What is a good signing bonus for a up and coming Bay Area rap artist?

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Mar 18, 2008
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#62
Well who in radio/tv wants to promote/say someone called "ugly nigga"? Nobody is going to say ur name, they can't. It's just reality. So who is trying to sign you?
Man...if you could only think ahead of the situation you wouldn't ask certain questions. So far they have just either abbreviation my name like what 106.1 KMEL did when I was in their Home Turf Competition Ugly N*gga and as far as the announcement over the airwaves they just say Ugly...the marketing department of 106.1 KMEL said they would run my web site commercial for Temporarily Disabled (website is currently under construction) over the radio with a slight "slur" in the "gg" part like you hear in an edited song. Rasputins has no problem carrying the full title if they did I could sticker the front. The record company is just a guy who has a lot of money and is just beginning to establish himself. Could I get this from any other records company most likely not for the reason of not having a previous sales history in music retail stores...but this is a different situation whereas my promotional shows are also in the equation of him investing in Ugly Nigga.

Now to the people on this board who say, "Ugly Nigga you suck, you can't rap for shit." Or, "Your music is garbage". Well I've had 3 songs on KMEL's Home Turf Blog along side the E40's, Too Shorts, J Stalins, Jackas, Messy Marvs and the Philthy Rich's of the rap scene...not saying I'm equal to those names I'm just pointing out that they had to select my music submission like other people for it to be added to the blog site. They guy told me that he liked my rapping style that I sounded different to him...just keep on making and submitting the music. Now I only make like 3 songs a year, 1 song "She's A Killer" has had a 3 club tour, and 144 women's "She's A Killer" t-shirts printed and sold. The other song "Illuminati Bay Area" has had a Illuminati I.D. card promotion (t-shirt line coming). So as of late I have been writing a lot more with only 5 songs left to complete with super producer Indecent The Slapmaster and the ablum will be completed (15 songs) and packaged. I've had an album in the stores before when I was with a group...it was on a small scale but it was a learning experience. Now my question to you is...do you believe that once I put this album (not the one with the record company that hasn't even started yet) into distribution that I am not capable of competently marketing and promoting the product? That I can't sell cds out of a retail store? I've sold everything else, shirts, flyers, watches, shows etc....why not cds?
 
Props: MIIthasav
Mar 18, 2008
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#63
Do you own your publishings?
Not 100% knowledgeable on the publishing aspect but in this case with my first Ugly Nigga album I am releasing it so it depends on what publishing company that is willing to take me on if they think they can make money off my songs. 50/50 split and however long the agreement is.
 
Dec 28, 2009
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#65
Who knows if you will sell? If you try you will find out. But you must consider the fact that there are artists with bigger buzz, bigger promotions, bigger fan bases and a history of releasing quality music that ain't selling cds like how you project that you will. So by all means sell 10,000 cds in a year and show us how to do it. I don't doubt that possibility but I don't see why you bellieve you will be able to do that either. To reach your goal in a year you would need to sell about 27.5 cds per day. Everyday for a year.

Also in regards to you shows........... Venues can be more than 1500 and bet 2 chains ain't doing ur show for 5000. My bro been doing shows and I know ur figures are not realistic. But they are optimistic.
 
Apr 26, 2002
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#66
Your weaving in and out of two subjects one of which I haven't even addressed and that is being a major artist doing major numbers...I concentrated my speculation (didn't ever say it was a fact) that I could possibly sell 10,000 copies out of a number of record stores in that amount of time, which was 6 months...I even looked at the possibility of it taking 1 full year.

Out of Rasputins 10 stores alone my target numbers are 1,000 cds sold after the first 2 months. I haven't spoke to Dimples yet but I'm sure there is no problem to get in with their 6 stores up in the Sacramento area. Let me stop...I don't wanna go into the whole drawn out plan but yeah I want to sell 10,000 cds...that's on an independent level. There are artists that have sold 2,000 copies out of Rasputins alone...one artists has done 4,000. I don't know how they've done in other local stores or other independent stores in New York or Texas but I know of those numbers. I'd probably have to go through City Hall Records and use them as a distributor...at least you get front row on the shelf near the door as people walk in...putting the cd in myself I run the risk of being put in the back with the stock pile and people can't find you there.
Not to hate, but to give you some reality In site to those numbers above. No one is doing 10,000 units in a year in the bay outside of e-40 or too short.. As far as rasputins goes in order to even have a chance to hit that target of 1,000 units. First you would need to get a chance to stock them with that many units, which they won't at the most you would get lucky to even stock 150 units to them. When I dropped "gangsters and thugs 2" in at the end of April of 2012, it was on the top 48 all genre (rock, pop, country, rap, ECt ..) at number 29 the first week out and number 39 the 2nd and 3rd week out.. And all I sold total was almost 200 units.. I sold out of 4 locations fast within the first 3 weeks and still too today rasputins has never has restocked those locations. Rasputins more or less thinks after 2 months that a title is old for the most part. So more or less its very hard to even get the chance to stock rasputins with 1,000 units, let alone sell that much from rasputins.

As far as dimples goes, everyone in this rap game that I know sells less at dimples then rasputins and dimples just closed a location recent too.
 
May 16, 2002
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#67
Not 100% knowledgeable on the publishing aspect but in this case with my first Ugly Nigga album I am releasing it so it depends on what publishing company that is willing to take me on if they think they can make money off my songs. 50/50 split and however long the agreement is.
Ummmm.... yeah. I take that as a long answer for a simple, "No." I'm sorry, your reply was a ramble of syllables in search of a thought.

Listen, Bro. I'm not ragging you here. My best advice is get your publishings. It's not about what company is going to take you on. You, yourself own your publishings & you register everything & give the percentage on what's to be paid to who.

Publishings are to keep artist from getting ripped off in the music business. It's the life long longevity of every and any artist regardless of genre.

With that being said this whole record deal your talking about sounds more & more like a pipe dream. Step your game up, gain some knowledge on how the music business works & go from there. Don't sign any deal because from the answers you just gave me, your looking to get ripped off & reamed by any label. Major or independent.

Good luck with that.
 
Mar 18, 2008
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#69
Ummmm.... yeah. I take that as a long answer for a simple, "No." I'm sorry, your reply was a ramble of syllables in search of a thought.

Listen, Bro. I'm not ragging you here. My best advice is get your publishings. It's not about what company is going to take you on. You, yourself own your publishings & you register everything & give the percentage on what's to be paid to who.

Publishings are to keep artist from getting ripped off in the music business. It's the life long longevity of every and any artist regardless of genre.

With that being said this whole record deal your talking about sounds more & more like a pipe dream. Step your game up, gain some knowledge on how the music business works & go from there. Don't sign any deal because from the answers you just gave me, your looking to get ripped off & reamed by any label. Major or independent.

Good luck with that.
When I responded I told you that I would be putting out the album myself...with me owning the publishing rights now correct me if I'm wrong...the publishing company will reel in any mechanical royalties and other associated royalties due me. So I assume I own the publishing rights but they will be splitting the royalties due me. Continue onward and let me know something. On the record contract deal it is entirely up to the "record company" to put their end of the agreement together for us to initially start our venture.
 
May 16, 2002
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#70
When I responded I told you that I would be putting out the album myself...with me owning the publishing rights now correct me if I'm wrong...the publishing company will reel in any mechanical royalties and other associated royalties due me. So I assume I own the publishing rights but they will be splitting the royalties due me. Continue onward and let me know something. On the record contract deal it is entirely up to the "record company" to put their end of the agreement together for us to initially start our venture.
Not 100% knowledgeable on the publishing aspect but in this case with my first Ugly Nigga album I am releasing it so it depends on what publishing company that is willing to take me on if they think they can make money off my songs. 50/50 split and however long the agreement is.

Your still wrong & have no knowledge of how it works though. You got half of it right, but it's clear you don't own your publishings much less know how to register a song for mechanical royalties etc.

You would have an I.D. number for both writer & publisher as I and my artist do. My artist / nephew Eddie Vega & Gospel rapper Lady Melodic.










 

Gas One

Moderator
May 24, 2006
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Downtown, Pittsburg. Southeast Dago.
#77
i dont see any label taking interest in anyone in 2013 that cant secure atleast 10-50k views on youtube in A WEEK. lemme actually correct that. 4 days, not a week. and i mean 50k in 4 days, lets just throw away that 10k in a week idea.

if you dont have that type of buzz on your own, i just dont see why anyone would risk it.

and people doing those types of numbers on youtube are putting out FREE ALBUMS ON SOUNDCLOUD AND GETTING NOTHING

and 10-50k in a week on youtube is generous, im just saying you gon have to do those types of numbers before youre even in the game to compete with other artists just being noticed enough to turn a possible profit with they own hustles

anyways lemme go download antwons new album. for free. cuz its free.
 
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Props: BASEDVATO
May 16, 2002
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#79
i dont see any label taking interest in anyone in 2013 that cant secure atleast 10-50k views on youtube in A WEEK. lemme actually correct that. 4 days, not a week. and i mean 50k in 4 days, lets just throw away that 10k in a week idea.

if you dont have that type of buzz on your own, i just dont see why anyone would risk it.

and people doing those types of numbers on youtube are putting out FREE ALBUMS ON SOUNDCLOUD AND GETTING NOTHING

and 10-50k in a week on youtube is generous, im just saying you gon have to do those types of numbers before youre even in the game to compete with other artists just being noticed enough to turn a possible profit with they own hustles

anyways lemme go download antwons new album. for free. cuz its free.

Youtube views & social networks don't mean a thing to major record labels due to the fact that the views / clicks never match up to sales. There are artist on youtube etc. with over a million views & have only sold 200.000 copies so the record labels disregard that. In the end, it's sales.

However, you are correct that the internet is the independent artist best friend.
 

Rossibreath

triple og from the sbp
Sep 1, 2005
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Menasha
#80
Youtube views & social networks don't mean a thing to major record labels due to the fact that the views / clicks never match up to sales. There are artist on youtube etc. with over a million views & have only sold 200.000 copies so the record labels disregard that. In the end, it's sales.

However, you are correct that the internet is the independent artist best friend.
Well somebody without millions of views sure ain't gettin signed.