Jermaine Dupri - Can somebody tell me what the goal of being an independent artist is today because all of the things that people are chasing is shxt

[Knucklehead]

Indie artists usually can say "no" to a 40+ city tour if they want to with no repercussions.

Why would an artist want to say no to a tour?
The biggest downside for many indie artists is being unable to book venues and festivals unless they have heavyweight management.

 

[Devil Plisken…CMS]

Ransom cool but seriously what is his masters worth?

To him? Everything

 

[Cladyclad]

To him? Everything

Lol

So $300

 

[Devil Plisken…CMS]

Why would an artist want to say no to a tour?
The biggest downside for many indie artists is being unable to book venues and festivals unless they have heavyweight management.

They’d want to say no to a tour that is grueling without the necessary amenities to make it feasible

 

[Devil Plisken…CMS]

Lol

So $300

Maybe even $119…but the nikka would be happy

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Lol

So $300

You joke but that's his art and his livelihood that he owns.

IMO It's better to have a core audience that supports than be floundering on a major, stuck in a bad deal where you owe money and can't drop when you want etc

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Why do rappers need to be ultra wealthy? Especially the ones making the kind of music Ransom makes. It's antithetical to their subject matter and always dilutes the creativity in the end

For all we know, he could be pulling a 6 figure income with touring, merch, guests spots, streams + physical media. He may have ownership in a few hands-off businesses and real estate

That's a potentially pretty good lifestyle to be doing something you love on your own terms

 

[Yaboysix]

That Nygga playing dumb.

I'm Green and even I know artist on Major label are spending the Labels money, that shyt they balling with is a LOAN, and they gonna have to end up paying ALL that shyt back...

Then when yo albums ain't selling artist start crying about how the Label is holding them back...and they get shelved

Then these Nyggas wanna get depressed, develop substance habits, and get suicidal.

 

[Mike Wins]

Why do rappers need to be ultra wealthy? Especially the ones making the kind of music Ransom makes. It's antithetical to their subject matter and always dilutes the creativity in the end

For all we know, he could be pulling a 6 figure income with touring, merch, guests spots, streams + physical media. He may have ownership in a few hands-off businesses and real estate

That's a potentially pretty good lifestyle to be doing something you love on your own terms

Not to mention someone like Ransom definitely making more money independent than he would on a major. Not like he'd be doing big numbers signed to Def Jam.

Signing with a major make no sense in the modern era unless you really got widespread appeal. Before the 360 era you was gonna get jerked by the label on royalties but your tour money and outside revenue was all yours. You could write songs for other artists and that money was yours. And if spent your advance wisely you could set yourself up nicely.

Now the label got their hand in your pocket for everything. Touring, merch, endorsements, the label getting their cut. While dictating how often you can drop, your tracklists, your tour schedule. The labels more predatory than ever in this era.

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Not to mention someone like Ransom definitely making more money independent than he would on a major. Not like he'd be doing big numbers signed to Def Jam.

Signing with a major make no sense in the modern era unless you really got widespread appeal. Before the 360 era you was gonna get jerked by the label on royalties but your tour money and outside revenue was all yours. You could write songs for other artists and that money was yours. And if spent your advance wisely you could set yourself up nicely.

Now the label got their hand in your pocket for everything. Touring, merch, endorsements, the label getting their cut. While dictating how often you can drop, your tracklists, your tour schedule. The labels more predatory than ever in this era.

Exactly. And in terms of perception, coming up through the majors system and flopping is a disaster for your career and rarely do rappers recover from that. You'll always be the flop and it's hard to rebrand that

Astroturfing has always been a thing but that tells you that a certain rap consumer appreciates the slower burn come up which tends to be associated with a stronger catalog of music

 

[010101]

..........*

 

[Tribal Outkast]

Everybody talking 'bout they own their masters
But if the music don't age well, it don't matter
It's like you own a hundred percent of nothing
Know your value
-Royce

 

[Tribal Outkast]

Dont do that. Benny and Conway content fell off because they were dropping like 5 projects a year 3 years straight lol

Yeah you can’t be dropping new projects before I digest your current one lol. Boldy is one of my favorites right now but I’m waaaay behind on his music. Listening to music now is like you’re doing a final exam and the teacher keeps dropping piles of papers on your desk. It’s overwhelming

 

[Kenzo Ten]

Depends on what artist you are. If you own your masters, depends on your deal...

 

[tremonthustler1]

More freedom
Higher % of what you earn stays with you

fukk this lil nikka tryna push ppl to sign slave deals for?

For example...if Boldy James was on some major deal, we aren't getting Alchemist collabs, instead we'd be waiting 3 years to get some mid project with R&B hooks.

No coincidence that Griselda's quality fell off once Conway & Benny start going "major"

"Don't own your own business y'all! Come work for corporate america!"

Benny dropped 3 projects last year, only one on Def Jam (and that album was an Alchemist/Hit-Boy produced album)

Meanwhile Stove God Cooks is on an indie and is trapped in a slave deal.