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Who favorited?Hip Hop in '08- Sales
by on January 13th, 2008
In 2007, it was clear to any hip hop head that the music we hold dear had indeed changed direction.
The World Wide Web had a huge impact on our beloved genre and on music as a whole. Record label exec’s got so caught up in signing Myspace celeb acts like Soulja Boy and promoting digital sale (music downloads and ringtones) that somehow along the lines, genuine hip hop got lost in the commotion.
I guess we’re in that dance era, you know, like when soul music turned into disco. Now unlike a lot of critics, I don’t think hip hop is dying - just lying in a dark alley somewhere fighting for its life. Conversely, hip hop in ’08 will be all about bringing back lyrical content to rap and speaking for the voiceless (which was always the initial purpose for the existence of hip hop anyway). It’s the time for the lyricists to shine and the dancing jiggaboos must fall back.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be documenting and taking an in depth look on the industry trends that will shape the music and lifestyle that is hip hop in ’08.
So lets begin with Sales in '08. Digital sale is definitely what's in - the proof is there.
Record sales for 2007 in the US were down 9.5 percent from 2006 and in comparison to digital sale numbers of almost 850 million, only approximately 570 million units were sold. Music sales, especially record sales, have been on constant decline for the past ten years partly due to illegal downloading and file sharing. Causing labels to take action - notice all the ringtone ads and free music-download giveaways?
The marketing for digital sales has shown to be a lucrative move for boosting music sales--especially when it comes to the already comparatively low record sale of hip hop albums and it appears to be the key to fixing many hip hop labels' money issues this year and you know how those rappers love making that money!
Although sales may seem to be irrelevant to the average hip hop-lover (Lord knows we’ll still love our favorite artists despite their numbers), good sales keep the record labels that back our faves happy, and when they’re happy - we hear more from them.
Industry trends show that Hip hop in ’08 will be laced with digital sale promotion which for the most part works for everyone. Who doesn’t like being able to download their favorite albums and pick and choose songs for their ipod playlists or hearing their phone ring with their current favorite song?
The downside?, digital sale will also make it easier for hip hop to become even more commercialized because in order to reach more audiences and get better sales using digital marketing, real hip hop will get watered down even more.
Let’s hope our artists stick to their guns and put out more quality than quantity. I trust they will - hip hop’s a fighter.
In my next piece, I’ll be discussing the beefs that are present in hip hop. Beef helps keep hip hop entertaining and lucrative but displays the wrong ideals as to what hip hop is and taints the very genre itself. The whole thing raises this question: just how much of an impact is hip hop beef really leaving on the music scene?
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deeee-troit
~Be Eazy!
i need a dvd player only
fact is that today the fine-line between being an artist and a business man is tragically blurred so at this point most newcomers are looking for something else rather than the primary goal of an MC.
Yes we love her[Hip Hop] but truthfully I think we are mostly confused as for where she is going. With more and more computers connecting to the internet and illegally downloading albums that shouldn’t be confusion anymore it’s simply killing her.
Businessmen have specific goals and tendencies they adjust to whatever is more efficient in getting the most revenue inside. and we all can agree that hip hop is now what’s the word an industry? I’m not glorifying it or saying it is better as a business because it simply isn’t, Real MC’s are not being promoted right that way, for the most part that is.
You are absolutely right when you say digital sale will also make it easier for hip hop to become even more commercialized, Only dumed down lyrics[in hip hop] seems to meet commercial success and I’m scared it’s the only route this culture-completely turned business- is taking.
It’s just not true to to think that the top selling albums are the most artistically valuable and redeeming. Truth is all we hear from artists these days are numbers, ringtones numbers radio spins and others If artists themselves are discussing their music strictly in product/commodity terms how can anyone expect the music to be treated as something culturally important, long-lasting, and stimulating by fans, and even execs for that matter?
If trying to make music free of commercial constraints you can totally count me in [other content loving fan would most likely be on my side]. But I believe that when the music is done that you fully hustle it you deserve to enjoy commercial success. What I don’t believe in is trying to be a businessman behind the mic I mean let’s be truthful it might work for a very small and I mean small amount of rappers out of a bunch without distracting their music delivery; I’m sure if they are real businessmen, they are going to want to dum down their lyrics just to attract a wider audience and in turn increase income which as fan are not pleased by. It’s short-sighted and lends to making something temporary vs. permanent and important.
Oh BTW not sure if I left you guys a comment but awesome job the site is looking better and better..
P.S. about the iTunes gift I didnt get it lol… I was gonna give it to the GF but whatever it’s cool but now she’s gonna know I did not make it up haha.
You pretty much covered everything…and made it understandable as well…good shit!
But truth be told… Music in this era doesn’t neccessarily contain the same “quality” as music in the “golden era”.
Back then it was all about creativity, wittiness, and NOT selling out. Now it’s (for the most part) all about who can sell out and go Platinum the fastest. To be honest (may sound dumb)… I never even knew what platinum was until highschool…
I’m quite sure artist were going platinum… MC Hammer, Run DMC…and rock stars and shit… but I never knew about it. I though going gold mean you were a legend back then. Shit to be honest in this day and age… I still feel that way. If you can go “gold” and not have to DUMB down ya lyrics… or sell out in order to cross over into genre’s that we reall have no place being in in the first place… then that’s a job well done.
Of course labels arent trying to here that… but FUCK EM!
Shit just sign with Koch and go INDI! Most labels will be shut down pretty soon anyways.
Let me be the first to admit that this new shit (for the most part) sucks! So fuck selling out to sell more!
~Be Eazy!
~Be Eazy!
Alicia Keys dropped QUALITY MUSIC in December and her album will be TRIPLE PLATINUM in about 2 more weeks. File sharing didn’t seem to hurt her sales. If artists feel like Limewire is hurting their sales, then they should go harder to put out more quality music, and not stick 3 hot singles on a 17 track cd filled with filler.
That’s my 3 cents. Take it or leave it.
That may have been THE STRONGEST, analytical, quality comment you’ve ever made. PROPS.
All I’m saying is that, whether or not Limewire IS available, EVERYONE HAS THE OPTION to either download an album or not download an album. Look at the list of artists whose cd’s I purchased in ’07, for example: The Fugees, Slick Rick, Amy Winehouse (x3 – 2 cds/DVD), Alicia Keys, Cassidy, Corinne Bailey Rae, Chrisette Michelle, Keith Murray, Redman, T.I., Jay-Z, Common, Keyshia Cole, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, Fabolous, Ghostface Killah, Scarface, Mary, Jaheim, the Wu-Tang Clan, Styles P, and Beanie Sigel.
I’m not no damn Fabolous fan! But, I made a CONSCIOUS EFFORT to purposely support hip-hop last year INSTEAD of downloading and only purchasing my fave artists’ cds. I contributed to the crappy sales of artists who went 2x WOOD like Keith Murray (whose album was NASTY), Styles P, and Beanie. And, in some instances, downloading can be a good thing, for example, by downloading an artist to test them out, i.e. the Fergie tracks I downloaded. That caused me to go to Launch and YouTube to check out her videos with and without her team. In December, I FINALLY CRACKED and PURCHASED HER CD FROM BEST BUY.
When it comes down to it, it’s all about the music and the PEOPLE’S conscious efforts to support who they want to support.
Lastly, there are some NASTY artists who have NEVER sold, wayyyyy before the digital age. Let’s look at some 90s era superstars who NEVER really sold: AZ, Busta Rhymes, the Lost Boyz (Mr. Cheeks was aiight), the Roots, and the Boot Camp Clik, comprised of Originoo Gun Clappaz, Heltah Skeltah, and Smif-N-Wessun. None of those artists/groups really sold like that but were lyrically tight. So now, downloading is KILLING Hip-Hop?? I think NOT. But, YOU DID make some valid points; it’s okay to agree to disagree.
Damn right I DOWNLOADED Graduation, lol and STILL haven’t listened to it [YES, I MAY BE THE ONLY PERSON IN AMERICA who HASN’T heard GRADUATION!!], ‘cause I damn sure wasn’t buying it. Haven’t heard, nor did I purchase Curtis. (Just using these 2 albums as an example) Just because I didn’t purchase those albums DOESN’T mean that I’m not gonna hear those albums or “deserve” to listen to them. Again, just to reiterate, there are many instances where people who’ve “dubbed” something have went out and purchased the real thing for themselves… TRUE OR UNTRUE??
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HERE’S THE POINT: If Limewire IS, in fact killing something, then let’s just say it’s killing the MUSIC INDUSTRY PERIOD, NOT hip-hop…. There are wayyyy more factors than file sharing programs (i.e. Limewire, BearShare, Audio Galaxy, Napster, etc.) that attribute to Hip-Hop’s dying. When Nas said that Hip-Hop was dead @ the end of ’06, creating mass hysteria, he NEVER mentioned file sharing. TRUE OR NOT TRUE?
You definitely ain’t lying about how long bootleggin is been apart of the music biz. Shit, I remember an episode of “What’s Happening” when ReRun got busted bootleggin the Doobie Brother’s concert. (lol – yeah I’m old forreal. lol) That was the first time I heard of that shit…late 70’s early 80’s.
Now, they took the simple idea of dubbing your boys tape to another level.
yeah i hate that shit. jay and beans do that shit. jay was only gone put like 9 tracks on american gangsta at first but he bumbed it up to like 12 or 14. i know its quality over quantity but i want at least 20 tracks.
listen u dick, keep wid ya bootleggin, i aint talkin bout proper music, u get me, rappers r 2 concerned wid marketing and hw they can appeal 2 different audiences so now they will do anyfin lyk stupid dumbass dancin, bt true hip-hop will be in quality of albums, thers only few makin classics and the one that are get put down cuz they didnt sell enough,cuz of dickheads like you
best way to listen 2 music is buyin there albums—-u can keep bootleggin cuz u probably broke anyway
Buying an album means you just supporting the MUSIC INDUSTRY and staying true to legally listening to music. This basically equals Staying True To Music & Your Artist & Legal Activities lol.
Not Buying It and Buyin the shit Bootleg or coppin it on Limewirre just means you either lazy, dont have money to cop it, or you just dont give a shit.
BUT
you still support the artist and like their music. SO this sums up to Supporting Your Artist and their music But not their pockets.
Talib outsold Swizzbeatz
Kanye outsold 50
Common debuted number 1
Plus I think if you’re nice, the internet actually works in your favor. Cause it spreads much quicker. But you still have to get the word out there in the ‘real world,’ obviously.
MORE HOTNESS like that of the two white boys in that new McDonald’s commercial! THEY WERE RIPPIN’ IT!!
“I’m into nuggets y’all!” … “McNuggets, McNuggets what!!?” lol, hahahahahahaaaaa!
obviously wt u said was true, but nowadays good rappers aint gettin recognition, n the ones that have no talent and are gettin popular, are ruinin the hip hop image, so u can say its impacting listners that really important, but shit rappers r impactin listners, so you can definately say hip-hop is dead
Nielsen SoundScan recently released its sales and performance data for 2007. Album sales declined fifteen per cent, compared with 2006. The record business has seen slumps before: revenues fell substantially in the early eighties. What’s most striking is the fact that the shrinking industry is now almost completely Balkanized. The top ten artists played on radio were seven country acts, two hard-rock bands, and a pop star named Justin Timberlake. The top ten streamed videos were largely for songs by young women who sing R. & B. Eight of the top ten ringtones were hip-hop. Two of the year’s best-selling records offer vivid illustration of how the market has fragmented further while remaining alive. The Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden,” released on their own independent label and available only at Wal-Mart, sold 2.6 million copies. The biggest-selling album of the year was Josh Groban’s “Noël,” which sold 3.7 million copies despite being released in October. SoundScan does not track the popularity of stocking stuffers, but Groban’s album was likely the champ.
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/notebook/2008/01/21/080121gonb_GOAT_notebook_frerejones
kgumz.blogspot.com
what really makes me mad about this is soulja boy no lyric ass is nominated to a grammy 4 best rap song.I mean wat the fucc is this world comin 2…? Hip Hop aint dead and it’ll never die but its sure takin some blows to the head.
New name for you haters. HIP HOP BITCHES. Cause ya’ll acting like some. If you ain’t the center of attention then nobody can. Then cry and put the blame on someone else when you can’t win. FUCKN LAME ASS HIP HOP BITCHES
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