsh reality. He thought he was hot, but some non traditional music retailers thought he was not and therefore bought very little to absolutely none of his debut cd. Fans relied on twitter to point them in the direction of the nearest music store to find #attentiondeficit.
- A couple of weeks ago, Rick Ross’s group Triple C’s came out and sold a little over 12,000 copies. About 70% of these were sold at traditional/independent music stores.
- After calling 3 Targets inside the city of Atlanta, none of them had the newest Lil’ Boosie Cd. It was released on September 15, 2009. They pull you off the shelf pretty fast there huh? (While on that call a customer asked for the Wale cd, I told the employee to send him to the West End. She relayed the message and said…”We never got that cd.”)
- Then I decided to go on a hunt for an underground artist. Brooklyn MC Skyzoo’s debut release “The Salvation” was only available at 1 Best Buy out side the city of Atlanta. But they could not locate the disc in the store.
It is very important for me to say that this is not a shot at any store, record label, or artist. This is the harsh reality of the situation you may be in if you are a hip hop artist. And it is even more unforgiving if you are a hip hop fan.
70-80% of hip hop music is sold physically in stores and not digitally online. Where does that leave the artist with the major record deal if there is no music store and 1 mass merchant? Where does that leave the artist that just needs distribution if there is no music store and 1 mass merchant? Last but certainly not least, where does that leave the fan that just wants to go to the store and find their favorite new hip hop cd?
I do believe that things will change one day. Change is inevitable. However as we wait for change to take place, Hip Hop will suffer. The Real question is will it be able to survive?
Please feel free to leave your comments. These are just the facts. Conversation among us will hopefully help come up with some solutions to what I know is a really serious problem.
November 17, 2009 at 3:50 pm |
from what i under stood the same situation happened with maino. sad sad sad.
November 17, 2009 at 10:43 pm |
Here’s the thing…hip hop has to be responsible enough to contunue to talk about these issues on wax…there no longer exists a vein where the hip hop fan can get the information thru the music..if u do not feed ppl consciencousness, they will assume to fail you..we in the hip hop nation are slightly appauled @ the direction the music has gone in…I think pimp c said it best…with no social commentary encoded into the music the format will die..nevermind labels, a&r, execs, and all that shit…WE made the music ppl wanted 2 hear because it is was TRUTH..now we lying for the dollars and the man still taking it in your face…war, bailouts with ghetto,rich,and erbody elses money…talk about that and see if the ppl don’t start asking questions again and checking fo these artists again who are GIVING them somrthing to feel and hold on to…I haven’t taken TUPAC and hip hop artists like that outta my cd changer since he passed bcause I can’t find ANYTHING that moves me enough to give a fuck why I can’t find lil boosie….get it???
November 19, 2009 at 12:41 am |
Wow. I thought it was just me getting to the store to late. I searched the world over for Melanie Fiona and couldnt find it anywhere. Not even Wal Mart, WTF? I dont mind supporting artist. I have bought the bootleg and then cop the real deal on the Tuesday of release because I luv the artist and want to see the pictures on the inside plus the producer/writer credits etc. This is sad. I didnt know artist were suffering like this. Now I hate bootlegging and free dowloading. How do we pass good music to the next generation?
November 19, 2009 at 4:19 am |
[...] For a preview of the conversation, check out this snippet from her recent blog post, The Death of Music Retail and its Effect on Hip-Hop Music: [...]
November 19, 2009 at 7:46 am |
I blogged on that exact same topic, I had to go to 5 retailers to find wale’s album, DTLR was were I found it, and if he was never an employee of DTLR it probably wouldnt have been stocked there either, the regional shipment of records kills me, i dont understand how an aritst is supposed to get a following in a region when they get no radio play and have no material in that region
November 19, 2009 at 2:57 pm |
Retail is dying for many reasons. For the most part, its becuase records dont sell as well as they used to. Alot of the major retail record chains are closing becuase of this. Although it is true that most records will do better on the physical retail end than the digital, downloading has definitly played a major role in the collapse of retail.
Another problem is that retail chains such as FYE and wal-mart have implemented “placement fee’s” to make up for their loses. Thus charging the artists/labels two dollars a unit just to be on the shelves regardless of wether it sells or not. This can become very expensive. They also charge you for any promotional placement in their stores. No more going into a retail chain with a stack of posters and expecting to get one hung on the wall, This wont happen!
Alot of this falls on the label. They dont physicaly get out and work retail anymore becuase of the placement fees. Next, their not doing their job of soliciting the stores and making them aware of their release. There are people like Violet Brown who makes sure you get the proper placement in retail (transworld) but again, she cost money!
Im not trying to entirely blame the labels becuase alot of the retail buyers dont have a clue of what to order and what not to order. it takes a bunch of people coming in the store asking about the records to get someone motivated enough to investigate it and get it the store. Then again, if the label didnt pay for placement in that store. They wont buy it anyway!
It effects hiphop the most becuase most of the buying market is young and therefor “internet savy.” They know all the online resources to download it (legal or not) Country music still does better than any other genre in retail becuase the buying market is older and doesnt know how to utilize the internet as well as todays youth.
To get even deeper. Hip Hop is the most affected becuase there is’nt anything driving the consumers to go buy the records. Artists in the genre keep releasing the same old garbage and it was just a matter of time before consumers realized they were being taken advantage of.
Its why Artists like soulja boy can have a number one radio hit 6 weeks running and never go gold and artists like Bone Thugs go platinum with little or no radio play at all. Most consumers heard everything they wanted to hear from Souljas radio single, the real cult following fans will always buy albums. Basicly, most of todays artist lack fans, without fans you dont sell records. You got to give them somthing they can believe in to motivate them to go buy these records. I could go on forever on this subject but I feel this is already getting longer than your blog post itself!
November 26, 2009 at 12:58 am |
I know how to lift sales in this overall industry. Its simple as hell.
November 26, 2009 at 7:28 am |
@griff I feel you 100% playa! That’s why this Music That Motivates album is a must have. You want that feeling of what hip hop use to be. This is definitely something you can wrap your heart, mind, body and soul around.
http://www.sonicbids.com/vandal
November 26, 2009 at 4:38 pm |
Here is why these cd’s are “hard to find”…
The distributors charge way to much for the cd’s… By the time you pay for the cd’s and the shipping, you end up paying $13 or more for each copy!
It’s not worth ordering them at all, especially if you are not sure they will sale!
Another issue is that the labels do not support the releases.. No promo, no tv, no radio, no nothin!!
The game is going down hill, sales wise, because older cts are tired of the rap non sense. It’s not about quality control and lyrical ability- it’s about the negative.
The more dope you push (wink wink) and people you rob, kill and beat down- the mor the labels are interested!
Check it.. Older cats in their 40′s to 70′s still listen to and purchase country music. That same age bracket for urban music is falling off because they now have kids of their own, girls in particular, that they dont want that shit played around them, thus lessening them listening/purchasing.
Bring back real hip-hop and lower the damm prices…
CD’s cost these labels no more then pennies to produce, so why the snd cost to the consumer is $13.99 and higher is crazy- kid!
December 14, 2009 at 5:11 am |
Actually its a misconception that its only costs labels pennies to produce cds. The manufacturing costs on average are $1.25 a unit depending on the packaging, shipping, etc. Then if you are a legit label you have to pay about $1 in mechanicals. You also have to pay the artist & producer royalties. Did i mention 20% distributor fees, marketing budgets, etc. Oh and i havent even begun to touch on retail co-op programs. At the end of the day the labels are lucky to make $2 a unit and thats only on what actually sells and doesn’t get returned. What really hurts the industry is all these unprofessional labels with bootleg albums trying to get marketed to retailers. These labels dont pay mechanicals, royalties or do any thing the way a legitimate label would and they are flooding the market with inferior product, street albums or mixtapes with other peoples music causing the consumer to be more reluctant to buy any music.
December 14, 2009 at 8:27 am |
Whatever the case..Older cats are no longer purchasing/listening to the rap being released today!
To much negative and not enough lyrical content.
CD’s are like compilations now because these new cats are unable to carry an entire album alone…That’s why everyone prefers mixtapes and indivisual downloads..
This could go on and on, so I am done responding!
December 14, 2009 at 12:41 pm |
Hello,
I like the long comments. Only stop typing if you really want to. This is a place where you can freely give your opinion about whatever the post is about. Whether you agree or not. There must be a healthy debate of an issue so that people can hear both sides and come up with a solution. I truly feel like the more we speak, there is a chance of two things happening. First, we just might be heard. Secondly, we may come up with some answers to the problems that plauge the industry. So on my behalf, please, go on and on. I certainly do not mind at all.
Thank you for your comment,
*TRC*
March 18, 2010 at 11:51 am |
GradyZora is the funniest person on the show. This is my favorite show on tv! Thanks for posting this, I enjoyed reading it. I’m adding your rss feed to my Google reader, keep up the good posts!