It seems like the internet has made artists lazy. In the 1990's the independent hip-hop scene was at its greatest. Independent artists sold thousands of CD's by themselves out of the trunk of their cars without relying on Paypal and Big Cartel. Artist stuck out because of one thing. Hustle. Instead of Facebook invites, they did hand to hand promotion with flyers and street teams. Instead of Twitter posts, they hung up posters. Instead of spamming Facebook statuses and message boards, people went out and talked to people. Handed them promotional material. The funny part is that the correct way of doing things is not very difficult at all. Here's a little help to improve your numbers and turn your dreams into a reality a little at a time.
These days Facebook event invites take place of phone calls, and hand to hand ticket sales. In the bay rap scene especially some forget to be missing the point. You have an artist with 300 friends on Facebook, who will post the same flyer 10 times a day, so only those 300 people see. They make sure they get everyone by sending a event invite to those same 300 people. Is that hustle? Mathematically it's not even smart. Artists and "promoters" who have 200 followers on Twitter, will post the same message day in and day out thinking that they are going to get a packed show without even leaving their computer chairs. Did you know that for $100 you can get 5000 flyers to drop off at gas stations, smoke shops, liquor stores, skate shops, music stores, and clothing boutiques to promote your show or CD? Make sure in your city, everyone fan of your type of music or not, has seen one of these flyers somewhere. Have you ever taken a postcard home? You can't get rid of them. You will find them in the most random places in your house for months until you finally throw them away.
That's why they work. They are a constant reminder. BUT ONLY IF THEY REFLECT THE QUALITY OF YOUR MUSIC
That's what street teams are for. One person can do do an entire county in one day at every spot named here. The sad truth is that 95% of artists will skip this step because $100 is going over their budget. Gas money? Forget about it. If your an artist who is serious about their craft, the words "I can't I'm broke" should never come out of your mouth. Don't do things until you can afford it, ready talent wise, and image wise or your wasting your time. That's why nobody comes to rap shows like they did at its peak. Nobody knows about them. Get off Facebook and get on the streets and work. Did I say work? Yes. Work. If music is a hobby for you then you will not get where you want to be. If done right you can make a profit. If done wrong you will take a loss. Make a choice!
The do it yourself days are still in on some aspects. Artists now create their own artwork, record their own music, and rely on self to promote it. This is also why quality has went right down the tube. When you do take to the streets with your flyers, or post on the internet the first thing they see is your artwork. Before ever hearing your music, they have to see your presentation. If your artwork looks like shit, so do you. If somebody is sitting in front of a computer screen, make them stop scrolling! Whats going to make somebody pick up the postcards you left on the counter at the gas station? They see it, before they hear it. Pay for great artwork. Did you know that 70% of a CD sale is when somebody picks up your CD because of the cover? If it looks like your little sister designed your album cover on MS Paint than you will lose a potential sale. Everyone thinks they are a graphic designer as much as they think they are rappers. Stop it. If you truly have talent good for you but most don't. Find out who designed your favorite album cover. Go to them. Trust me. Image is the biggest selling point. OK your artwork looks great now. The person who clicked on your artwork wants to hear your music. If the music quality sucks because you don't know how to mix, or record your stuff properly then you are working against your hustle. If they very first song on your CD sounds like you used a computer mic, and karaoke machine then you tricked them into buying your shit. You lost a fan as soon as you gained one. Get your music mixed by a professional Even the shittiest recordings can be mixed to sound amazing, and that's giving the benefit of the doubt that the artist in question is talented as well.
Youre creating a fan base...but if your artwork doesnt attract attention with crisp clean graphics and eye-catching photos...youre only taking up space on a page. If your photoshoot is done with a disposable camera you got from Walmart..you need to step your game up a HUGE amount
Okay, so you got the streets taken care of. Back to the internet. You are a rapper, or an artist that thinks their target fan base is on one of the the main rap sites. The two biggest websites that cover the scene are Siccness, WeTheWest,Thizzler,WSHH,etc..... Every day thousands upon thousands flock to both sites to read the latest news from their favorite artist. They sit for long periods of time, reading articles like these, or interviews from big artists. In many strategically placed positions there are advertisements In both cases insanely affordable. Most artist in this scene are virtually unknown because they refuse to advertise. Those 1000 CD's you ordered from Discmakers are still sitting in your room collecting dust? You go to shows and nobody notices you? The internet as much as it's made artists lazy, it also made fans lazy. They find out about everyone and everything going with their favorite artists from these two websites. Your target market is right there, at home staring at a screen. So what do you do? Make sure they see you everywhere they look on that screen. A $100 investment may mean a few hundred CD sales which equal thousands of dollars in sales. Did you miss the key word here? Investment. Invest into yourself and advertise that you have a show, or tour, or CD out.
But its not what you do...ITS HOW YOU DO IT...that makes the different between crap and quality
