Although I did not write this expose, I found it important enough to re-post here! We HAVE to clean up this industry folks. This kind of shit is unacceptable!!!
SCAM AFTA SCAM: A TRUE STORY
OZONE investigates how a new breed of greedy artist managers and booking agents, led by Gucci Mane’s representatives, are sucking the blood out of the music industry.
by Julia Beverly (this article also appears in the upcoming print edition of OZONE Mag)
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“Johnnie [Cabbell] is the grand vampire,” proclaims legendary Chicago-based promoter Godfather. For over twenty years, Godfather has been promoting concerts through his company Star Power Entertainment Group. He estimates his losses from bad business deals with Johnnie Cabbell and Debra Antney to be nearly $100,000. “I don’t work with Johnnie anymore,” he states emphatically. “He sucks the blood out of you.”
As the CEO of Hitt Afta Hitt (otherwise known as HAH), Johnnie Cabbell is Gucci Mane’s exclusive booking agent and also manages Bankhead rapper Shawty Lo. Johnnie’s “partner in crime,” Godfather says, is Debra Antney, who describes herself as Gucci Mane’s “business partner and manager.” As CEO of Gucci’s So Icey Records and the management company Mizay Entertainment, Antney also oversees the careers of OJ da Juiceman, Nicki Minaj, and others. Multiple promoters from across the country allege that Cabbell and Antney have collaborated to defraud them collectively of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
THE SO ICEY TOUR
Scheduled for at least 12 cities in July 2009, the So Icey Tour was supposed to feature OJ da Juiceman, Nicki Minaj, and the headliner, Gucci Mane. It sounded promising. Gucci’s buzz was at an all-time high. He had just returned home from prison a few months earlier to ecstatic crowds at “Welcome Home Gucci” parties throughout the South. His artist/protégé OJ had been steadily building a buzz of his own and helping to keep Gucci’s name alive by flooding the streets with mixtapes and fresh material. They were both hot commodities. And in an industry nearly void of female artists, up-and-coming emcee/sex symbol Nicki Minaj was quickly building a name for herself, strengthened by her affiliations with Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane. The timing seemed perfect.
But by all accounts, the “tour,” organized by a Carolina-based promoter named Shannon Marshall, was a mess and fell apart almost immediately. None of the artists showed up for the first two Florida dates (July 4th & 5th), leaving veteran promoter Mr. CC (who, like Godfather in Chicago, has been successfully promoting concerts for over 20 years) with losses of over $140,000. He claims that nearly half of that money, around $70,000, is in the hands of Cabbell/Antney, who refuse to return the deposits or reschedule his dates.
On July 19th, 2009, midway through the scheduled tour dates, Soulja Boy tweeted, “My nigga Gucci back in jail. Free Gucci.” (right) Rumors quickly spread that Gucci had again violated the terms of his probation and was back in jail (or rehab). Although Gucci’s management and label denied the rehab rumors and it’s still unclear exactly where Gucci was in mid-July, it’s clear where he wasn’t: He wasn’t on the So Icey Tour. Of the 12 scheduled tour dates, OZONE has confirmed that at least six, but probably more of these shows (Jacksonville, FL; Pompano Beach/Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Louisville, KY; Chicago, IL; Baltimore, MD; and Detroit, MI) never happened, leaving furious promoters demanding refunds.
That’s a less than fifty percent success rate. “People get fired for those type of numbers in baseball,” laughs Baltimore attorney Paul W. Gardner, of the Gardner Law Group. Gardner spoke to OZONE on behalf of his client, who also lost “a significant sum of money” by booking the So Icey Tour for a stop in Baltimore on July 18th, the day before word of Gucci’s alleged re-incarceration leaked on the ‘net.
“[About] four days before the event, [Cabbell/Antney] said that [Gucci] might not show up,” says Gardner. “Later we found out it was because he was in some sort of rehab facility.” Gardner declined to reveal the exact amount of the deposit, but based on other promoters’ experiences, it is reasonable to assume his client’s total losses were in the range of $40,000-50,000.
When Gardner’s client attempted to reschedule the date, So Icey suddenly changed their story. “They said, ‘How can we reschedule something we don’t have the [deposit] for?’” he laughs. It’s a theme that is repeated over and over in other promoters’ stories: after months of contracts, wire transfers, and conversations, Cabbell/Antney suddenly played dumb, either pointing the finger at each other or hiding behind a complex web of multiple contracts with middlemen.
The So Icey Tour dates were officially contracted through two other entities: reputable New York-based booking agency Ujaama Entertainment, and the much less reputable third-party agent Shannon Marshall. Both of them apparently kept a small percentage of the deposits as a booking fee before sending the bulk of the funds to Cabbell/Antney, presumably to secure all three artists. Because of the complicated paper trail, most of the various promoters’ attempts to legally retrieve their deposits have been difficult and thus far unsuccessful.
“I’m not sure if it’s on purpose,” notes Attorney Gardner, “but [the way the contracts are written up] are very nasty and sinister. It’s multi-layered. From a legal standpoint, when someone does something wrong to you, you can sue that person. Person A sues Person B; laymen understand that [concept]. But the problem arises when a middleman is included and the person on the backend does the harm. Person A has to sue Person B to get to Person C, but in this situation, Person B’s contract says ‘You can’t sue me.’ With the [So Icey Tour] contracts, Person A is the promoter. Person B is Ujaama [and/or Shannon], Person C is Johnnie, Person D is Deb, and E is the artist.” For this reason, he explains, proceeding with a lawsuit is both a difficult and costly endeavor. “Because of the difficulty of the third-party situation, I have to prove which party has the money,” he explains. “Or maybe it’s all of them.”
Complicating the matter even further, the agents’ contracts state that they cannot be sued in the event of a breach of contract. Although this clause is standard in most booking contracts where the agent is only a broker for the artist, Gardner advises his clients to cross it out before signing. “You can’t do business with people you can’t sue,” he says. “It’s legally impossible.”
Ujaama’s attorneys have advised them not to comment on the matter due to pending litigation. Shannon Marshall, who did not return numerous calls for comment, appears to be in hiding. Most of the promoters interviewed have not been able to reach him at all since the cancelled tour dates. “I guess Shannon was a guy that got caught up with them thinking they were good businesspeople over there at Mizay Entertainment and found out they weren’t,” theorizes Godfather. “They were double-booking shows and Johnnie was taking all the deposits.”
Unanimously, the disgruntled So Icey Tour promoters say their money vanished into the hands of Cabbell and Antney. Although the initial deposits were wired to Ujaama, most of the promoters have seen confirmed wire transfer receipts that verify the money ended up in Antney’s bank account. Many have done business with Ujaama for years and never experienced similar issues. “I’ve dealt with Ujaama [before] and never had a problem, so if they say they [sent] the money to the next person, I tend to believe them,” adds Attorney Gardner, who compares the scenario to the sleight-of-hand shell game (left) practiced by street magicians. “It’s like being on the beach and watching the guys with the coconut shells. We just don’t know whose hand is on the coconut.”
“I’ve had a great relationship booking artists with Ujaama for over ten years and I really didn’t wanna get into a legal battle with them. [In the past,] if [an artist] didn’t show up, Ujaama promptly refunded my money. But this? This is a nightmare,” says a frustrated Mr. CC. “I’m out so much money right now that I don’t have a choice. Legally, I have to sue Ujaama. Then Ujaama has to sue Shannon, who disappeared, and then Shannon’s gotta sue Gucci’s management.”
Godfather, while emphasizing that his Ujaama representative Dave Nelson is “a good dude,” blames the fiasco on Cabbell/Antney. “[Ujaama] did a good job of trying to sit down and work the [So Icey Tour] situation out, but [Johnnie and Deb] didn’t want to. If you had $300,000 in deposits, would you want to ‘work it out’?” he asks. “Who’s going to come down to Atlanta and mess with an old lady and go to jail? That’s why you have to sue [Deb]. Everybody else is suing her too.”
Attorney Gardner agrees that hundreds of thousands of dollars appear to have vanished. “The one [deposit] my client sent was a significant sum, and if you multiply that by a 10+ city tour, that’s a hefty bill they have to return. Somebody has the money and can’t repay it,” he reasons. “I don’t know if it’s Johnnie, Deb, or Ujaama. We don’t know how deep the rabbit hole goes, but what’s in the dark always comes to light. If my client decides to sue, we will get to the bottom of it. Multiple defendants always end up telling on each other.”
MODERN DAY SLAVERY
While it’s clear that Ujaama, Shannon, Cabbell, and Antney all received a piece of the So Icey Tour pie, it’s unclear how much – if any – of the initial hundreds of thousands of dollars in show deposits actually went to the artists. It appears that none of it went to OJ da Juiceman or Nicki Minaj, and it’s questionable how much the headliner Gucci received, if any.
Chicago-based John Mosley of Power Move Promotions, a.k.a. John Doe, believes Gucci received little or nothing of the upfront deposits. Since 1997, Mosley has been successfully promoting events in Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta with artists like R Kelly, Jeremih, Twista, Too Short, Gorilla Zoe, and Plies. He partnered with Godfather for the Chicago So Icey Tour date. Although he didn’t reveal the source of his information, Mosley claims that Gucci is locked into a 360 deal with So Icey/Asylum/Warner, and a good portion of the initial show deposits goes to the label, So Icey, which Deb controls. “Gucci Mane is a slave, man,” says Mosley. “Call him and ask him how much of the [show deposits] he’s actually getting.”
360 deals, which are the norm in today’s digital music world, guarantee record labels a percentage of their artists’ revenue from many different sources, including touring. A high-ranking executive at Warner Music Group wouldn’t disclose the exact terms of Gucci Mane’s deal, but did confirm that 360 deals are now standard. “All new [record] deals are inclusive to everything [including a percentage of show monies]. It’s a full-fledged deal,” says the exec. If true, it would appear that large portions of the show deposits (the 50% upfront) are being pocketed by Cabbell and Antney, and the artists themselves don’t get paid at all until they actually show up for the show and receive the back-end money – which could explain why Cabbell/Antney don’t appear to be too concerned if the shows actually happen.
Another source familiar with 360 deals at WMG doubted that Warner itself would have received a portion of the show deposits, stating that the artists’ performance revenue isn’t closely monitored by the major label.
Regardless, “I’m sure Gucci never saw any portion of the deposit,” insists Attorney Gardner. “The artist [only] gets the back end when he shows up [to the show]. I’ve seen it [in other situations]. The label tells the artist, ‘You have fees.’ It’s just business. If Gucci owes them $10,000 for bottles or flights or jewelry, they’re gonna take 100% of what’s owed out of the [deposit].”
FEDERAL FRAUD
The most sinister element of the scenario is the fact that it appears Antney/Cabbell continued accepting show deposits throughout much of the Fall 2009, fully knowing that Gucci would not be able to leave the state of Georgia. They allegedly told one promoter that they were simply “hoping” the judge would clear Gucci Mane’s legal obligations.
According to Attorney Gardner, conspiracy to commit federal fraud (which can bring both civil and criminal charges) “involves two or more people coming together to fraudulently take someone’s money.” Accepting deposits and signing contracts for show dates that legally cannot happen is fraud, and money has been wired across state lines, potentially making it a federal offense.
Taking it a step further, Gardner implies that Gucci himself could be liable for criminal fraud charges, even though he didn’t personally sign the contracts. “The state [of Georgia] already has Gucci [imprisoned], and the Feds are licking their chops to get him on something,” notes Gardner, who is also advising his clients to demand that artists personally sign booking contracts in addition to their management. “If you want to hire Gucci Mane, there should be one page with Gucci Mane’s signature saying, ‘I know about this date, and I agree to be there.’ Tie him into it legally.”
Attorney Gardner notes that both he and his client had previous dealings with Deb, before her stint as Gucci Mane’s manager, which were “extremely positive.” So although his client is not currently pursuing criminal charges, Gardner adds, “I wouldn’t play with it [if I were them]. I’d say Johnnie, Deb, and Gucci need to meet and figure out where the money is, [because] any attorney that really wants to spend some time on this could make things interesting for them.”
PITTSBURGH, PA
Even if Gardner’s client chooses not to go that route, it appears that Pittsburgh attorney Jim Cook, who represents promoter William Marshall of B. Marshall Productions, is preparing to “make things interesting” for Deb and Johnnie. Marshall, along with his partner Derrick Brown of Rock Star Entertainment, invested nearly $50,000 for two Gucci Mane dates that never happened. Their pending lawsuit alleges that “[Radric ‘Gucci Mane’] Davis/Cabbell/Antney have continued to book shows, take money from other associates & clients, refuse to return deposits or lost promotion expenses, and reschedule show dates, although they are/were aware that Gucci Mane is not allowed to leave Georgia..thereby committing a state and federal fraud.” In addition to a civil lawsuit on behalf of Marshall, Cook is threatening to turn the case over to the Pennsylvania Attorney General and the FBI for investigation into criminal fraud charges.
In June 2009, Marshall wired $27,500 to Hitt Afta Hitt and So Icey Entertainment to book Gucci Mane for a show on August 22nd, 2009. He also spent an additional $13,500 to begin promoting the show and secure the venue. About a month later, in mid-July, Marshall heard the rumors of Gucci Mane’s imprisonment and immediately contacted Johnnie and Deb, concerned about his $41,000 investment.
On August 5th, Deb and Johnnie assured Marshall both verbally and in a written letter on HAH letterhead (below) that the show was “in good standing” and would proceed. They also offered similar assurances to G. Rowell, an associate of Marshall’s in Washington D.C. who had another upcoming Gucci Mane show. Based on these guarantees, Marshall continued spending money to promote the event. Just two days before the scheduled date, he was notified by Deb that Gucci Mane would not attend. She refused to return his $27,500 deposit or cover any of the $13,500+ he lost promoting the show.
“At no time would Cabbell/Antney explain Gucci Mane’s confinement or restriction or the length thereof, and both were aware that Gucci Mane could not make the Pittsburgh or DC show dates when they issued the letters [on August 5, 2009],” Marshall’s pending lawsuit continues.
Several weeks later, Marshall was issued a new contract for a rescheduled date and guaranteed a video drop to help salvage his reputation in the city. Video and/or audio drops are typically used by promoters on radio or TV commercials to prove to local fans that the show is legitimate (for example, “Hey, this is Gucci Mane, and I’ll be in Pittsburgh on November 7th!”) After two months of waiting for the video drop, which was never received, Gucci was again a no-show for the rescheduled date.
“Why are [they] continuing to book shows and Gucci Mane doesn’t have movement yet?” asked Godfather, during our interview in late October. “What if the judge says no when he goes to court?” It appears Cabbell/Antney continued scheduling dates for Gucci, including Birmingham, AL, Chicago, IL (Nov. 19th), Lakeland, FL (Nov. 28th), and Houston, TX (Dec. 27th), even as he was legally unable to leave the state of Georgia.
And as it turns out, the judge did say “no.” On November 12th, 2009, Gucci was led away in handcuffs from a court hearing and sentenced to twelve months in prison (he may only be required to serve six months; his lawyer, Dwight L. Thomas, is optimistic and told MTV News that Gucci could possibly be released as soon as the first of the year with good behavior).
The second paragraph of Marshall’s contract with Hitt Afta Hitt explicitly states, “In the event that Artist fails to appear, 100% of the show money is guaranteed to be refunded to the Purchaser.” But despite the written guarantee, as of press time, Marshall has not been refunded the $27,500 deposit that Cabbell/Antney have held for over six months, not to mention the money he lost on promotion, the credibility he lost as a promoter, and the money he could’ve made had he invested those funds elsewhere.
FLORIDA
Around the same time B. Marshall sent his Pittsburgh deposit, Florida promoter Mr. CC of Mr. CC Productions (right) says he wired $105,000 to the Shannon/Ujaama/Cabbell/Antney collective to secure three consecutive dates on the So Icey Tour - July 4th (Pompano Beach), 5th (Jacksonville), and 6th (Orlando). According to Mr. CC, his contract with Shannon Marshall – who then had contracts in turn with Ujaama, Cabbell, and Antney - stated that the total $55,000 fee was all-inclusive, meaning that CC was not responsible to pay additional travel expenses (OZONE was not able to obtain copies of these contracts and was therefore unable to verify the specifics of the travel arrangements).
On July 4th, says Mr. CC, “I spoke to Shannon the evening of the [first date] and he said [the artists] were on their way.” He never heard from Shannon again and the artists never showed up. Frantic, he tried to contact Ujaama, So Icey, and Hitt Afta Hitt – and the following day, no one showed up for the second date either.
By the time Mr. CC finally got in touch with Johnnie, he says, word had spread that Gucci and co. were no-shows for the tour dates. “[Johnnie] told me the artists didn’t come [to Jacksonville and Pompano Beach] because we didn’t send them travel money,” reveals Mr. CC, who says that his reaction was one of shock. “’Travel?!? My contract doesn’t say anything about travel. It’s all inclusive. It’s stated specifically in our contracts!’ They said my contract [with Shannon] was wrong.”
Johnnie told him the only way to make the Orlando date happen was to send $10,000 – that same day – for travel expenses. To salvage his name, Mr. CC paid the $10,000 immediately and Gucci and OJ did perform in Orlando on July 6th (but no Nicki Minaj – Johnnie refunded Mr. CC only $3,000 for Nicki’s no-show, while during the same timeframe, he was charging promoters upwards of $7,500 to book her). The previous no-shows, CC says, seriously hindered the turn-out. “We lost $30,000 in Orlando,” he sighs, noting that the local crowd didn’t think the artists were coming. “Those other two Florida no-shows directly affected the Orlando date.”
“Johnnie and Deb admitted that they did receive the [deposits] for all three dates. No one ever called me [prior to the shows] about travel [expenses],” insists Mr. CC. “Not once. They had all my information and nobody called me, so I had no idea [that travel was an issue].”
Between the $30,000 loss in Orlando, the $35,000 Jacksonville deposit, the $35,000 Pompano deposit, and an estimated $40,000 he spent securing venues, radio commercials, flyers, and other forms of promotion, Mr. CC calculates his losses to be over $140,000. And on top of that, he alleges that Johnnie personally robbed him of an additional $5,000. “I said, ‘Look, man. I just need those two makeup dates because I’m out a lot of money. I’ll deal with the travel,’” recalls CC. “He said if I sent him a $5,000 [booking fee], he would work it out for me. He didn’t work it out, and now he refuses to refund my $5,000. He’s lost his damn mind, because I’ve never heard of that in my life. Holding money for a booking fee for an event that never happened?”
CC even agreed to pay the additional $10,000 travel fee per date, even though he says it wasn’t included on his initial contract, just for the opportunity to try to recoup some of his losses. “I just want my damn dates!” he exclaims. After months of getting the runaround from Johnnie, who insisted that he would reschedule, the story suddenly changed. “Now he’s blaming it on Ujaama and Shannon. He’s saying, ‘We didn’t get paid for travel, so it’s a breach of contract. We don’t have to give you back your money.’”
“I guess I have to do a lawsuit that includes everybody,” sighs Mr. CC. “I have to go after all of them for my money and let the judge decide who’s gotta pay. Somebody’s gotta pay for damages – potential earnings and the losses I incurred while going through all of this.”
JOHNNIE CABBELL
Cabbell told Atlanta newspaper Creative Loafing, which briefly investigated the fraud allegations, “I’ve been doing business since 2002, and I never [before] had a problem with any promoter.” But OZONE found plenty.
“If any promoter deals with [Johnnie Cabbell], [it’s because] they just don’t know. I’m not gonna do business with him ever again. I’m done,” says Mosley. Several promoters didn’t want to speak on the record to avoid “burning bridges” or damage pending dates, but many have a negative impression of Cabbell as a businessman. One word that kept coming up over and over again: “disrespect.” And phrases like, “I just don’t like his attitude.”
At worst, Johnnie Cabbell is conspiring with Debra Antney & co. to commit federal fraud. At the very least, he’s a liar, according to promoter Jesse Peak (left).
“That whole camp is fucked up. Johnnie is someone who continually tells you he’s gonna do something and then doesn’t do it. He promised me 200% support [on my show],” says Peak, who followed up a successful Plies show in Orlando by booking Gucci Mane in New Orleans in May 2009. In early 2009 when he sent a deposit for Plies [to his booking agent Coach], he promptly received a phone call with a voice drop, an email with eight pre-recorded studio drops, and met Plies at a local radio station to film a video drop for promotional TV commercials.
Impressed with Plies’ camp and their professionalism, he then contacted Gucci Mane’s agent expecting the same courtesy. “I told [Johnnie], ‘This is what I expect from you.’ He promised me radio drops as soon as I sent my deposit. They promised video drops so I [paid extra] to book TV commercials,” recalls Peak. But after sending his $21,000 deposit, weeks went by with no response. Finally, HAH directed him to the Mizay/So Icey office, where he also spent several weeks calling with no response.
“Once Johnnie gets your money it’ll be at least a week before he picks up his phone again,” concurs Godfather, who also never received drops for multiple Shawty Lo shows before his attempted Gucci Mane booking. “Johnnie must be busier than damn [Barack] Obama,” snorts Mr. CC. “I have to call eight or ten times before I can get him on the phone, and he’s always ‘busy.’”
According to Peak, his show’s turnout suffered without drops to add credibility to the promotion. “The city of New Orleans thought it was a fake [Gucci show], just some bullshit, because I didn’t have any [drops].” Also, when he brought the balance of $17,500 cash to Gucci Mane’s road manager G-Boy on the day of the show, he was told that he had to pay an additional $3,500 for travel or Gucci Mane would not perform. Peak’s contract does state that he was responsible for travel – however, he claims that So Icey/Hitt Afta Hitt never told him the cost or details of the travel even after repeated calls to their offices inquiring.
Some people have successfully booked shows through Cabbell. “We haven’t booked Gucci Mane, but I haven’t had any issues dealing with Johnnie Cabbell or Hitt Afta Hitt when I’ve booked Shawty Lo through them,” states Amy Jurkofski of Atlanta-based booking agency The Music Group. Tallahassee, FL promoter Willie McKenzie, who booked Gucci Mane to perform at Florida A&M University’s homecoming this past October, received his deposit back (from a third-party booking agency, not Hitt Afta Hitt) when Gucci was unable to perform due to his legal troubles.
If there’s one thing Johnnie has done right, it’s lock down a niche in a previously untapped market. While Hollywood actors and actresses have a wide selection of agencies to choose from and New York-based acts or major pop/R&B artists are often represented by established agencies like the William Morris Agency (WMA), ICM Talent, or Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the recent explosion of Southern rap left a void waiting to be filled. At least in Atlanta, Cabbell helped fill that void by representing many of the smaller acts that sprang up.
“Johnnie came to me for advice on how to do [bookings],” says Coach of Florida-based Direct Connect Entertainment, a reputable agent who has been booking shows for over 15 years. Currently, Coach is Plies’ exclusive booking agent (pictured at left together). “I’m not saying I trained [Johnnie], but I kinda lectured him on the business when he first started out,” Coach recalls. “And as far as what he does [now] I’m not 100% pleased, and he knows that. He’s never put me in a bad position, but I’m hearing stories from other people saying that he has. He’s never done me wrong, I guess because of his respect level for me or because he knows I wouldn’t tolerate that type of behavior.”
Pittsburgh promoter B. Marshall agrees. “[Johnnie] does a lot of deals with dope boys because he knows they won’t go the legal route. He wouldn’t try to pull some of these moves on [someone like well-known Atlanta promoter] Alex [Gidewon of AG Entertainment] because he won’t get away with it.”
Some of Cabbell’s affiliates defend him. “I think [Johnnie’s] reputation comes from being a hard-nosed businessman,” says South Carolina DJ Chuck T. “He’s known for having crazy ass riders… but he’ll bring in one of the lesser-known groups he fucks with and have them open up. So basically you get a good deal on booking artists but at the expense of bringing one of his new artists and paying for their shit.” Marcus “Rip” Rippy, of Hoodrich Entertainment, echoes the same sentiment. “I’ve seen Johnnie at work and I can understand why some people could feel the way they do. But the truth is that he goes hard for his artists. They are his top priority.”
California-based DJ Nik Bean (left) disagrees, arguing that Johnnie’s bad business practices hinder his artists more than help them. Billing himself as “LA’s Mixtape King,” Nik Bean has toured with Cali up-and-comer Glasses Malone and worked with many other West Coast favorites like Daz, Kurupt, and Nipsey Hussle. Prior to the BET Awards in June 2008, Nik says, he contacted Shawty Lo to inquire about doing some work with him as a DJ.
“[The experience] changed my perception of [Shawty Lo],” says Nik, bitterly. “I liked his music but [dealing with Johnnie] made me question him. Like, ‘Why are you doing business with this guy?’ I can’t say anything bad about Lo, but I’m not doing no more business with Johnnie, period, point blank. And I’ll make sure he can’t do business out here [in L.A.].”
As Shawty Lo’s manager, Cabbell asked Nik for a favor. “[Johnnie] was like, “We’re gonna be out there [in L.A.] for the BET Awards. Set something up for me; get me some money,” recalls Nik. “I made some calls and got the ball rolling on a situation for him to make some show money.” As other promoters got involved, Nik sensed things getting too complicated and backed away. “I was supposed to get some money off the show but the situation got too sticky. I saw too many sharks in the tank, so once I realized I was gonna get screwed, I’m not a professional booker, so I just said ‘fuck it.’”
Johnnie agreed to “make the situation right” with Nik by promising him a Shawty Lo verse for his digital album. Shawty Lo got his money for the LA show Nik set up, but Nik never got his verse. “I had everything ready,” recalls Nik. “I had Glasses Malone do the hook, and we put the beat together. We left an open verse for Shawty Lo. The song was custom-made for him, ‘Concerns of A D-Boy,’ right up his lane. Johnnie promised me, ‘I got you. No problem,’ and I assumed that since he’s Shawty Lo’s manager, it was official. I didn’t think people would do business like this; it just didn’t make sense to me. I would think an artist of that caliber would have the sense to have a decent manager.”
After the BET Awards, four months passed. Nik called Johnnie’s phone repeatedly only to hear, “Yo, I’m in a meeting.” “He kept bullshitting me; I heard the same thing four or five times,” says Nik. “I could smell the bullshit from a mile away. How many ‘meetings’ could you have?”
Nik never received the promised verse. “I told Johnnie, ‘Don’t ever come back out here [to L.A.],’” Nik recalls. “It’s not a [physical] threat, but I meant, ‘Don’t try to [break] no records here.’ There’s other people in the game like [him] too. I guess I’m too nice. If I ever get wind of Johnnie trying to work a record out here, best believe I’m gonna try to shut that shit down.” While it might appear a minor incident, Nik felt personally insulted. “I was so mad because I helped him make money in my city. It’s disrespectful and foul.”
Personally, I’ve had my share of problems with Johnnie. The first was a feature I booked for Shawty Lo for an independent label. Johnnie quoted me $10,000 and I set up the deal for $12,000. I sent the record and the paperwork to Johnnie’s email and waited several weeks as he continually assured me that Shawty Lo would get the verse done. When I later learned that Johnnie had contacted the artist directly after seeing their name on the paperwork and charged them $12,000 for the feature, pocketing my commission, I confronted him. He claimed to not know that it was the same feature I had set up – even though I had emailed him the record three weeks prior. I reluctantly gave him the benefit of the doubt and let it slide.
Then, I booked Shawty Lo to host a party at Las Vegas nightclub Prive on a Monday night with Johnnie’s explicit assurance that he would perform two songs from the DJ booth to satisfy the club’s expectations for the event. I was awakened at 5 AM East Coast time on the night of the event to a conference call/screaming match between Johnnie, the club’s manager, and one of the club owners – a huge mess which went on for hours until Shawty Lo calmly took the phone from Johnnie and agreed to fulfill the requirements of the date. Problem solved. The manager is supposed to fix things for the artist – not the other way around.
Diamond, who was a standout member of the group Crime Mob (represented by Cabbell) before launching her solo career, feels that Deb, not Johnnie, is primarily to blame for the bad business. “I’ve heard of [promoters] having situations with Johnnie, but when I was dealing with him, he was about his business. I haven’t had problems with him myself. It’s about 50/50. I know some people that don’t fuck with him and some people that do fuck with him,” says Diamond. “But I don’t deal with Deb at all and I don’t wanna ever deal with Deb. I’ve heard her attitude is fucked up and her business is fucked up. I’ve never heard anybody have anything nice to say about Deb.”
DEBRA ANTNEY
Often confused as Gucci Mane’s “auntie” because of her last name, Debra Antney is actually not a blood relative of the rapper. She is, however, the mother of up and coming So Icey rapper Waka Flocka Flame (pictured at right together). 49-year-old Deb made the unlikely transition from a non-profit organization called Rah Rah’s Village of Hope and popped up on the scene as Gucci Mane’s manager after bonding with him at a charity event a few years ago.
And yet even with a background in non-profit and charity organizations, many people who’ve dealt with her question her integrity. “[Deb] is the ringleader behind the desk,” says Godfather. “She’s got everybody by the nuts. She’s robbing everybody over there [at So Icey/Mizay], and Johnnie is her partner in crime.”
Some evidence appears to corroborate this. Although most of the promoters’ anger is directed at Cabbell, it appears that bad business practices existed in the So Icey/Mizay camp long before Cabbell/HAH got involved in March 2009. A high turnover rate within both entities and poor communication between the two appears to have only complicated the existing problems.
ROCKFORD, IL
A year ago, in the fall of 2008, Gucci Mane’s asking price was $15,000 plus expenses. Illinois party promoter Yungwaun (left) booked him through So Icey/Mizay for $17,500 plus expenses – a premium rate for a holiday performance. Gucci was scheduled to perform in Rockford, IL on Halloween (October 31st, 2008). Yungwaun sent a $10,000 deposit along with several thousand dollars for travel, secured a venue, and began spending money advertising the show.
“No one ever [contacted me] to let me know that he wouldn’t make the date,” he says. On September 12th, 2008, a month and a half before Yungwaun’s scheduled show, Gucci appeared in court for a probation violation hearing. Various websites reported that Gucci, who had been convicted of assault in 2005 and sentenced to probation, had failed to meet his required community service hours (he was required to serve 50 hours a month and had only clocked in 25 hours over a three year time period). In addition, he had reportedly tested positive for ecstasy, marijuana, and alcohol during a random drug test. The judge revoked one year of his probation and sent him to jail.
Concerned, Yungwaun contacted So Icey/Mizay to find out the status of his show deposit. Severe Green, a So Icey employee, told him that it was not her responsibility to handle his show because the original person he dealt with at the company had already taken a commission and no longer worked there. After repeated inquiries, Severe assured Yungwaun that the show would move forward as planned and advised him to continue promoting, but he was skeptical. “My investor said, ‘No one’s gonna come because [they know] Gucci is locked up,’” says Yungwaun. “It’s all over the internet.”
Two weeks before the scheduled date, he was officially notified that Gucci Mane would not be attending. Naturally, he wanted his money back. But So Icey/Mizay refused to refund Yungwaun’s $10,000 deposit, first claiming that the “force majeure” clause in the contract released them from the obligation. According to Wikipedia, force majeure is “a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, crime, or an event described by the legal term “act of God” (e.g. flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption), prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations under the contract.” Clearly, Gucci Mane popping pills, smoking weed, failing to do community service, and therefore returning to prison on a probation violation does not qualify as an “act of God” (continues Wikipedia: “force majeure is not intended to excuse negligence or other malfeasance”).
So Icey/Mizay held Yungwaun’s money for over six months. When Gucci Mane was finally scheduled to be released in March 2009, he says, “[Gucci] was so booked up [So Icey] wouldn’t even tell me when he was getting out.” Instead of scheduling a make-up date at his initial contracted price of $17,500, So Icey/Mizay tried to sell him a date for $30,000. “They told me I couldn’t get a date unless I paid the [difference of $12,500],” recalls Yungwaun. “I told them they must be out of their mind, because I had a contract.”
After months of back and forth, Yungwaun, who could not afford the $30,000 price tag, reluctantly accepted his deposit back – minus a $500 commission. “They kept the commission for a show that never happened!” he laughs bitterly. “They held my money for six months! They had $10,000 just sitting there. Plus I had [paid for] commercials and flyers. I lost the potential to make money; I could have made more [money] off the show than I spent.”
Around the time of Gucci’s release from prison in March 2009, So Icey/Mizay handed over the booking responsibilities to Cabbell and Hitt Afta Hitt. Due to a combination of factors (including OJ’s buzz, a slew of Gucci Mane mixtape material floating around, and an overall slump in the music business) the street demand for Gucci Mane had risen during his incarceration. According to simple economic theory, a combination of high demand and low supply (because of his unavailability) equals an increase in price. So during the span of his 6-month incarceration, Gucci’s asking price magically rose from $15,000 to over $40,000. And instead of honoring the previous contracts that had never been satisfied, So Icey/Mizay allowed Johnnie to double or even triple the original prices.
“There’s no way I would have charged [the promoters] more,” says Coach. “For their inconvenience, they should be charged the same price [as their initial contract] or even given a discount. When an artist fails to show, not only is the [promoter’s] name and character at risk, but [the promoter] has incurred a lot of advertising expenses. The radio money, the flyer money, the street team, the venue rental…he’s not gonna get any of that money back. So there’s no way he should have to pay more, because he already lost [money] the first time the artist didn’t show. The booking agent’s responsibility is to get all the money that was sent [for the deposit] returned.” Beyond that, Coach says, the promoter would have to sue the artist directly for breach of contract to attempt to recover funds lost on promotional expenses. “Some [promoters] have won [additional monies in a lawsuit] for damages when the artist couldn’t give a legitimate excuse for not being there.”
CHICAGO, IL
Less than a hundred miles away, promoters Godfather (right) and John Mosley (below right) experienced similar drama when they teamed up to bring Gucci Mane to Chicago, IL in the fall of 2008. Their contract was for $15,000. Since Gucci Mane was incarcerated on the date of the scheduled show, So Icey/Mizay promised to reschedule. Mosley estimates that he had to call So Icey at least 200 times before they finally confirmed a make-up date.
After the make-up date was confirmed and they had been advertising for four weeks, Godfather says, Cabbell suddenly tripled the price. “[Johnnie] called and said someone else wanted the date [for a higher price],” Godfather recalls. “I don’t care that his stock went up. That’s why you invest. I lost over $15,000 [on the deposit and promotions] and they held my deposit for a whole year!”
Johnnie threatened to book a show with another promoter in the same city if they didn’t agree to match the offer. “We were only supposed to owe $8,000 [on the back-end to So Icey/Mizay],” confirms Mosley. “But Johnnie got involved and said he was getting thousands of calls [for shows in Chicago] from promoters who want to give him $40,000, and we’re gonna have to match those offers, even though we already had a contract!”
Cabbell refused to honor the $15,000 contract, saying that Gucci was hot in the market and deserved more. Laughs Mosley, “Right! I made him hot in the market! They played his records on the radio because we spent so much money [promoting his show] with the station.”
To avoid losing the date to another promoter, Godfather and Mosley ultimately agreed to pay Cabbell $42,500 for Gucci Mane, plus a $10,000 travel fee – a total of $52,500, plus the money already gone down the drain on advertising and venue rental fees. Why did they continue spending money rather than demanding their deposit back? “I’ve been promoting shows for 20 years and in this market I have a reputation to uphold,” explains Godfather. “My name means more to me [than money].”
Almost a year after sending their initial deposit, the show finally happened in May 2009 and 5,000 people showed up. According to Godfather, it was the biggest show Gucci Mane has ever done (right) [as the headliner] to this day. Mosley says there was plenty of bad blood in the city from his previous no-show. “People were threatening [Gucci’s] life,” he recalls. “The things we went through even getting him into [Chicago] and on stage alive were ridiculous.” The promoters were able to recoup their previous losses (and, one would assume, turned a hefty profit).
Several days later, Johnnie called Godfather and offered him a date on the upcoming So Icey Tour. “He told me, ‘I apologize. Let’s do another date to make it right.’ He tricked [us]. He told us he had a tour coming and he was gonna show me some love,” recalls Godfather. In retrospect, he snaps, “If this is ‘love,’ I don’t want nooooo love from him ever again.”
Godfather and Mosley agreed to book a date on the So Icey Tour for $55,000, which was scheduled to take place on July 24th, 2009. They sent a $35,000 deposit for the artists, a $5,000 booking fee which went directly to Cabbell (“Johnnie thought I was trying to go around him [by dealing with Ujaama] and said I couldn’t do another show unless I sent him $5,000 cash,” alleges Mosley), and $10,000 for travel. But after wiring over $50,000, the promoters learned that all three of the artists on the So Icey Tour were booked on their date in various other cities – so they were forced to push the date back a week, to August 1st. “Johnnie just completely lied [to me],” says Godfather. “On top of that, he knew Gucci was scheduled to take a drug test three weeks before my show and he was high as a kite.”
“I found out Gucci was in jail on Twitter,” laughs Godfather. “Johnnie never called, management never called [to tell me he wasn’t gonna make my show]. Soulja Boy said on Twitter [on July 19th] that Gucci Mane was in jail, and I know him personally, so I was asking him not to say that because he was killing my ticket sales in Chicago.” Nicki Minaj, Godfather adds, was also posting “free Gucci Mane” on her Myspace and Twitter pages less than two weeks before their scheduled event. Meanwhile, Johnnie reassured Godfather, “Gucci is straight. He’ll be at the show,” but never sent the promised drop. Shannon stopped returning calls altogether.
Less than a week before the show, Godfather says, they suddenly changed their tune. “Johnnie is like, ‘Aw, man, I don’t know [if Gucci will be able to come].’ Then he says, ‘We’ve got a bunch of deposits. How do we know we have your [money]’? I’m like, ‘What?! We’ve been talking for months! I’ve got all kinds of contracts! So now you’re trying to say you don’t have my money?’ Deb plays like she doesn’t know what’s going on and hangs up.”
So Godfather retraced the paper trail: Ujaama received the initial deposits. Ujaama in turn wired money to Shannon, who then deposited the money with Deb. “I have definite confirmation that Johnnie and Deb have my money,” says Godfather. Having spent over $50,000 plus promotional expenses, with less than week before the show, he says, Deb or Johnnie didn’t answer the phone for three days. Finally, he reached them by calling three-way through one of Gucci Mane’s bodyguards and sent copies of all the contracts, paperwork, and receipts proving that the money was transferred to Deb’s account. According to Godfather, at that point Deb finally admitted, “I don’t know if Gucci can make that date.”
“This is four days before the event!” exclaims Mosley. “When we advertise an event in Chicago, we blow it up. No one has it on lock like we do. We’ve been promoting for six weeks. 100,000 flyers, [SMS] text blasts, Facebook [invites]. Gucci Gucci Gucci! Gucci’s coming! And four days before the event, they’re telling me he’s got legal problems. Are you kidding me?”
The next day, just three days before the show, Deb demanded an additional $3,500 “security fee” that was never previously discussed and was not included in the contract or rider. They threatened a no-show if the fee was not paid. “Johnnie said my show wouldn’t happen unless I [paid for] more security. He threatened me and my business partner!” Godfather says, incredulous. “At that point, I told him, ‘Fuck you. I don’t care if any of y’all come. It’s embarrassing now.’”
“[Calling a promoter at the last minute with additional charges] is not standard practice for a booking agent,” says Coach. “Everything should be on the contract. Nothing should be added on [verbally] unless somebody defaults on the agreement that’s already in writing.”
With Gucci Mane’s status in limbo, Godfather then learned that no funds from his initial deposit had been used to secure OJ da Juiceman or Nicki Minaj, even though all three artists were supposed to perform. He took matters into his own hands and booked OJ through a local Chicago artist who had a relationship with the rapper, spending an additional $12,000 and getting a studio drop from OJ to continue promoting the show. Nicki, who was on the road with Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew on the America’s Most Wanted Tour for most of the summer, did not attend the show.
On the day of the scheduled Chicago date for the So Icey Tour (right), Godfather was informed that Gucci wouldn’t make it either. “Of the three artists I booked on the tour, OJ was the only one who came, and I had to pay him [an extra] $12,000 to salvage the show!” he exclaims. At the end of the day, Godfather estimates they lost over $90,000, including $8,000 for security, $5,000 on advertising and over $46,000 in ticket refunds that Ticketmaster issued to unhappy patrons because of Gucci Mane’s failure to appear. “I didn’t get a dime back from the ticket office,” laments Godfather. “We put signs on the door saying ‘Gucci will not be here,’ and we still got 3,500 people in there, but we had to give all that money back,” sighs Mosley. “[The fans] blamed us, saying we were false promoting. DJ Pharris had to get on the radio [in Chicago] and let people know it wasn’t our fault.”
“[The promoter] should definitely get their money back if the artist can’t fulfill the contract. Without a doubt,” says Coach. “It’s just like a [UPS] delivery. If you agreed to do a show for a certain amount and now you’re unable to do the show, you have defaulted. If [UPS] promises to deliver something and they don’t, for any reason, the bottom line is they didn’t deliver. It doesn’t matter if the tire was flat or the driver was sick or the weather was bad. The fact is, you had an agreement to deliver, and you didn’t.”
As of press time, Godfather says his $35,000 deposit has not been refunded. Godfather says that he also lost the $5,000 Johnnie pocketed as a booking fee for a show that never happened, as well as the $10,000 travel fee and $3,500 last minute security fee for artists who never arrived. “They haven’t even tried to give me my money back or reschedule the show,” says Godfather. “Getting my money back would be cool, but I want them to reschedule a date with me so I can try to save some face with the radio station. These are people who I’ve known for 20 years, and [the no-shows] ruined my name with the station, fans, and artists. I have to do a make-up show with the radio station to save face with the Program Director.”
It also hampered Godfather’s ability to continue promoting shows in his market. “All the venues here talk to each other. Even though I had no fights and people got their money back [from the Gucci Mane tickets], they still question letting me get venues. I’ve never experienced anything like this,” he adds. His credibility and reputation, he feels, are priceless.
While Johnnie and Deb refused to refund Godfather’s money or reschedule his August date, they accepted a Gucci Mane show deposit from one of his competitors, Chicago promoter Mark Yukon (that show, scheduled for November 19th, 2009, also did not happen).
“Gucci Mane can’t come to Chicago unless I okay it,” declares Godfather. “They all know it. He knows it, his security knows it. He knows his squad is messing up, so it’s on him. He can’t come here unless he works it out with me, so he’s pretty much dead in the market. The radio is gonna stop playing his record and everything. I’m a part of the reparation squad for Johnnie Cabbell’s overcharging. OJ [da Juiceman] is a good guy, but Gucci has signed his life over to Johnnie Cabbell.”
Booking back-to-back shows in the same city with two different promoters is another favorite trick of Cabbell’s. When a savvy promoter requests an exclusivity clause be included in the contract, which normally prevents an artist from performing anywhere in a certain radius for 30 days prior or 30 days after the show, HAH’s carefully worded “exclusivity clause” reads, “artist(s) are not permitted to perform two weeks before or two weeks after the date above at the listed venue,” a loophole which could technically permit Cabbell to book the same artist at two competitive venues on the same street, in the same city, on the same day.
“That’s not something I would do out of respect for the promoter I’m doing business with. You’re going to cause both people headaches,” says Coach. “That definitely shouldn’t be happening at all and that’s one of [Johnnie’s business practices] that I disagree with. I know promoters that have had real bad episodes with [Johnnie] and are displeased.”
THE VAMPIRES
Godfather feels that Cabbell’s shiesty business practices have rubbed off on other up-and-coming booking agents. Combine that with the desperation of the recession and it’s an ugly formula. “There’s a lot of guys like Johnnie now. People in Young Jeezy’s camp are doing the same thing,” mentions Godfather. “[Jeezy’s booking agent] Asha is now following standard Johnnie Cabbell practice: they call you a week before the show and threaten to not show up if you don’t send an additional $5,000 or $10,000 for travel [or security]. Then you have a choice: either cancel it and [forfeit] all the money you put into it and disappoint [the fans], or go ahead and take that $5,000 or $10,000 hit because you’ve already sold thousands of tickets. These new dudes like Johnnie are spreading venom to the managers and killing the smaller promoters. I’ve known Asha for years, but she just turned into a vampire last year. $10,000 for travel!? He’s not using jet fuel to get here. He’s using regular gas [for his tour bus]!”
“Travel buyouts” seem to be one of the vampires’ favorite ways of sucking every last drop of money out of a promoter. After Orlando, FL promoter Dawgman (left) sent in a deposit to book Shawty Lo through Cabbell in Spring 2008, in addition to the artist’s fee, he learned that he was also required to spend $4,000 on a “travel buyout” instead of booking flights himself. Johnnie explained that the fee was high because their travel agent was purchasing “refundable” tickets for the entourage, and because Shawty Lo needed to fly first-class (which is always refundable).
But on the scheduled date, Shawty Lo never showed up, and Dawgman was forced to issue refunds to his patrons to salvage his reputation in the market. During separate phone calls to the promoter and the promoter’s assistant, Cabbell and Shawty Lo’s road manager Jay provided two different reasons for Lo’s absense - one claimed he was in the hospital, while the other said he was attending an aunt’s funeral. Of the seven round-trip flights that were supposedly purchased with the $4,000 travel buyout, only three of those people showed up (the road manager and two entourage members). When the date was rescheduled, Johnnie threatened a no-show if Dawgman didn’t again pay a $4,000 travel fee. So what was the purpose of paying extra for “refundable” tickets if they weren’t really refundable? And more importantly, where did that initial $4,000 go?
“Johnnie is trying to pocket money everywhere,” complains Mosley. “He gets it any way he can get it, and he never leaves [Atlanta] to deal with the problems [on the road]. He’ll send the road manager [like Gucci Mane’s G-Boy, Shawty Lo’s Jay, or OJ da Juiceman’s Big Sam] out there to deal with the problems.”
Any hot artist with records getting regular radio spins (like Shawty Lo, back in Spring 2008) is generally working at least 3-4 nights a week – meaning that each of those three or four promoters is paying a high “travel buyout” for round trip travel. Multiply that $4,000 by 3 or 4 and if you’re really only paying one-way expenses – from each city to the next (if the artist even shows up), and you can see how it could become profitable. Let’s say Johnnie charges four promoters $4,000 each for travel expenses for Shawty Lo to go out on the road for four consecutive dates (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, for example) and only spends $10,000 on travel. Who do you think is pocketing that extra $6,000?
Mizay and So Icey seem to have gotten wise to this additional source of revenue early on in their relationship with HAH, insisting that all travel and hotel be handled through their office for Gucci Mane and OJ da Juiceman shows instead of through Johnnie. Similarly, they demand that promoters pay a high fee upfront which is wired directly to them. Traditionally, for most bookings, an “all-inclusive” artist fee means that all flights, hotel, and ground transportation is included – unless otherwise specified. But So Icey/Mizay often require a “travel buyout” and then later inform the promoter that there is also an additional “hotel buyout” due, plus ground transportation, which must also be booked through them at a premium rate. The HAH contracts generally only vaguely define the travel expenses, leaving room for “the vampires” to tack on thousands of dollars in additional fees at the last minute.
Kym Hall of Royal Pair Entertainment booked OJ da Juiceman to perform in Orlando, FL on Saturday, November 21st, 2009, and although ultimately pleased with his performance, she expressed exasperation with the Mizay/So Icey booking process and feels that they skimmed off the travel money. She claims Jamie Dixon, her So Icey representative, refused to divulge any of OJ’s basic travel information (such as when his flights were arriving, so she feared he would be a no-show) and refused to show her any receipts documenting the actual travel costs.
In addition to paying the “travel buyout” for the flights, So Icey demanded a large sum (which Hall feels was excessive, but declined to disclose the exact amount) for a “hotel buyout,” stating that OJ must be placed in a four-or-five star hotel, but refused to tell Hall where he was staying. “The only reason we found out where he was staying is because [OJ had] an ‘incident’ at the hotel and we had to go over there,” explains Hall. It turns out that Mizay/So Icey had taken her large lump sum “four-or-five star hotel buyout” and placed OJ at the SpringHill Suites Maitland, a three-star hotel at best which can be purchased online for around $80. Hall says she is demanding to see receipts and insisting that So Icey refund the difference between the amount of her “hotel buyout” and the actual amount they paid for the hotel (good luck, Kym).
BURNING BRIDGES
In the January 2009 issue of Atlanta-based Street Report Magazine, the editor General addressed his issues with Deb in his editorial (below) stemming from an OJ da Juiceman no-show at a Street Report event at Club Frequency. According to General, Deb had promised OJ’s attendance in exchange for advertising in the magazine.
“One of the 2009 topics is burning bridges and breaking your word to sell your soul for the almighty dollar,” wrote General. “What’s up to OJ da Juiceman (Chevron Shawty) for keeping the streets on fire in the A and getting to the money. I also want to add that you are a grinder and the streets are loving you but the flip side to that coin is ‘WOW’ when it comes to your management grinding just as hard as you? Debbie we are talking about you so therefore we are not going to do it like the rappers do it by subliminally sneak dissing. You know what I am talking about with the December 10th Club Frequency situation…”
General continued addressing OJ later in the editorial, adding, “A rapper can be hot today and glacier frozen like the titanic the next. So have that street/business meeting with your camp and tell them the minute that they lose focus of becoming that fucked up word in the game, that shit follows you no matter what business that you are in and people are whispering about it now but they are just keeping shit quiet is kept until they are positioned to voice their say so. Keep getting your money Juice and remember that every move is a calculated step, but your management can lose my number because their word is in the same book as George W Bush (I don’t trust what is being said to me) and for the record, I am not trying to assassinate your character (Debbie) by telling people not to deal with you. Everybody can fuck with you as far as I am concerned but I know not to fuck with you because you lied to me directly and it was not a third party lie. Street Report Magazine doesn’t want any bargains from you. Send over some ad money not a conversation. Aye!”
Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of Street Report Magazine’s bad experience when I made a similar deal with Johnnie and Deb in May 2009 to trade an advertising package in OZONE for a free OJ da Juiceman show.
After fulfilling our part of the agreement, we here at OZONE shopped around for a venue and finally settled on Club Libra in Atlanta. As the Libra representatives sat in my office prepared to sign the contract, I called Johnnie and Deb to let them know we had secured a location. Johnnie told me that OJ would not perform at Club Libra because they had “issues” with the club. After much discussion I reluctantly agreed to keep looking. Less than three weeks later, a commercial began playing on Atlanta radio for - guess who? - OJ da Juiceman performing live at Club Libra! Rather than giving OZONE the free date we had agreed on, Johnnie apparently went around me and booked the date himself.
I suppressed my urge to curse him out, opting instead to try to peacefully resolve the situation. I shopped around for an alternate venue and closed a deal with Freelon’s Nightclub in Jackson, MS, for OJ to perform on August 8th, 2009. Johnnie sent me a signed contract confirming that the OJ show was paid in full as per our advertising agreement. As per the contract, we (OZONE and the promoter) were obligated to pay $3,500 for travel and there were no additional funds due for the show. The promoter wired the travel money to So Icey/Mizay several weeks prior to the show. The contracts were signed by myself, Johnnie, Deb, and the promoter in June.
Almost two months later, on the afternoon the day of the show, Johnnie and Deb called me on 3-way demanding that I pay an additional “security fee” of $3,300 or OJ wasn’t going to leave Atlanta – a fee which had never been mentioned or discussed at all during the month and a half that our contract had been in place. It was also never included on our paperwork. OZONE had fulfilled our obligations and now Johnnie and Deb were refusing to fulfill theirs. Deb claimed she didn’t know the Jackson date was my show, pointing the finger at Johnnie and saying it was his fault. I told them I wasn’t going to pay an additional $3,300 for a “free” show and whatever miscommunication had happened was between the two of them, and they needed to figure it out immediately. A few hours later, Johnnie told me, “We worked it out,” saying that he and Deb had settled their miscommunication and OJ’s tour bus was leaving Atlanta, headed for Jackson.
At 11 PM the night of the show, as a line of fans eager to see OJ formed at the club, I was still 45 minutes outside the city. OJ’s road manager Big Sam went to Freelon’s and told the club owner that if they didn’t receive $5,500 cash immediately (including $500 overtime for their driver – another additional fee that was never discussed and was not our responsibility) they had been instructed by Johnnie and Deb to leave town immediately. Without $5,500 cash, OJ would not perform at OZONE’s “free” show. So here I was faced with the choice that so many other promoters have had to make: cancel the show, ruin my relationship with the promoter and the promoter’s reputation, and fight Johnnie and Deb in court for $10,000 (the value of the advertising package)? Or move forward and only fight them for $5,500?
Similar to the So Icey Tour contracts, the OZONE contract with Johnnie involved multiple parties, so going the legal route would probably also mean suing a long-time client and friend (Freelon’s) because of Johnnie and Deb’s fraud. I later learned that OJ and Big Sam had no idea what was really going on, didn’t know that I was even involved with the show, and were simply following Deb and Johnnie’s instructions.
THE GOOD OL’ DAYS
When established artists like T.I. and Lil Wayne first started doing nightclub shows years ago, they were reasonably priced. “They earned their way up the ladder, and they have stronger foundations because of it,” explains Coach, who recalls booking T.I. for $1,500 or $2,000 in the early days and Lil Wayne for $10,000 when he was touring with Sqad Up and already had two albums under his belt. “They made solid movement all the way up the ladder until they’ve reached this point [where they command six figure show prices], and I can respect any artist that is willing to go out and work from the ground up.” Johnnie is certainly not the only booking agent to charge exorbitant prices for an artist with one hit record, but it’s one thing he is infamously known for – resulting in a short lifespan of many artists he has represented (where are the Shop Boyz, of “Party Like a Rock Star” fame? Fabo? D4L? Crime Mob?).
Nicki Minaj, for example, has a strong buzz, but doesn’t have an album out yet. Jesse Peak inquired about booking Nicki for a BET Hip Hop Awards afterparty in Atlanta in October 2009 but quickly changed his mind when her former manager Cortez directed him to Hitt Afta Hitt. “They were shooting out dumb numbers like $12,000 plus I’ve gotta pay a travel fee, even though she was already scheduled to be in Atlanta,” says Peak. “When an artist is represented by Hitt Afta Hitt, it discourages me from booking them because I know exactly what to expect from them: They say whatever you wanna hear to get your money, and once they get your money, you can’t get a call back.”
Mosley laughs while offering some words of advice to artists considering Hitt Afta Hitt representation: “You’ll have better luck diving off the Sears Tower.”
“A lot of artists are overpriced, and that hurts their career,” explains Coach. “If an artist is really overpriced and a promoter takes a risk on him and loses badly, when the artist tries to make a comeback the promoter is gonna say, ‘I did you when you were hot and I lost, so I’m definitely not gonna do you when you’re cold.’ So when you put the artist’s price up so high just because they’re new and the demand is high but they haven’t been proven, you’re risking their career longevity. These artists today get one single and they want $7,500 for a show. They haven’t been tested. The single may be hot, but the promoters lose money. Some might win, but most lose. And [as a result] the artist’s careers are short-lived. Very short-lived.”
D4L frontman Shawty Lo (left) is a perfect example of this phenomenon. “I don’t get requests for Shawty Lo [now],” says Coach. “In my opinion, he should have been charging less than [he was] at his peak. It would have made him a much more viable product today if he had been at a lower price when he was really hot. More people would’ve had accessibility to him. He would’ve been in more venues; more promoters would have been successful with him and would’ve had a better opinion of him. When [a promoter] loses, it leaves a bad taste in their mouth as far as that artist afterwards. Not saying that they lost at every show, but there were some where the price was just too high.”
Godfather is even more direct. “[Johnnie] killed Shawty Lo; destroyed his career,” he confirms. “[Shawty Lo] can’t get shows now because of his relationship with Johnnie. Johnnie overcharges and double-books. [Shawty Lo] was battling with T.I., the so-called King of the South. How were you on his level and then you fell from grace that fast? It’s because [Johnnie] was overpricing him, [charging] $40,000 or $50,000 for a guy with two songs, then doing no-shows, then threatening you with the $5,000 booking fee. He took his price past what he was worth and he fell off quick. [Now] I wouldn’t give [Shawty Lo] $1,000 to go anywhere. That’s not personal on Lo, it’s Johnnie. And he’s gonna do the same thing to Gucci [Mane’s career]. I didn’t deal with him on D4L because they had so many no-shows. No one wanted to book them anymore and they fell off. Anyone he touches, he kills their career. He’s bad, man. He’s a very shiesty businessman.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, artists like Lil Boosie and Webbie and legends like Too $hort and Uncle Luke have consistently toured throughout the country, putting on good shows and hosting parties at a reasonable price. The cost is fair and the demand is still strong. In turn, the promoters are able to turn profits and bring these artists back time and time again, contributing to their career longevity.
“Boosie and Webbie get [booked] for a lot of shows because their price is good enough that promoters can make a profit,” agrees Coach. “There’s two people involved: the artist and the promoter. In the end, both people should be happy. I don’t think it should just be one guy coming to get all the money and going home happy, while the promoter lost all his money and he’s unhappy. [Promoting shows] is a risk, but there should at least be the opportunity for the promoter to make some money if he does it correctly. If the artist’s price is too high, the promoter doesn’t have the opportunity to make money.”
SHOWMANSHIP
With all the hype surrounding Gucci Mane’s 2009 shows, you’d think the price tag would be worth it. For $40,000 or more, you should get a well-rehearsed, energetic, exciting sixty minute performance and the fans go home satisfied, right?
“Gucci’s show is garbage,” says Yungwaun. “I saw him perform in Milwaukee. He doesn’t move, he just stands there.” Comparing Gucci Mane’s performance to other in-demand rappers of a similar genre like Plies or Young Jeezy, agrees Jesse Peak, is laughable. “[Gucci’s] show is shitty. He doesn’t have much showmanship at all. If you pay somebody that kind of money, you think they’re gonna get down [and put on a good show]. He comes to shows high as a kite and he just doesn’t do anything. He sits on a stage like he’s in a booth and raps into the mic. That’s it.”
“I wouldn’t book Gucci Mane again even if the tickets were pre-sold out,” emphasizes Peak. “I wouldn’t pay him anything. He’s not worth it. I was completely disappointed with the whole experience. I wish [Gucci] luck, but I hope Johnnie don’t ever come to one of my parties.”
IN CONCLUSION
To be fair, there’s always more than one side to a story, and Deb and Johnnie’s side is not represented here. But when a dozen promoters in different cities with no prior affiliation are interviewed separately and all tell the same infuriating tales, chances are there’s some truth to it. Although I too have been bitten by the vampires to the tune of $5,000, that amount is pennies compared to some of these promoters’ alleged losses, and I have made every attempt to be reasonable and objective in my reporting.
As they became aware that their dirt was being dug up, Deb and Johnnie tried valiantly to slander my name (hateful email blasts about me containing baseless insults), damage my credibility (recording highly unprofessional online “conference calls” with racial accusations), and scare me (attempting to sue me and get an emergency injunction for “defamation of character”) away from investigating these fraudulent activities. I did not reach out to them for comment because I doubt it would be a productive conversation for anyone involved. Johnnie even attempted to file a warrant for my arrest when I commented on Twitter that he rapes promoters. I think this article contains sufficient evidence to prove that fact, and telling the truth is not a crime.
“What Johnnie is doing ain’t right, and it’s dangerous because you’re dealing with people’s money,” says Mosley. “I respect promoter’s money,” concludes Coach. “I don’t think [Johnnie] respects promoter’s money.”
The solution to all these problems, it would seem, would be for management to put more effort into keeping Gucci sober and free, and less effort into taking deposits for show dates he can’t legally attend.
“I can’t see how [artists] would want to put their trust in someone like [Johnnie],” laments Nik Bean. “Gucci Mane obviously needs new management. Everybody’s talking about ‘Free Gucci Mane’ when we really should be saying, ‘Gucci Mane needs to get a new manager.’ Why’s he doing all this time [for failure to meet community service requirements]? They’re supposed to be managing him and his time.”
Unlike Gucci, Lil Boosie, who began serving a reported 2-4 year jail sentence in November 2009, did not leave behind a slew of angry promoters. Courtney Scott of Trill Management, who handles Boosie’s show bookings, explains that they “slowed down” on Boosie’s dates as soon as they became aware of his legal troubles. They returned three promoters previous deposits, Courtney says, adding, “We made a conscious decision as a management team to prepare for the fact that he might [have to go to jail]. People kept offering to book dates, but we just didn’t take their deposits. We told them we can’t accept it, because he has to go to court.” This seems to be a much more logical management strategy than the get-as-much-money-as-possible-now-and-worry-about-the-consequences-later mentality exhibited by Cabbell and Antney.
Mike Jones (not the rapper), who handles marketing for the clothing store chain DTLR, sponsored Godfather’s Gucci Mane no-show in Chicago. “It’s [all about] the fans, man. You can’t blame them for wanting to see their favorite artists,” he reflects. “I was at the show [where Gucci was scheduled to appear] and it was just a bad look. Some fans don’t even care if you perform. They just wanna see you and take pictures with you. When you don’t even show your face, it’s just bad for business. It’s about the fans; the consumers.”
“Y’all see what’s happening in Chicago on CNN and the news [with so much violence]. It’s Beiruit out here,” finishes Mosley. “People can’t afford to jack off $50 or $60. To play with people’s money and emotions, it’s not a good look. All that money is going somewhere.” Jones vividly recalls tearing down the Gucci Mane promotional posters from his stores, one by one. “I don’t even wanna be affiliated with Gucci Mane anymore. I don’t wanna see anything with his name on it,” he vents. “The word up here [in Chicago] is, ‘Man, I wouldn’t touch Gucci Mane’s show if Jesus was hosting it.’ Real talk.”
Now that Gucci is gone again for at least six months, most of the promoters just want to cut their losses and get their initial deposits back. “Cash is king in this recession. Rescheduling a show isn’t even a possibility for at least eight months, [and that’s] assuming Gucci behaves himself and gets out early on good behavior,” explains Attorney Gardner.
Although Gucci’s previous 6-month incarceration increased his demand, this time around, things could easily go the other way and cool down his buzz like it has for many other rappers (Mystikal, for example, is out of sight, out of mind). “When he does get out, who’s to say he’ll even be relevant at that time?” questions Gardner.
But as long as Gucci, OJ, Nicki, Waka, and the rest of the So Icey artists continue making hot music, the streets will continue demanding their appearances and promoters will continue to book them. Gucci has found a way to make lemonade out of lemons, turning his legal troubles into the theme of his upcoming album, The State vs. Radric Davis (left). At the end of the day, though, the artists’ management is supposed to be working for them, not against them, and all the fraud allegations can’t be good for business. “This is how empires fall,” says Mosley. “It’s going to come back on them.”
When confronted with the accusation that her and Cabbell’s actions have not only been unethical but also criminally fraudulent, at least in the case of Marshall’s Pittsburgh no-shows, Antney defended herself to Creative Loafing. “The only thing you have is your name, and if you ruin your name, you ruin everything,” she says. At least we can all agree on that. //
If you have experienced similar problems as the promoters interviewed in this article, please contact me at jb@ozonemag.com.
To comment on this article, http://www.ozonemag.com/2009/11/30/scam-afta-scam.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
The Culture of Hip Hop VS The Urban Music Industry
By, Wendy Day, Student of both
The Culture of Hip Hop is a very different thing from the Urban Music Industry. They are almost opposites. The culture is made up of art forms (b boying and b girling; graffiti, DJing, and rapping), and is a life style, a way of thinking, a way of being—and it’s not for sale. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The urban music industry is the commoditization of the musical art form from hip hop culture—rap music, and it’s the sale and spread of that music.
This month’s column is dedicated to Mr Magic and Marley Marl. As those of you know, who are fans of the culture or who came up in the culture of Hip Hop, Mr Magic has just passed away from a heart attack. Magic and Marley had one of the first, if not THE first, hip hop radio show. It originally broadcast on Friday and Saturday nights on WBLS-FM in the early 80s.
As a young college freshman in Philadelphia, I was sucked into rap music because of the passion and the energy in the music. I’m sure that the angst and disenfranchisement in the lyrics spoke to me a bit as well. But no matter how or why, the music so thoroughly reached me that after I spent a weekend visiting friends in New York City in the mid-80s, I fell so deeply in love with a radio broadcast, that I went home, quit my job, packed up my shit, and moved to Manhattan the next week. In Philly, we had live broadcasts from clubs on the weekends, so I was hearing all of the new rap music from Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five, Sugarhill Gang, Newcleus, Run DMC, etc but I’d never experienced anything like The Rap Attack with Mr Magic and DJ Marley Marl. They had the newest new stuff. The artists would drop by the show. Their radio show and the clubs in NY were mecca for everything Hip Hop. I had to move! There was no negotiating. I wanted to live in the place that had THAT! In Philly, I had to wait til the following week to buy cassette tapes of the previous weekend’s radio show from NY, but I wanted to hear it as it happened in NYC.
The music is the culture. It’s the art form. And it was made out of love, not for a paycheck. Record labels existed, but originally the music was pressed for DJs and the super hardcore fans who had turntables and wanted the newest vinyl. When I lived in Philly, I went every Tuesday to buy the newest vinyl singles as they came out at Sound Of Market Street. All the Philly DJs were there buying their records too, but I didn’t care. I just wanted the newest shit! I bought battle tapes imported from the Bronx and Queens of crews’ rivalries in the clubs or even from them rhyming outside on the streets. I bought recordings of NY Park Jams. The movement was happening in NY, and Philly was getting it secondhand—after the fact. The energy was in the music. A generation began to embrace it. History tells us that the New York Times named it “Hip Hop.” At the time, I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted the new shit. I wanted to hear it, feel it, dress like it, and live in it. I became part of the culture of hip hop. I wasn’t part of the inner circle of Hip Hop culture that created it, I was the first surrounding tier—the consumer, the loyal fan. I was devoted. I wasn’t going anywhere.
Back then, there were a few “culture vultures” selling anything and everything hip hop to make a buck. I didn’t work in the music industry back then, I was just a hardcore fan. I was making money in corporate Amerikkka, but I was consuming everything Hip Hop. Even the license plate on my 1987 BMW said “RunDMC,” my favorite group at the time. Although I bought the car in NY, I had it plated in Delaware so I could get the RUNDMC tags (that vanity tag was already taken in NY, CT, PA, and NJ). I was addicted to the music and the culture.
And then a funny thing happened as the culture was embraced by more and more people. Capitalism kicked in full force. Enterprising entrepreneurs realized they could sell, and profit from, the music, the lifestyle, the parties, the clothing—everything. And an industry slowly sprang up around the culture of Hip Hop. The industry that sold the music became the urban music industry as sales became strong enough for an entire genre to be spawn from it. In almost all cases, the urban music industry was NOT made up of the people who were inside the culture. A couple of labels sprang from DJs (Tommy Boy, Big Beat, Profile, etc) who were privy to the club reaction to hip hop music, but for the most part, the business side sprung from entrepreneurs who had the money to press the vinyl, sign deals with the artists (usually oppressively unfair deals), and make a good size return on their investment. As hip hop gained popularity and numbers (fans and consumers), the major labels began to do deals with these small labels and to also sign their own artists directly. This is when I entered the music industry: 1992.
As I joined the urban music industry, I noticed that the industry folks rarely, if ever, attended any of the events within the culture. I remember being confused (and annoyed) in my early years of embracing the industry that the folks whom I looked up to in the industry (the Chris Lightys and Jessica Rosenblums) never went to the “underground” hip hop events. I rarely saw them at the Zulu Nation Anniversaries, or the Rock Steady Anniversaries, or the Lyricist Lounge events. They went to their own industry events, and supported the industry side (like the New Music Seminars, etc), but I didn’t understand why they never did the Hip Hop cultural events. I hadn’t yet realized that the two things were separate.
By the mid-90s, I was full blown immersed into the culture of Hip Hop and the music industry. The culture still embraced me because I wasn’t making any money from hip hop (therefore I wasn’t a “sell out”), and was fighting for hip hop on the industry side. The industry embraced me, but didn’t understand me, because they saw me fighting for something they could care less about (artists’ rights and a culture of people). The industry tolerated me only because they saw I had a direct pipeline and influence with most of the newer and up and coming artists. The labels no longer wanted the older hip hop artists such as Public Enemy and X-Clan, or the artists who created the early music in the culture (Grandmaster Flash, T-La Rock, Whodini, Run DMC, etc), they wanted the new generation that spoke to the profitable masses (Master P, Biggie Smalls, Twista, Ice Cube, Too Short, E-40, Tupac, etc). And the labels were solely about the money, not the culture. They invested heavily in artists with strong street buzzes and large pre-orders at retail stores, ignoring the artists who did not. They always claimed to be putting their money towards the projects that the fans would buy most.
In NY, and small pockets of the East Coast, Chicago, and parts of the West coast, the culture lived on and stayed strong. Some enterprising labels even created a sales niche around those areas selling what was termed “backpack rap” like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, etc. The Zulu Anniversary still had some value, the Rock Steady Anniversary was a central drawing event to pull us all together, and there were battles around the country like Scribble Jam and RapOlympics (my event where I lost over $10,000 that I had cash advanced on my Visa because the sponsors never paid). Lyricist Lounge went from a great NY monthly club event to an M-TV prime time TV show. But the culture was being further and further squeezed out of the economics of the music industry. Funding dried up for those events.
When artists requested dance crews like Rock Steady Crew in their videos, the labels balked on paying them to perform. When artists requested Show DJs or Turntablists for tours, the labels refused to include a budget for DJs. Because labels didn’t understand the culture, unless the artist had super leverage, they didn’t get what they needed unless they came out of their own pockets to fund it. Contrary to the image of rappers being wealthy, most were not, so they left the culture behind while they toured and greeted the M-TV generation.
The people who have been the most influential within the culture of Hip Hop, have not been well paid. In fact, few have been paid at all. And folks like Davey D, Christi Z Pabon, The Rock Steady Crew, most of the graf crews, artists such as KRS-1, many of the DJs, etc, have all been able to sustain a living, but are probably not wealthy by any means. Me either. Fortunately, I’ll tell you I never got into this for the money, and I hope (and suspect) they feel the same way too about their contributions to hip hop. Many of those who’ve been the most influential in the urban music business have been well paid for it—Puffy, Def Jam Records owners, The Source owners (original Source), Suge Knight, Jay Z, Easy E and his partner, Jimmy Iovine, Tom Silverman, etc. I’m not saying they’ve all retained their wealth, but many were very well paid for the influence they had on the part of hip hop that sold. Even on the fashion side: FuBu, Enyce, Cross Colors, Addidas, etc.
It’s hard to argue which has more value, the cultural side or the commercial side. It depends on what measurement one uses. If longevity is the measurement, the culture will be here forever, even when the consumers have moved on to some fad of the moment or just plain outgrown Hip Hop. If financial value is the measurement, then those with the highest sales win: Eminem, Nelly, Tupac, BIG, Jay Z, Master P, Juvenile, DMX, etc. I’d even venture to include Nike, Remy, Moet, Timberland, Hilfiger, etc.
Is Hip Hop dead or has it changed/morphed/grown into something that is unrecognizable to the earlier participants? Bear in mind that the artists coming up today were mostly not even alive when Hip Hop began. And since my generation of fans and the generation after us did not financially support Hip Hop with our spending (when the events lost sponsorship, many refused to pay $30 instead of $10 to gain entry, not to mention all the folks who thought they should get in free), it couldn’t possibly sustain. When the new artists study or meet the original founders and participants, a few are old in their thinking and their ways, somewhat bitter, and opinionated. Instead of going against what we don’t like, why not over support what we DO like? In both sales and in free downloads (stolen music) “gangsta rap” out sells and out downloads many of the intelligent rappers. Somebody is supporting that!
1985 was almost 25 years ago. The fans of Hip Hop from the 80s (LL Cool J, Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5, De La Soul, Leaders of The New School, EPMD, Run DMC, Public Enemy, NWA, Eric B & Rakim, etc era) who were 15 to 25 years old then, are now about to turn 50. Many have kids who are 15 to 25 years old now.
1995 was almost 15 years ago. The fans of Twista, No Limit Records, early Cash Money Records, Cypress Hill, Snoop and Dr Dre, Biggie, Naughty By Nature, Jay Z, Puffy, Capone and Norega, WuTang Clan, etc who were 15 to 25 during that decade are now in their 30s and early 40s.
Today’s music fans are a mish mosh of folks who like Jeezy, and Lil Wayne, to the fans of Soulja Boy and The New Boyz, to the more intelligent rap of Kanye and Drake—and everything in between. Today’s fans are still 15 to 25. They are our kids and we can’t expect them to like what we like. Jay Z is turning 40 at the end of this year. He is the age of the current rap fan’s Dad.
Every now and again we get someone who came up through the culture of Hip Hop who has gone on to experience success in the urban music industry. This list is very subjective, depending on whose point of view it is coming from. But Eminem and Jay Z both came up through the lyrical world of Hip Hop to move on to sell large numbers. I could argue that Black Eyed Peas did as well, but most would say that their music is pure pop, not Hip Hop. I guess many would argue that about Em, as well, since he often raps about things that are traditionally considered outside of the Hip Hop community.
I remember when I first realized that Hip Hop Culture and the music industry would never come together. I was at a conference at University of Wisconsin at Madison in the late 90s that turned into a bash rap music session. The argument was basically that anything that was currently selling was considered “garbage,” and everything that was considered “worthy” music to be called Hip Hop was being under promoted and under marketed. Some great points were being made that day—but no one from the industry side was there. An entire three day event was spent bitching about something that no one in attendance could change, or wanted to put themselves into a position to change. I left disgruntled and frustrated with the Hip Hop purists, never to return to one of their events.
This reminded me of when I first started Rap Coalition. Many treated me as if I was breaking some sort of unwritten law being a white woman coming into the Black community, and “condescending” to help young Black males (a useless female “activist” actually attacked me publicly for my commitment to helping the rap artist community and called my role condescending). Yet every time I met with that type of resistance, I offered to turn over my rolodex, all of my files, and work to whomever wanted to fill my shoes and do the work. I even offered to stay on and train them. It was never about me, white, or Black…it was about getting the work done, and if no one else wanted to do it, I was glad it was me who was willing. I never had any takers. I’ve never gotten a check yet from Rap Coalition, and I imagine if I mentioned that they’d be doing all this work for free, they’d run even further in the opposite direction. This is the way I saw the Hip Hop purists at the events like the one in Madison. Willing to complain, but not willing to change it by positive action on their own part. If you don’t like the way things are going, get up and change them. If we lost control of Hip Hop we either have to stand up and take it back, or let it go. Complaining doesn’t really help.
You can’t buy or sell a culture. You can buy and sell the trinkets that are synonymous with a culture or movement (the music, the clothes, the style, the art, etc). And the urban music industry has proven that quite well. The music is still considered rap music, but we are so far away from where Hip Hop started that’s it’s hard for me to even classify most of it as part of the culture. But since I grew with it and changed with it as I came up through it, I’m still able to embrace it and understand what it’s become. I can’t imagine Kool Herc would have ever envisioned a Young Jeezy rapping about flipping birds for $17,500 or the GLS Boyz doing the Stanky Leg back when Herk first began plugging his system into the park lightpoles. Hip Hop was born out of frustration and reaction by the disenfranchised to what was happening in the 70s when it began. Hip Hop was born out of the anti-disco sentiment and made by using other people’s music and breakbeats. It has come a long way. But never has Hip Hop Culture evolved into the Urban Music Industry. One is a culture while the other is a financial gain for those who have learned how to pimp it instead of adding to it artistically.
I mean “pimp it” in a good way…if that’s possible. An entire generation has grown from Hip Hop. I am thankful that many people built companies and secured jobs who would have never had a place in the music business if it wasn’t for Hip Hop. I’m thankful that a small handful of our artists have ownership of their own music and masters. I’m thankful for a generation who learned to kick in doors and make a place for ourselves instead of waiting to be offered an open door and a place at the table. And I’m thankful that the children of our elite will be educated and able to live right next to Muffy and Biff and summer at the Hamptons, if indeed that’s how they choose to live their lives.
I think we all still have a lot of work to do, and some serious changes still need to be made. We have a generation of artists coming up with no guidance and with teams that have no industry experience or knowledge. The labels are focused solely on 360 Deals at a time when labels are dinosaurs and almost completely unnecessary (except for artists without funding or who are unable to find investors). And most importantly, rap music is seen as the new “come up,” a “legal dope game”—we have too many producers and artists who are coming into this with limited talent, no skills, no experience, and no value to add.
If we want to keep the Culture of Hip Hop alive and evolving, we’re going to need to share it and teach it. It will become whatever we let it become. The music industry seems to be going more independent and more viral (which levels the playing field). As long as there is one person wanting to buy rap music, there will be at least one making it. The Culture of Hip Hop needs a web presence. Who owns HipHop.com or HipHop.org? Step up, muthaphukka! We need a portal that’s almost like a living museum (funded by grants and all). Maybe everyone in the culture who has stuff to sell could sell it there—b boy footage, graf art, old battle CDs, etc.
I just gotta say one more thing about Mr Magic and Marley Marl back all those years ago. They were filters, but not gatekeepers. The difference is that a filter separates the bad and the good and lets the good come through. A gatekeeper is a block that acts as a stop, to then decide who gets through and who doesn’t, usually for self-serving or arbitrary reasons. I am THANKFUL that Magic and Marley didn’t have a “pimp” mentality and start charging folks to get their music played, or act as the conduit for anyone looking to get a deal from a label—meaning, they very easily could have started their own label or production company and forced artists to sign to them if the artist wanted to gain exposure on their show. They did not do this and for that, I am eternally grateful. They would have single handedly killed the NY movement, and quite possibly Hip Hop, had they been different human beings.
The Culture of Hip Hop is a very different thing from the Urban Music Industry. They are almost opposites. The culture is made up of art forms (b boying and b girling; graffiti, DJing, and rapping), and is a life style, a way of thinking, a way of being—and it’s not for sale. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The urban music industry is the commoditization of the musical art form from hip hop culture—rap music, and it’s the sale and spread of that music.
This month’s column is dedicated to Mr Magic and Marley Marl. As those of you know, who are fans of the culture or who came up in the culture of Hip Hop, Mr Magic has just passed away from a heart attack. Magic and Marley had one of the first, if not THE first, hip hop radio show. It originally broadcast on Friday and Saturday nights on WBLS-FM in the early 80s.
As a young college freshman in Philadelphia, I was sucked into rap music because of the passion and the energy in the music. I’m sure that the angst and disenfranchisement in the lyrics spoke to me a bit as well. But no matter how or why, the music so thoroughly reached me that after I spent a weekend visiting friends in New York City in the mid-80s, I fell so deeply in love with a radio broadcast, that I went home, quit my job, packed up my shit, and moved to Manhattan the next week. In Philly, we had live broadcasts from clubs on the weekends, so I was hearing all of the new rap music from Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five, Sugarhill Gang, Newcleus, Run DMC, etc but I’d never experienced anything like The Rap Attack with Mr Magic and DJ Marley Marl. They had the newest new stuff. The artists would drop by the show. Their radio show and the clubs in NY were mecca for everything Hip Hop. I had to move! There was no negotiating. I wanted to live in the place that had THAT! In Philly, I had to wait til the following week to buy cassette tapes of the previous weekend’s radio show from NY, but I wanted to hear it as it happened in NYC.
The music is the culture. It’s the art form. And it was made out of love, not for a paycheck. Record labels existed, but originally the music was pressed for DJs and the super hardcore fans who had turntables and wanted the newest vinyl. When I lived in Philly, I went every Tuesday to buy the newest vinyl singles as they came out at Sound Of Market Street. All the Philly DJs were there buying their records too, but I didn’t care. I just wanted the newest shit! I bought battle tapes imported from the Bronx and Queens of crews’ rivalries in the clubs or even from them rhyming outside on the streets. I bought recordings of NY Park Jams. The movement was happening in NY, and Philly was getting it secondhand—after the fact. The energy was in the music. A generation began to embrace it. History tells us that the New York Times named it “Hip Hop.” At the time, I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted the new shit. I wanted to hear it, feel it, dress like it, and live in it. I became part of the culture of hip hop. I wasn’t part of the inner circle of Hip Hop culture that created it, I was the first surrounding tier—the consumer, the loyal fan. I was devoted. I wasn’t going anywhere.
Back then, there were a few “culture vultures” selling anything and everything hip hop to make a buck. I didn’t work in the music industry back then, I was just a hardcore fan. I was making money in corporate Amerikkka, but I was consuming everything Hip Hop. Even the license plate on my 1987 BMW said “RunDMC,” my favorite group at the time. Although I bought the car in NY, I had it plated in Delaware so I could get the RUNDMC tags (that vanity tag was already taken in NY, CT, PA, and NJ). I was addicted to the music and the culture.
And then a funny thing happened as the culture was embraced by more and more people. Capitalism kicked in full force. Enterprising entrepreneurs realized they could sell, and profit from, the music, the lifestyle, the parties, the clothing—everything. And an industry slowly sprang up around the culture of Hip Hop. The industry that sold the music became the urban music industry as sales became strong enough for an entire genre to be spawn from it. In almost all cases, the urban music industry was NOT made up of the people who were inside the culture. A couple of labels sprang from DJs (Tommy Boy, Big Beat, Profile, etc) who were privy to the club reaction to hip hop music, but for the most part, the business side sprung from entrepreneurs who had the money to press the vinyl, sign deals with the artists (usually oppressively unfair deals), and make a good size return on their investment. As hip hop gained popularity and numbers (fans and consumers), the major labels began to do deals with these small labels and to also sign their own artists directly. This is when I entered the music industry: 1992.
As I joined the urban music industry, I noticed that the industry folks rarely, if ever, attended any of the events within the culture. I remember being confused (and annoyed) in my early years of embracing the industry that the folks whom I looked up to in the industry (the Chris Lightys and Jessica Rosenblums) never went to the “underground” hip hop events. I rarely saw them at the Zulu Nation Anniversaries, or the Rock Steady Anniversaries, or the Lyricist Lounge events. They went to their own industry events, and supported the industry side (like the New Music Seminars, etc), but I didn’t understand why they never did the Hip Hop cultural events. I hadn’t yet realized that the two things were separate.
By the mid-90s, I was full blown immersed into the culture of Hip Hop and the music industry. The culture still embraced me because I wasn’t making any money from hip hop (therefore I wasn’t a “sell out”), and was fighting for hip hop on the industry side. The industry embraced me, but didn’t understand me, because they saw me fighting for something they could care less about (artists’ rights and a culture of people). The industry tolerated me only because they saw I had a direct pipeline and influence with most of the newer and up and coming artists. The labels no longer wanted the older hip hop artists such as Public Enemy and X-Clan, or the artists who created the early music in the culture (Grandmaster Flash, T-La Rock, Whodini, Run DMC, etc), they wanted the new generation that spoke to the profitable masses (Master P, Biggie Smalls, Twista, Ice Cube, Too Short, E-40, Tupac, etc). And the labels were solely about the money, not the culture. They invested heavily in artists with strong street buzzes and large pre-orders at retail stores, ignoring the artists who did not. They always claimed to be putting their money towards the projects that the fans would buy most.
In NY, and small pockets of the East Coast, Chicago, and parts of the West coast, the culture lived on and stayed strong. Some enterprising labels even created a sales niche around those areas selling what was termed “backpack rap” like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, etc. The Zulu Anniversary still had some value, the Rock Steady Anniversary was a central drawing event to pull us all together, and there were battles around the country like Scribble Jam and RapOlympics (my event where I lost over $10,000 that I had cash advanced on my Visa because the sponsors never paid). Lyricist Lounge went from a great NY monthly club event to an M-TV prime time TV show. But the culture was being further and further squeezed out of the economics of the music industry. Funding dried up for those events.
When artists requested dance crews like Rock Steady Crew in their videos, the labels balked on paying them to perform. When artists requested Show DJs or Turntablists for tours, the labels refused to include a budget for DJs. Because labels didn’t understand the culture, unless the artist had super leverage, they didn’t get what they needed unless they came out of their own pockets to fund it. Contrary to the image of rappers being wealthy, most were not, so they left the culture behind while they toured and greeted the M-TV generation.
The people who have been the most influential within the culture of Hip Hop, have not been well paid. In fact, few have been paid at all. And folks like Davey D, Christi Z Pabon, The Rock Steady Crew, most of the graf crews, artists such as KRS-1, many of the DJs, etc, have all been able to sustain a living, but are probably not wealthy by any means. Me either. Fortunately, I’ll tell you I never got into this for the money, and I hope (and suspect) they feel the same way too about their contributions to hip hop. Many of those who’ve been the most influential in the urban music business have been well paid for it—Puffy, Def Jam Records owners, The Source owners (original Source), Suge Knight, Jay Z, Easy E and his partner, Jimmy Iovine, Tom Silverman, etc. I’m not saying they’ve all retained their wealth, but many were very well paid for the influence they had on the part of hip hop that sold. Even on the fashion side: FuBu, Enyce, Cross Colors, Addidas, etc.
It’s hard to argue which has more value, the cultural side or the commercial side. It depends on what measurement one uses. If longevity is the measurement, the culture will be here forever, even when the consumers have moved on to some fad of the moment or just plain outgrown Hip Hop. If financial value is the measurement, then those with the highest sales win: Eminem, Nelly, Tupac, BIG, Jay Z, Master P, Juvenile, DMX, etc. I’d even venture to include Nike, Remy, Moet, Timberland, Hilfiger, etc.
Is Hip Hop dead or has it changed/morphed/grown into something that is unrecognizable to the earlier participants? Bear in mind that the artists coming up today were mostly not even alive when Hip Hop began. And since my generation of fans and the generation after us did not financially support Hip Hop with our spending (when the events lost sponsorship, many refused to pay $30 instead of $10 to gain entry, not to mention all the folks who thought they should get in free), it couldn’t possibly sustain. When the new artists study or meet the original founders and participants, a few are old in their thinking and their ways, somewhat bitter, and opinionated. Instead of going against what we don’t like, why not over support what we DO like? In both sales and in free downloads (stolen music) “gangsta rap” out sells and out downloads many of the intelligent rappers. Somebody is supporting that!
1985 was almost 25 years ago. The fans of Hip Hop from the 80s (LL Cool J, Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5, De La Soul, Leaders of The New School, EPMD, Run DMC, Public Enemy, NWA, Eric B & Rakim, etc era) who were 15 to 25 years old then, are now about to turn 50. Many have kids who are 15 to 25 years old now.
1995 was almost 15 years ago. The fans of Twista, No Limit Records, early Cash Money Records, Cypress Hill, Snoop and Dr Dre, Biggie, Naughty By Nature, Jay Z, Puffy, Capone and Norega, WuTang Clan, etc who were 15 to 25 during that decade are now in their 30s and early 40s.
Today’s music fans are a mish mosh of folks who like Jeezy, and Lil Wayne, to the fans of Soulja Boy and The New Boyz, to the more intelligent rap of Kanye and Drake—and everything in between. Today’s fans are still 15 to 25. They are our kids and we can’t expect them to like what we like. Jay Z is turning 40 at the end of this year. He is the age of the current rap fan’s Dad.
Every now and again we get someone who came up through the culture of Hip Hop who has gone on to experience success in the urban music industry. This list is very subjective, depending on whose point of view it is coming from. But Eminem and Jay Z both came up through the lyrical world of Hip Hop to move on to sell large numbers. I could argue that Black Eyed Peas did as well, but most would say that their music is pure pop, not Hip Hop. I guess many would argue that about Em, as well, since he often raps about things that are traditionally considered outside of the Hip Hop community.
I remember when I first realized that Hip Hop Culture and the music industry would never come together. I was at a conference at University of Wisconsin at Madison in the late 90s that turned into a bash rap music session. The argument was basically that anything that was currently selling was considered “garbage,” and everything that was considered “worthy” music to be called Hip Hop was being under promoted and under marketed. Some great points were being made that day—but no one from the industry side was there. An entire three day event was spent bitching about something that no one in attendance could change, or wanted to put themselves into a position to change. I left disgruntled and frustrated with the Hip Hop purists, never to return to one of their events.
This reminded me of when I first started Rap Coalition. Many treated me as if I was breaking some sort of unwritten law being a white woman coming into the Black community, and “condescending” to help young Black males (a useless female “activist” actually attacked me publicly for my commitment to helping the rap artist community and called my role condescending). Yet every time I met with that type of resistance, I offered to turn over my rolodex, all of my files, and work to whomever wanted to fill my shoes and do the work. I even offered to stay on and train them. It was never about me, white, or Black…it was about getting the work done, and if no one else wanted to do it, I was glad it was me who was willing. I never had any takers. I’ve never gotten a check yet from Rap Coalition, and I imagine if I mentioned that they’d be doing all this work for free, they’d run even further in the opposite direction. This is the way I saw the Hip Hop purists at the events like the one in Madison. Willing to complain, but not willing to change it by positive action on their own part. If you don’t like the way things are going, get up and change them. If we lost control of Hip Hop we either have to stand up and take it back, or let it go. Complaining doesn’t really help.
You can’t buy or sell a culture. You can buy and sell the trinkets that are synonymous with a culture or movement (the music, the clothes, the style, the art, etc). And the urban music industry has proven that quite well. The music is still considered rap music, but we are so far away from where Hip Hop started that’s it’s hard for me to even classify most of it as part of the culture. But since I grew with it and changed with it as I came up through it, I’m still able to embrace it and understand what it’s become. I can’t imagine Kool Herc would have ever envisioned a Young Jeezy rapping about flipping birds for $17,500 or the GLS Boyz doing the Stanky Leg back when Herk first began plugging his system into the park lightpoles. Hip Hop was born out of frustration and reaction by the disenfranchised to what was happening in the 70s when it began. Hip Hop was born out of the anti-disco sentiment and made by using other people’s music and breakbeats. It has come a long way. But never has Hip Hop Culture evolved into the Urban Music Industry. One is a culture while the other is a financial gain for those who have learned how to pimp it instead of adding to it artistically.
I mean “pimp it” in a good way…if that’s possible. An entire generation has grown from Hip Hop. I am thankful that many people built companies and secured jobs who would have never had a place in the music business if it wasn’t for Hip Hop. I’m thankful that a small handful of our artists have ownership of their own music and masters. I’m thankful for a generation who learned to kick in doors and make a place for ourselves instead of waiting to be offered an open door and a place at the table. And I’m thankful that the children of our elite will be educated and able to live right next to Muffy and Biff and summer at the Hamptons, if indeed that’s how they choose to live their lives.
I think we all still have a lot of work to do, and some serious changes still need to be made. We have a generation of artists coming up with no guidance and with teams that have no industry experience or knowledge. The labels are focused solely on 360 Deals at a time when labels are dinosaurs and almost completely unnecessary (except for artists without funding or who are unable to find investors). And most importantly, rap music is seen as the new “come up,” a “legal dope game”—we have too many producers and artists who are coming into this with limited talent, no skills, no experience, and no value to add.
If we want to keep the Culture of Hip Hop alive and evolving, we’re going to need to share it and teach it. It will become whatever we let it become. The music industry seems to be going more independent and more viral (which levels the playing field). As long as there is one person wanting to buy rap music, there will be at least one making it. The Culture of Hip Hop needs a web presence. Who owns HipHop.com or HipHop.org? Step up, muthaphukka! We need a portal that’s almost like a living museum (funded by grants and all). Maybe everyone in the culture who has stuff to sell could sell it there—b boy footage, graf art, old battle CDs, etc.
I just gotta say one more thing about Mr Magic and Marley Marl back all those years ago. They were filters, but not gatekeepers. The difference is that a filter separates the bad and the good and lets the good come through. A gatekeeper is a block that acts as a stop, to then decide who gets through and who doesn’t, usually for self-serving or arbitrary reasons. I am THANKFUL that Magic and Marley didn’t have a “pimp” mentality and start charging folks to get their music played, or act as the conduit for anyone looking to get a deal from a label—meaning, they very easily could have started their own label or production company and forced artists to sign to them if the artist wanted to gain exposure on their show. They did not do this and for that, I am eternally grateful. They would have single handedly killed the NY movement, and quite possibly Hip Hop, had they been different human beings.
Monday, September 14, 2009
A Successful Sports Label
By Wendy Day (www.IndieLabelBuilder.com)
Why is it that no one has built a successful record label owned by an athlete? I want to build the first successful independent rap record label owned by a sports figure!!! Now, I don’t mean an athlete who raps….I mean an athlete who has business sense and wants to be in the music business. And it would be an added plus if he or she was looking to run the label after retiring from sports, but not mandatory.
When I first moved to Atlanta three years ago, I was interviewed for ESPN.com. I was asked why I thought no sports figure had ever succeeded in starting an urban record label even though so many had tried. I was shocked by the long list of athletes who’d tried and failed. Millions and millions of dollars had been wasted. Last month, that same journalist called me again. Although he has since moved on to Bloomberg TV from ESPN, three years had passed and he was following up to see if any athletes had come into the business and been successful. Not one has been successful. This bothered me immensely, and now I am on a mission to find an athlete with the right mindset to win big in this industry.
Still, to this day, there has not been a successful label owned by a sports figure. I’ve danced around a tiny bit over the past 18 years of my career with Dennis Scott, Nick Van Exel, Jamal Tinsley, Quentin Groves, and even Roy Jones, Jr. I spoke briefly with Winky Wright a few years ago, who eventually chose Damon Dash to help his start his label—neither of them have labels now. I’ve spoken with sports agents who had no interest in their athletes owning record labels, so they sabotaged them to fail either in the negotiations or the initial stages of them starting labels (I won’t work with those who have disinterested or bullshit agents—it’s impossible to win, so I am proud to say I’ve never been part of the failed process). But I’ve yet to find the perfect athlete with the right mindset, the proper funding, and great music. And of course, the will to win in this industry.
I’ve watched sports guys hire industry people who aren’t qualified to help them start labels, either because they’ve never done it or because they run competing labels themselves. Some fall into both categories, sadly. I have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on false starts for artists and on elaborate parties, neither of which have anything to do with selling records. Building hype is a wonderful thing, but isn’t it better to build hype from the grind and the great music than for throwing parties? This is a b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s! I’ve watched MLB baseball players waste millions of dollars because they had the wrong staff in place. I’ve seen NBA super stars lose millions on the wrong artist and waste hundreds of thousands of dollars trusting the wrong consultants (please sue them!!) especially regarding radio spins. I’ve seen NFL players spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on elaborate parties to never even put out an artist or recoup any of the spending.
To put out a rap record successfully, it takes great music, artists who work hard, an experienced plan put together by someone with experience and connections and a successful track record in putting out music. It also takes proper funding—to put out a rap act in today’s economy, an investment of about half a million dollars per release is necessary…on the low end. I’ve done it for non-athletes with $300,000 but every penny of the income gets recycled back into the business to keep it running.
To break an act, you need excellent music…not just good music, but great music. It needs to start breaking at the street and club level and be worked in a regional area until radio is ready to embrace it. It then needs to be worked at radio by an experienced independent radio promoter who can take it to the next level. The artists need to get out on the road and stay on the road as long as possible going from town to town and city to city, working their record. The indie label needs great, legitimate distribution that has a hard working sales staff to get the record into stores and onto the internet for legal downloads-- and successfully collect the money after the music sells from the stores and websites. I’m making it all sound easy and effortless but it’s not. It’s hard work, and takes experience, connections, favors, proper funding, relationships, and time.
As I analyze the sports labels that have come before, I have seen a large amount of mistakes. This advice applies to all labels, but especially to sports labels since the goal of MANY people in this industry is to separate wealthy people from their money. This attitude has always surprised me because it is just as much work to make money by selling music as it takes to scam somebody. So why jack someone out of money when you can just do the work and be successful?
Have GREAT Music and Talented, Hard-Working Artists
The biggest mistake I see is in the quality of music. This is also the #1 reason that I turn down consulting work with labels—not just athletes, but everyone. This is a business first and foremost! Treat it as such. When you are running a real business, you choose the best artists with the most commercially viable music you can find. You don’t fund your son, your cousins, your niece, or your neighbors, unless they are worthy of that investment. Artists must have talent, song writing skills, and a work ethic that won’t quit. Do NOT listen to the artist or the people surrounding you for advice when determining if an artist has the right stuff or not. Listen to professionals (DJs, retail store owners, fans, bloggers, etc). If your neighbor can sing circles around Whitney Houston, that might be a good funding choice. A regional rap group that has found a way to press up their own CD and is already selling independently on the web and in their local area might also be a good choice for funding. But your wack ass nephew who can’t rhyme or make songs as well as Jay Z is NOT a great choice for backing, unless your goal is to write off the money you will spend as a loss. Of course, you’ll make your family happy by working with your nephew-- until the project fails.
In terms of artist work ethic, that goes a very long way. Given a choice between a super lazy artist with supreme talent, and one with less talent but a get-up-and-go work ethic, I’ll take the one with work ethic any day. But they can’t be wack! They must have talent if you plan to sell music. On a scale of 1 to 10, the artists need to be a level 8, 9, or 10 in talent, as judged by others outside of your circle. On a work ethic scale, they need to be 9 or 10 as evidenced by their current work level. An artist sitting around waiting to be “discovered” is a bigger risk than an artist who is attending conventions and events, performing at the local talent shows, or even trying to get their music out there to the world via the internet or pressing CDs a few at a time and selling them.
Learn The Game Before Jumping In
The second biggest mistake I see in athletes coming into the music business is the lack of knowledge and research about the business. Just like you didn’t get into sports without learning the game and the other players, you shouldn’t come into the music world cold. Learn how the industry works and who the key players are. That doesn’t mean the key players won’t fuck you out of money, but it does mean that you’ll have an understanding of who is who. Once you know who’s who, you can start infiltrating and asking around about them. If many of the same people say the same things, it’s most likely accurate. If you want to build a successful company, seek guidance from those who’ve done it before. But if they already own their own labels, they may not be the best person to help you start yours. Do NOT be blinded by fame or hype—99% of what you see in this industry is not real.
When you hire someone to run your business for you, choose the best GM (General Manager) that you can find. Find someone who has run other labels successfully (preferably more than one) and who knows what they are doing. Google them, ask for references, and check their references. The best people can put you on the phone with their last 3 or 4 clients so you can ask questions.
This business isn’t a scientific business, meaning that we go on emotions and feelings a lot. If you aren’t a good judge of other people, DO have someone who is good at that help you out. Almost everyone who has complained about losing money was able to mention afterwards something about the person that made them wonder if he or she was shady. If you are thinking it, there’s probably a good reason for it. Do more research on them. And never, never, never hire your boy/cousin/friend/trusted sports advisor to run your label for you. This is a specialized business that requires connections, experience, knowledge that’s specific and hard to find, with favors from industry insiders in order to win.
Keep Your Fucking Mouth Shut
Because of those who’ve come before you and failed, it is NOT to your advantage to broadcast to the world that you are an athlete coming into the music business. The sharks and vultures who want to separate money from the wealthy will hone in on you like a sailor on shore leave looking for a scantily clad hooker. And the true professionals in the industry will immediately assume you’ll fail as all others have, and avoid working with you to avoid a failure on their resume. But here’s the kicker—no one will admit this to you, they will either just give you excuses of being too busy and bow out, or tell you what you want to hear while they take your money and not deliver (as history has shown time and time again). It is best to move around in silence until you’ve started to experience some success with your label and then announce to the world that it’s a label owned by an athlete. In this situation, silence is golden!
There is only one other way to do this where people already know you are a sports guy about to start a label….do it SUPER publicly. Secure a reality show and put a giant spotlight on you and your project. This will scare away the roaches and snakes (people who want to steal from you will want to do so cloaked in darkness, not with cameras rolling on national TV). The downside of this idea is that it will attract to you people who are more driven by fame rather than the true professionals who can help your label succeed. The trick is to find balance. You, as the owner of the label, need to step up in front of the camera and let those behind the scenes do their thing. No one wants to fail live in front of millions of viewers, which will scare away the scammers, but it may also scare away the key professionals you need, as well. Yep, balance is key!
My plan is to set up a label for a sports figure, but only to inform folks on a need to know basis. The distributor and artists will need to know where the funding is coming from, but the fans and consumers won’t need to know until the label is chugging along successfully. Let’s face facts, no one cared who owned Death Row, RocAFella, or Bad Boy until their artists were successful. If a reality show can help add positive benefit to the success of the artists, then we will figure out a way to do so effectively.
Do NOT Be The Artist
I can’t believe I even need to say this. If you are an athlete, do not try to sing or rap. Even if you have incredible talent, you will not be taken seriously. Rappers don’t try to professionally play ball (yeah, I saw Master P try), box, golf, or play tennis for the same credibility reasons. Rap is especially not an arena where gimmicks are accepted. We don’t embrace actors who rap (Drake may be the first to change this thinking), athletes who rap, or game show winners who rap—yes, I’m talking about “America Has Talent” and “American Idol.” These may all be fine for the mainstream masses, but it hasn’t translated into the rap marketplace yet. Thank God.
If You’re Going To Do This, Do It Right
This is a business, and like any business it takes proper funding to build your company. If you think this is an arena where you can come in with a small investment and win big, you are sadly mistaken. If you plan on investing less than $100,000 in a rap artist (the barre is even higher for a singer), save your money. You will absolutely end up dumping more money into your company later to save your initial investment, but you will do so after scaring away the true professionals who could have helped you if your budget was realistic in the beginning. Look at this logically, you will spend at least $50,000 to secure radio regionally (and this is a MINIMUM budget). Most singles take $50,000 to $100,000 to break regionally at radio. That’s just one single. A promo tour costs about $15,000 to $25,000 for a thirty day run. And thirty days on the road is not enough to support the release of an established artist, let alone break a new unknown artist. Add to these costs marketing, promotion, publicity, advertising, video costs, touring, internet promotions, street teams, etc.
If you are smart, you will end up paying a consultant or a great GM $50,000 to $150,000 to guide you in these treacherous shark infested waters, either monthly or in a single lump sum. A great consultant will end up saving you far more than you spend on him or her, but the point is that there is a cost associated with this. The bottom line is that if someone is offering you a great deal to start a label, or says they can do this with a minimal investment on your part, do more research. It is highly unlikely! It is as unlikely as you being able to purchase a brand new Bentley convertible, loaded, for $30,000. It just doesn’t happen….something isn’t right. If you want a Bentley, you will pay for a Bentley. But at least with a label, you’ll get a return on the investment. We hope.
Even if your goal is not to start a label, but to build an artist to the point where a major label will step in and offer you a deal, you still will need more than $100,000 in investment. As you do your research on this industry, you will find that putting out an artist regionally and selling CDs and downloads IS the best way to attract a larger deal from a major that will lead to success. Meanwhile, you still need to start with a realistic investment to properly fund your goals.
The bad business I have seen in this industry is heart breaking. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that there has never been a successful athlete owned label, but it does. I’ve seen athletes higher party promoters to help them start their labels, spend upwards of $100,000 on parties, only to end up doing joint ventures with their artists at a bigger label—do you realize you just paid $100k to give up half of your artist? I’ve seen NBA All-Stars lose millions in promoting family members or themselves as rappers, only to sell less than 5,000 CDs and downloads. Even with a $500,000 budget, that’s a cost per CD of $100 to make a $6 to $8 return. Was it worth it?
This industry isn’t difficult. Selling music is fun and rewarding when you know what you are doing or guided by the right, legitimate people. Not everyone who separates you from your money means to jerk you—some just promise more than they can deliver. But at the end of the day, this is a business and we all need to treat it as such. My goal is to find an athlete who wants to win in this business, and until I find the right one, I’m going to keep searching. I had a meeting last week that was VERY promising. I met with a sports figure who has the same vision and work ethic as me. We’re both driven by success instead of money, and the artists are tight. So we’ll see what happens…. Maybe we’ll even build the label publicly to show you how it’s done!!
Why is it that no one has built a successful record label owned by an athlete? I want to build the first successful independent rap record label owned by a sports figure!!! Now, I don’t mean an athlete who raps….I mean an athlete who has business sense and wants to be in the music business. And it would be an added plus if he or she was looking to run the label after retiring from sports, but not mandatory.
When I first moved to Atlanta three years ago, I was interviewed for ESPN.com. I was asked why I thought no sports figure had ever succeeded in starting an urban record label even though so many had tried. I was shocked by the long list of athletes who’d tried and failed. Millions and millions of dollars had been wasted. Last month, that same journalist called me again. Although he has since moved on to Bloomberg TV from ESPN, three years had passed and he was following up to see if any athletes had come into the business and been successful. Not one has been successful. This bothered me immensely, and now I am on a mission to find an athlete with the right mindset to win big in this industry.
Still, to this day, there has not been a successful label owned by a sports figure. I’ve danced around a tiny bit over the past 18 years of my career with Dennis Scott, Nick Van Exel, Jamal Tinsley, Quentin Groves, and even Roy Jones, Jr. I spoke briefly with Winky Wright a few years ago, who eventually chose Damon Dash to help his start his label—neither of them have labels now. I’ve spoken with sports agents who had no interest in their athletes owning record labels, so they sabotaged them to fail either in the negotiations or the initial stages of them starting labels (I won’t work with those who have disinterested or bullshit agents—it’s impossible to win, so I am proud to say I’ve never been part of the failed process). But I’ve yet to find the perfect athlete with the right mindset, the proper funding, and great music. And of course, the will to win in this industry.
I’ve watched sports guys hire industry people who aren’t qualified to help them start labels, either because they’ve never done it or because they run competing labels themselves. Some fall into both categories, sadly. I have seen hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted on false starts for artists and on elaborate parties, neither of which have anything to do with selling records. Building hype is a wonderful thing, but isn’t it better to build hype from the grind and the great music than for throwing parties? This is a b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s! I’ve watched MLB baseball players waste millions of dollars because they had the wrong staff in place. I’ve seen NBA super stars lose millions on the wrong artist and waste hundreds of thousands of dollars trusting the wrong consultants (please sue them!!) especially regarding radio spins. I’ve seen NFL players spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on elaborate parties to never even put out an artist or recoup any of the spending.
To put out a rap record successfully, it takes great music, artists who work hard, an experienced plan put together by someone with experience and connections and a successful track record in putting out music. It also takes proper funding—to put out a rap act in today’s economy, an investment of about half a million dollars per release is necessary…on the low end. I’ve done it for non-athletes with $300,000 but every penny of the income gets recycled back into the business to keep it running.
To break an act, you need excellent music…not just good music, but great music. It needs to start breaking at the street and club level and be worked in a regional area until radio is ready to embrace it. It then needs to be worked at radio by an experienced independent radio promoter who can take it to the next level. The artists need to get out on the road and stay on the road as long as possible going from town to town and city to city, working their record. The indie label needs great, legitimate distribution that has a hard working sales staff to get the record into stores and onto the internet for legal downloads-- and successfully collect the money after the music sells from the stores and websites. I’m making it all sound easy and effortless but it’s not. It’s hard work, and takes experience, connections, favors, proper funding, relationships, and time.
As I analyze the sports labels that have come before, I have seen a large amount of mistakes. This advice applies to all labels, but especially to sports labels since the goal of MANY people in this industry is to separate wealthy people from their money. This attitude has always surprised me because it is just as much work to make money by selling music as it takes to scam somebody. So why jack someone out of money when you can just do the work and be successful?
Have GREAT Music and Talented, Hard-Working Artists
The biggest mistake I see is in the quality of music. This is also the #1 reason that I turn down consulting work with labels—not just athletes, but everyone. This is a business first and foremost! Treat it as such. When you are running a real business, you choose the best artists with the most commercially viable music you can find. You don’t fund your son, your cousins, your niece, or your neighbors, unless they are worthy of that investment. Artists must have talent, song writing skills, and a work ethic that won’t quit. Do NOT listen to the artist or the people surrounding you for advice when determining if an artist has the right stuff or not. Listen to professionals (DJs, retail store owners, fans, bloggers, etc). If your neighbor can sing circles around Whitney Houston, that might be a good funding choice. A regional rap group that has found a way to press up their own CD and is already selling independently on the web and in their local area might also be a good choice for funding. But your wack ass nephew who can’t rhyme or make songs as well as Jay Z is NOT a great choice for backing, unless your goal is to write off the money you will spend as a loss. Of course, you’ll make your family happy by working with your nephew-- until the project fails.
In terms of artist work ethic, that goes a very long way. Given a choice between a super lazy artist with supreme talent, and one with less talent but a get-up-and-go work ethic, I’ll take the one with work ethic any day. But they can’t be wack! They must have talent if you plan to sell music. On a scale of 1 to 10, the artists need to be a level 8, 9, or 10 in talent, as judged by others outside of your circle. On a work ethic scale, they need to be 9 or 10 as evidenced by their current work level. An artist sitting around waiting to be “discovered” is a bigger risk than an artist who is attending conventions and events, performing at the local talent shows, or even trying to get their music out there to the world via the internet or pressing CDs a few at a time and selling them.
Learn The Game Before Jumping In
The second biggest mistake I see in athletes coming into the music business is the lack of knowledge and research about the business. Just like you didn’t get into sports without learning the game and the other players, you shouldn’t come into the music world cold. Learn how the industry works and who the key players are. That doesn’t mean the key players won’t fuck you out of money, but it does mean that you’ll have an understanding of who is who. Once you know who’s who, you can start infiltrating and asking around about them. If many of the same people say the same things, it’s most likely accurate. If you want to build a successful company, seek guidance from those who’ve done it before. But if they already own their own labels, they may not be the best person to help you start yours. Do NOT be blinded by fame or hype—99% of what you see in this industry is not real.
When you hire someone to run your business for you, choose the best GM (General Manager) that you can find. Find someone who has run other labels successfully (preferably more than one) and who knows what they are doing. Google them, ask for references, and check their references. The best people can put you on the phone with their last 3 or 4 clients so you can ask questions.
This business isn’t a scientific business, meaning that we go on emotions and feelings a lot. If you aren’t a good judge of other people, DO have someone who is good at that help you out. Almost everyone who has complained about losing money was able to mention afterwards something about the person that made them wonder if he or she was shady. If you are thinking it, there’s probably a good reason for it. Do more research on them. And never, never, never hire your boy/cousin/friend/trusted sports advisor to run your label for you. This is a specialized business that requires connections, experience, knowledge that’s specific and hard to find, with favors from industry insiders in order to win.
Keep Your Fucking Mouth Shut
Because of those who’ve come before you and failed, it is NOT to your advantage to broadcast to the world that you are an athlete coming into the music business. The sharks and vultures who want to separate money from the wealthy will hone in on you like a sailor on shore leave looking for a scantily clad hooker. And the true professionals in the industry will immediately assume you’ll fail as all others have, and avoid working with you to avoid a failure on their resume. But here’s the kicker—no one will admit this to you, they will either just give you excuses of being too busy and bow out, or tell you what you want to hear while they take your money and not deliver (as history has shown time and time again). It is best to move around in silence until you’ve started to experience some success with your label and then announce to the world that it’s a label owned by an athlete. In this situation, silence is golden!
There is only one other way to do this where people already know you are a sports guy about to start a label….do it SUPER publicly. Secure a reality show and put a giant spotlight on you and your project. This will scare away the roaches and snakes (people who want to steal from you will want to do so cloaked in darkness, not with cameras rolling on national TV). The downside of this idea is that it will attract to you people who are more driven by fame rather than the true professionals who can help your label succeed. The trick is to find balance. You, as the owner of the label, need to step up in front of the camera and let those behind the scenes do their thing. No one wants to fail live in front of millions of viewers, which will scare away the scammers, but it may also scare away the key professionals you need, as well. Yep, balance is key!
My plan is to set up a label for a sports figure, but only to inform folks on a need to know basis. The distributor and artists will need to know where the funding is coming from, but the fans and consumers won’t need to know until the label is chugging along successfully. Let’s face facts, no one cared who owned Death Row, RocAFella, or Bad Boy until their artists were successful. If a reality show can help add positive benefit to the success of the artists, then we will figure out a way to do so effectively.
Do NOT Be The Artist
I can’t believe I even need to say this. If you are an athlete, do not try to sing or rap. Even if you have incredible talent, you will not be taken seriously. Rappers don’t try to professionally play ball (yeah, I saw Master P try), box, golf, or play tennis for the same credibility reasons. Rap is especially not an arena where gimmicks are accepted. We don’t embrace actors who rap (Drake may be the first to change this thinking), athletes who rap, or game show winners who rap—yes, I’m talking about “America Has Talent” and “American Idol.” These may all be fine for the mainstream masses, but it hasn’t translated into the rap marketplace yet. Thank God.
If You’re Going To Do This, Do It Right
This is a business, and like any business it takes proper funding to build your company. If you think this is an arena where you can come in with a small investment and win big, you are sadly mistaken. If you plan on investing less than $100,000 in a rap artist (the barre is even higher for a singer), save your money. You will absolutely end up dumping more money into your company later to save your initial investment, but you will do so after scaring away the true professionals who could have helped you if your budget was realistic in the beginning. Look at this logically, you will spend at least $50,000 to secure radio regionally (and this is a MINIMUM budget). Most singles take $50,000 to $100,000 to break regionally at radio. That’s just one single. A promo tour costs about $15,000 to $25,000 for a thirty day run. And thirty days on the road is not enough to support the release of an established artist, let alone break a new unknown artist. Add to these costs marketing, promotion, publicity, advertising, video costs, touring, internet promotions, street teams, etc.
If you are smart, you will end up paying a consultant or a great GM $50,000 to $150,000 to guide you in these treacherous shark infested waters, either monthly or in a single lump sum. A great consultant will end up saving you far more than you spend on him or her, but the point is that there is a cost associated with this. The bottom line is that if someone is offering you a great deal to start a label, or says they can do this with a minimal investment on your part, do more research. It is highly unlikely! It is as unlikely as you being able to purchase a brand new Bentley convertible, loaded, for $30,000. It just doesn’t happen….something isn’t right. If you want a Bentley, you will pay for a Bentley. But at least with a label, you’ll get a return on the investment. We hope.
Even if your goal is not to start a label, but to build an artist to the point where a major label will step in and offer you a deal, you still will need more than $100,000 in investment. As you do your research on this industry, you will find that putting out an artist regionally and selling CDs and downloads IS the best way to attract a larger deal from a major that will lead to success. Meanwhile, you still need to start with a realistic investment to properly fund your goals.
The bad business I have seen in this industry is heart breaking. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that there has never been a successful athlete owned label, but it does. I’ve seen athletes higher party promoters to help them start their labels, spend upwards of $100,000 on parties, only to end up doing joint ventures with their artists at a bigger label—do you realize you just paid $100k to give up half of your artist? I’ve seen NBA All-Stars lose millions in promoting family members or themselves as rappers, only to sell less than 5,000 CDs and downloads. Even with a $500,000 budget, that’s a cost per CD of $100 to make a $6 to $8 return. Was it worth it?
This industry isn’t difficult. Selling music is fun and rewarding when you know what you are doing or guided by the right, legitimate people. Not everyone who separates you from your money means to jerk you—some just promise more than they can deliver. But at the end of the day, this is a business and we all need to treat it as such. My goal is to find an athlete who wants to win in this business, and until I find the right one, I’m going to keep searching. I had a meeting last week that was VERY promising. I met with a sports figure who has the same vision and work ethic as me. We’re both driven by success instead of money, and the artists are tight. So we’ll see what happens…. Maybe we’ll even build the label publicly to show you how it’s done!!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
What I’ve Learned From The Music Business
By, Wendy Day (www.WendyDay.com)
I am maaaad late with my column this month. And I have no good excuse. I’ve been real busy with Young Buck, so I was going to blame it on him, but it wasn’t his fault at all. But it sounds good, and he loves me enough to take one for me, so I’ll just blame it on him anyway. My column is late this month because of Young Buck. LOL. And that kind of leads right in to my topic this month: what I’ve learned from being in the music business...(in no particular order, which is why they aren’t numbered):
IT’S NEVER THE ARTISTS’ FAULT I learned very early in my career that the artist can never be the bad guy. Fans are so fickle, and labels are so political, that if the artist even appears to be an asshole or the “bad guy,” that he or she can lose fans or support from the label. It’s important inside the label for the artist to always be loved and adored, no matter what. People naturally take sides and if they are against you, it can make your life difficult, especially if you depend on them to work your project or buy your record. My earliest example of this was KRS-1 and Tribe Called Quest. Kris managed himself and therefore had to argue with the label a lot to get things done. Tribe was managed by Chris Lighty and no matter how annoyed the label got with Lighty, they still loved the group. Sometimes managers have to get aggressive with labels to get them to do what’s necessary. But an artist never should. The artist should always be the good guy and always loved….even if he or she is the biggest asshole on the planet.
PEOPLE RARELY CAN DO WHAT THEY SAY THEY CAN DO This is one of those negative lessons I learned almost right away. Everyone says they can do what needs to be done, but the reality of that is that very few can deliver what they promise. This makes those precious few people who are good at what they do, stand out, but it’s none the less aggravating to be expecting a job to get done, only to find out that it has been horribly botched or not done at all. Most people who say they can get you radio spins really can’t! Many street teams that say they blitz the streets or own the streets, don’t. And can’t! Some labels that promise to make artists stars, often shelve them, or kill their careers (accidently or on purpose, I’m not sure which)! Most DJs who say they can and do break records, don’t, won’t, and/or can’t! In this industry, it is VERY important to check out everyone’s references. I think this is because we have no real barrier to entry—meaning anyone can come into the music business and say they are a professional and that they can get the job done! They can’t!
HATERS ARE EVERYWHERE I know as you are reading this you are co-signing it, so I won’t go into detail. But here’s a really happy, positive thought regarding haters. They don’t last long! Everyone who is building something positive or who is successful, has people wishing them ill and trying to hold them back. I’ve been disproportionately lucky (or possibly blind), because I’ve only had a handful of true haters in my career that have actually gotten to me (and by gotten to me, I mean made me stronger). Of those 4 or 5 haters, 3 are no longer in the industry and the others aren’t relevant. They are still bubbling around trying to eek out a living in this industry, but they aren’t accomplishing anything, and are having a terrible time making money in this economy. Poetic justice? Karma? You decide. Unless you’re a hater…
IT’S A BUSINESS, NOT A CULTURE Cultures aren’t for sale. So the very first day some enterprising young rapper decided to try to get paid for his or her artform, it became a business. The day some rapper decided to attach a price tag to his or her songs, it no longer was about skill on the mic, but about sales in the stores. What people are willing to buy has nothing to do with the level of talent an artist possesses. Every now and again we get lucky and the two meet: The Fugees, Whitney Houston, Drake, Mary J Blige, Jay Z (look at me giving Hova props! There is hope for me!!), and many others… Because it’s a business, money became more important in the equation than the talent, and therefore the talent waned. Labels began pushing what would sell, not what would advance the culture. We did this to ourselves (those of us who know better). When a producer made a beat and sold it to a label or artist in order to get paid, it became a business—and now it’s an over saturated business. Everyone seems to be a rapper or a producer now. The market went from having a talent that was exclusive to selling a gimmick that’s over saturated by any means necessary. Fans went from buying CDs to making their own!
LABELS DON’T BUILD ARTISTS’ CAREERS Record labels exist to sell music. Period. And most recently they exist to share in all revenue streams that exist for artists. They feel a sense of entitlement because they are investing the money in whatever project they deem worthy.
IF YOU DON’T LEARN HOW THE GAME WORKS, YOU WILL GET JERKED or, better put GREED IS KING The thing about the music industry is that when the money comes, it comes very fast and in large amounts (although the amounts aren’t as large as they once were), and most often it comes to those with the control and access to the marketplace. Anyone who puts up $750,000 to a Million dollars in funding to sell $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 of CDs or downloads, is a person who likes making money. And since the return on investment is so large in this industry—not to mention that most expenses are recoupable from the artists’ share of the income, this industry attracts a disproportionately large amount of greedy people, people who love money, and fuck boys (people who will purposely jerk you out of your money). So, it’s key that you learn how it all works, what’s fair and acceptable, and how to reduce your risk of becoming one of the many, many, many, many, many casualties of this industry. There are many books, loads of free websites, seminars, webinars, etc to educate artists and industry folks. I, long ago, stopped feeling sorry for those who got jerked because the resources exist today to educate yourself. The fact that you haven’t taken the time to do so makes you look greedy--in too big a hurry to make money or get famous, that taking time to learn was secondary, and/or ignorant (too stupid to know the importance of learning). Yeah, I know that was harsh, which means you probably needed to hear it.
EVERYTHING CHANGES Just as you learn the rules and which ones you can and can’t break, everything changes. What was once an industry of vinyl, became an industry based on cassette and 8-track sales, then CD sales, and now downloads. What was once an industry where authenticity and realism mattered, has become an industry where a hit record solves all ills. An R&B artist allegedly pees on a minor on video and a hit record revives his career. A top selling rapper takes a drug kingpin’s name, is exposed as a Corrections Officer, lies about it, then admits it, and a hit record keeps him a top selling rapper. An environment where rappers couldn’t endorse a product without being seen as a sell out has changed into an environment where the standard artist kit automatically comes with a CD, a bad film performance, a reality TV show (the more embarrassing the better), a shoe deal, a liquor endorsement and one’s own clothing line. And if you’re publicly beefing with another artist, or fucking another artist, you get extra props. Rappers used to come together to fight the power, dis unfair police tactics, speak out on apartheid in South Africa, etc. Today, rappers fight each other over dumb shit. They can’t even come together to shut down stuff that’s bad for all of them, or outside forces attacking them. Nah, better for one has-been rapper to get press dissing or fighting another irrelevant rapper, or rappers who built careers on mixed tapes and mixed CDs to bitch about DJs making too much money with mixed CDs now that they are “stars!” We’ve become the WWE…
MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS FROM WITHIN Because there is an element of luck that exists in this business, and because fame is fleeting, it’s important to measure success based on your own idea of success. If you compare yourself to others’ wealth, or others’ sales, or others’ features and tour schedules, you’ll always be unhappy. This is the one industry where people always seem to be in the next man’s pocket trying to figure out how much money he or she is making, or has earned. It’s crazy. There will always be people who are richer, smarter, happier, more famous, better connected, thinner, better looking, etc. So march to your own drummer, and figure out what success means to you personally. And then go achieve that! For the record, if your goal is to be “richer” than Puffy or Russell Simmons, and you don’t exactly know how rich they are, you’ve already failed because you’re chasing an intangible goal. And that room mate who was interning at M-TV the same time you were interning at the label, who now manages the #1 artist in the world? A lot of that was luck and right time, right place. Stop beating yourself up over it. Be the best at what YOU are doing, and follow YOUR goals.
GOLD DIGGERS COME IN BOTH SEXES Maybe I should have addressed this one when I talked about greed, but for some reason, this industry attracts people who want money. And it attracts an inordinate amount of people who want money but who don’t want to put in any time or effort for it. So there are a ton of women and men who are in play with the sole goal of separating you from some of your money. Being human beings who are susceptible to a kind word, a nice gesture, a fat ass, or the thrill of hot sex, we sometimes get sucked in to people and places that aren’t good for us. A person who really cares for you does NOT care about your money, how you look, where you live, or what you own. If you do not care whether or not a hot female, or a sexy male is only with you because of what you own, I’d like to point out that there are many others who have way more of whatever it is that you are offering. So if you lose him or her, you have no right to complain. You were shallow enough to buy a big chain or an expensive car to attract a date…don’t be pissed off when that no longer keeps the date by your side.
SEX. AND DRUGS, AND ROCK AND ROLL The music industry attracts a large amount of people who enjoy music, getting high, and fucking. Don’t know why. Just know that it exists. I have been able to escape it (somewhat LOL) in my 18 years in the industry, but it was not easy. Also, in rap, add VIOLENCE to that list. It happens. Don’t be caught up in some bullshit that isn’t yours.
IT’S HARD TO GET PAID EVENTHOUGH YOU ARE OWED THE MONEY If I had been numbering the lessons I’ve learned in the business, this would have to be #1. This industry is full of fuck boys. Many of which don’t want to pay you even when you have a contract. I learned very early in my career that a handshake in the music business means nothing. There is NO loyalty. Someone’s word in the music business means nothing. People will flip on you in a heartbeat—friends, family, major labels and corporations, new artists, famous artists, lawyers, rich people, broke people, everyone. Get it in writing. Get everything in writing and keep a paper trail in case you have to sue for your money. And if you have to sue for your money, get the best damn lawyer you can afford! My choice is Brian Caplan out of NY. He’s a pitbull.
BUILD A STRONG TEAM No one can do this alone. This is a who-you-know business, so it’s important to build strong and lasting connections and to not burn bridges. Using basketball as an example, if you put the best player in the NBA on the court against the worst team, the worst team would win. Why? Because it’s 5 against 1! Five terrible players, against the very best player in the world, would win. Team work. Build your team early and build it strong! For an artist, this means a lawyer, accountant or business manager, manager, booking agent, and publicist. For someone working in the music business in a behind the scenes capacity this means a mentor or two, a lawyer (for contracts), an accountant, and a publicist (you gotta tell the world what you are doing if you want others to know).
And lastly (I could go on forever with lessons I’ve learned, but you and I both have shit to do…), this is a lesson I’ve learned from life but brought into the music industry with me and I’m so thankful I did:
SET GOALS If you don’t know where you are trying to get to, you will never arrive there. Set realistic, achievable goals. Read them every day. Break them down into smaller bites and accomplish a little bit towards your goals each day. Put blinders on and focus on the goals, don’t let anything dissuade you from accomplishing what matters to you. Make sure your goals are well rounded (mine tend to focus on work, and I forget things like health, family, and Wendy time….but I’m getting better at it) and include professional goals, personal and hobby goals, family goals, love and relationship goals, and emotional goals (be a better person goals). Put them in writing and give yourself a deadline to accomplish each one, and for each step along the way. Read them every day. And then accomplish them one by one, so you can include new ones.
Anyway, it really isn’t Young Buck’s fault that my column is late this month. It’s my own damn fault. I was being lazy and procrastinating….plus is was my birthday….Thanks for taking the time each month to read my column. And thanks for all the feedback each month. You help me be better at what I do. I’m fortunate that I do what I do for love. Because of this, the ecomony can’t stop me, haters can’t stop me, and the industry can’t stop me. My wish for you is that you find something that you love this much. And then get super good at it! It’s worth everything you have to give up along the way to get there. Or so they tell me. I’m not there yet…
I am maaaad late with my column this month. And I have no good excuse. I’ve been real busy with Young Buck, so I was going to blame it on him, but it wasn’t his fault at all. But it sounds good, and he loves me enough to take one for me, so I’ll just blame it on him anyway. My column is late this month because of Young Buck. LOL. And that kind of leads right in to my topic this month: what I’ve learned from being in the music business...(in no particular order, which is why they aren’t numbered):
IT’S NEVER THE ARTISTS’ FAULT I learned very early in my career that the artist can never be the bad guy. Fans are so fickle, and labels are so political, that if the artist even appears to be an asshole or the “bad guy,” that he or she can lose fans or support from the label. It’s important inside the label for the artist to always be loved and adored, no matter what. People naturally take sides and if they are against you, it can make your life difficult, especially if you depend on them to work your project or buy your record. My earliest example of this was KRS-1 and Tribe Called Quest. Kris managed himself and therefore had to argue with the label a lot to get things done. Tribe was managed by Chris Lighty and no matter how annoyed the label got with Lighty, they still loved the group. Sometimes managers have to get aggressive with labels to get them to do what’s necessary. But an artist never should. The artist should always be the good guy and always loved….even if he or she is the biggest asshole on the planet.
PEOPLE RARELY CAN DO WHAT THEY SAY THEY CAN DO This is one of those negative lessons I learned almost right away. Everyone says they can do what needs to be done, but the reality of that is that very few can deliver what they promise. This makes those precious few people who are good at what they do, stand out, but it’s none the less aggravating to be expecting a job to get done, only to find out that it has been horribly botched or not done at all. Most people who say they can get you radio spins really can’t! Many street teams that say they blitz the streets or own the streets, don’t. And can’t! Some labels that promise to make artists stars, often shelve them, or kill their careers (accidently or on purpose, I’m not sure which)! Most DJs who say they can and do break records, don’t, won’t, and/or can’t! In this industry, it is VERY important to check out everyone’s references. I think this is because we have no real barrier to entry—meaning anyone can come into the music business and say they are a professional and that they can get the job done! They can’t!
HATERS ARE EVERYWHERE I know as you are reading this you are co-signing it, so I won’t go into detail. But here’s a really happy, positive thought regarding haters. They don’t last long! Everyone who is building something positive or who is successful, has people wishing them ill and trying to hold them back. I’ve been disproportionately lucky (or possibly blind), because I’ve only had a handful of true haters in my career that have actually gotten to me (and by gotten to me, I mean made me stronger). Of those 4 or 5 haters, 3 are no longer in the industry and the others aren’t relevant. They are still bubbling around trying to eek out a living in this industry, but they aren’t accomplishing anything, and are having a terrible time making money in this economy. Poetic justice? Karma? You decide. Unless you’re a hater…
IT’S A BUSINESS, NOT A CULTURE Cultures aren’t for sale. So the very first day some enterprising young rapper decided to try to get paid for his or her artform, it became a business. The day some rapper decided to attach a price tag to his or her songs, it no longer was about skill on the mic, but about sales in the stores. What people are willing to buy has nothing to do with the level of talent an artist possesses. Every now and again we get lucky and the two meet: The Fugees, Whitney Houston, Drake, Mary J Blige, Jay Z (look at me giving Hova props! There is hope for me!!), and many others… Because it’s a business, money became more important in the equation than the talent, and therefore the talent waned. Labels began pushing what would sell, not what would advance the culture. We did this to ourselves (those of us who know better). When a producer made a beat and sold it to a label or artist in order to get paid, it became a business—and now it’s an over saturated business. Everyone seems to be a rapper or a producer now. The market went from having a talent that was exclusive to selling a gimmick that’s over saturated by any means necessary. Fans went from buying CDs to making their own!
LABELS DON’T BUILD ARTISTS’ CAREERS Record labels exist to sell music. Period. And most recently they exist to share in all revenue streams that exist for artists. They feel a sense of entitlement because they are investing the money in whatever project they deem worthy.
IF YOU DON’T LEARN HOW THE GAME WORKS, YOU WILL GET JERKED or, better put GREED IS KING The thing about the music industry is that when the money comes, it comes very fast and in large amounts (although the amounts aren’t as large as they once were), and most often it comes to those with the control and access to the marketplace. Anyone who puts up $750,000 to a Million dollars in funding to sell $1,000,000 to $10,000,000 of CDs or downloads, is a person who likes making money. And since the return on investment is so large in this industry—not to mention that most expenses are recoupable from the artists’ share of the income, this industry attracts a disproportionately large amount of greedy people, people who love money, and fuck boys (people who will purposely jerk you out of your money). So, it’s key that you learn how it all works, what’s fair and acceptable, and how to reduce your risk of becoming one of the many, many, many, many, many casualties of this industry. There are many books, loads of free websites, seminars, webinars, etc to educate artists and industry folks. I, long ago, stopped feeling sorry for those who got jerked because the resources exist today to educate yourself. The fact that you haven’t taken the time to do so makes you look greedy--in too big a hurry to make money or get famous, that taking time to learn was secondary, and/or ignorant (too stupid to know the importance of learning). Yeah, I know that was harsh, which means you probably needed to hear it.
EVERYTHING CHANGES Just as you learn the rules and which ones you can and can’t break, everything changes. What was once an industry of vinyl, became an industry based on cassette and 8-track sales, then CD sales, and now downloads. What was once an industry where authenticity and realism mattered, has become an industry where a hit record solves all ills. An R&B artist allegedly pees on a minor on video and a hit record revives his career. A top selling rapper takes a drug kingpin’s name, is exposed as a Corrections Officer, lies about it, then admits it, and a hit record keeps him a top selling rapper. An environment where rappers couldn’t endorse a product without being seen as a sell out has changed into an environment where the standard artist kit automatically comes with a CD, a bad film performance, a reality TV show (the more embarrassing the better), a shoe deal, a liquor endorsement and one’s own clothing line. And if you’re publicly beefing with another artist, or fucking another artist, you get extra props. Rappers used to come together to fight the power, dis unfair police tactics, speak out on apartheid in South Africa, etc. Today, rappers fight each other over dumb shit. They can’t even come together to shut down stuff that’s bad for all of them, or outside forces attacking them. Nah, better for one has-been rapper to get press dissing or fighting another irrelevant rapper, or rappers who built careers on mixed tapes and mixed CDs to bitch about DJs making too much money with mixed CDs now that they are “stars!” We’ve become the WWE…
MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS FROM WITHIN Because there is an element of luck that exists in this business, and because fame is fleeting, it’s important to measure success based on your own idea of success. If you compare yourself to others’ wealth, or others’ sales, or others’ features and tour schedules, you’ll always be unhappy. This is the one industry where people always seem to be in the next man’s pocket trying to figure out how much money he or she is making, or has earned. It’s crazy. There will always be people who are richer, smarter, happier, more famous, better connected, thinner, better looking, etc. So march to your own drummer, and figure out what success means to you personally. And then go achieve that! For the record, if your goal is to be “richer” than Puffy or Russell Simmons, and you don’t exactly know how rich they are, you’ve already failed because you’re chasing an intangible goal. And that room mate who was interning at M-TV the same time you were interning at the label, who now manages the #1 artist in the world? A lot of that was luck and right time, right place. Stop beating yourself up over it. Be the best at what YOU are doing, and follow YOUR goals.
GOLD DIGGERS COME IN BOTH SEXES Maybe I should have addressed this one when I talked about greed, but for some reason, this industry attracts people who want money. And it attracts an inordinate amount of people who want money but who don’t want to put in any time or effort for it. So there are a ton of women and men who are in play with the sole goal of separating you from some of your money. Being human beings who are susceptible to a kind word, a nice gesture, a fat ass, or the thrill of hot sex, we sometimes get sucked in to people and places that aren’t good for us. A person who really cares for you does NOT care about your money, how you look, where you live, or what you own. If you do not care whether or not a hot female, or a sexy male is only with you because of what you own, I’d like to point out that there are many others who have way more of whatever it is that you are offering. So if you lose him or her, you have no right to complain. You were shallow enough to buy a big chain or an expensive car to attract a date…don’t be pissed off when that no longer keeps the date by your side.
SEX. AND DRUGS, AND ROCK AND ROLL The music industry attracts a large amount of people who enjoy music, getting high, and fucking. Don’t know why. Just know that it exists. I have been able to escape it (somewhat LOL) in my 18 years in the industry, but it was not easy. Also, in rap, add VIOLENCE to that list. It happens. Don’t be caught up in some bullshit that isn’t yours.
IT’S HARD TO GET PAID EVENTHOUGH YOU ARE OWED THE MONEY If I had been numbering the lessons I’ve learned in the business, this would have to be #1. This industry is full of fuck boys. Many of which don’t want to pay you even when you have a contract. I learned very early in my career that a handshake in the music business means nothing. There is NO loyalty. Someone’s word in the music business means nothing. People will flip on you in a heartbeat—friends, family, major labels and corporations, new artists, famous artists, lawyers, rich people, broke people, everyone. Get it in writing. Get everything in writing and keep a paper trail in case you have to sue for your money. And if you have to sue for your money, get the best damn lawyer you can afford! My choice is Brian Caplan out of NY. He’s a pitbull.
BUILD A STRONG TEAM No one can do this alone. This is a who-you-know business, so it’s important to build strong and lasting connections and to not burn bridges. Using basketball as an example, if you put the best player in the NBA on the court against the worst team, the worst team would win. Why? Because it’s 5 against 1! Five terrible players, against the very best player in the world, would win. Team work. Build your team early and build it strong! For an artist, this means a lawyer, accountant or business manager, manager, booking agent, and publicist. For someone working in the music business in a behind the scenes capacity this means a mentor or two, a lawyer (for contracts), an accountant, and a publicist (you gotta tell the world what you are doing if you want others to know).
And lastly (I could go on forever with lessons I’ve learned, but you and I both have shit to do…), this is a lesson I’ve learned from life but brought into the music industry with me and I’m so thankful I did:
SET GOALS If you don’t know where you are trying to get to, you will never arrive there. Set realistic, achievable goals. Read them every day. Break them down into smaller bites and accomplish a little bit towards your goals each day. Put blinders on and focus on the goals, don’t let anything dissuade you from accomplishing what matters to you. Make sure your goals are well rounded (mine tend to focus on work, and I forget things like health, family, and Wendy time….but I’m getting better at it) and include professional goals, personal and hobby goals, family goals, love and relationship goals, and emotional goals (be a better person goals). Put them in writing and give yourself a deadline to accomplish each one, and for each step along the way. Read them every day. And then accomplish them one by one, so you can include new ones.
Anyway, it really isn’t Young Buck’s fault that my column is late this month. It’s my own damn fault. I was being lazy and procrastinating….plus is was my birthday….Thanks for taking the time each month to read my column. And thanks for all the feedback each month. You help me be better at what I do. I’m fortunate that I do what I do for love. Because of this, the ecomony can’t stop me, haters can’t stop me, and the industry can’t stop me. My wish for you is that you find something that you love this much. And then get super good at it! It’s worth everything you have to give up along the way to get there. Or so they tell me. I’m not there yet…
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Managers
By, Wendy Day from Rap Coalition (www.WendyDay.com)
A manager is the key component in any artist’s career! A manager is the person who helps the artist set goals and then puts the team in place to achieve those goals. The manager also sets up a system of checks and balances to be certain the team is on track to achieving those goals. He or she handles all of the artist’s business-- essentially becoming the face of business for that artist. And here’s the most important part: a manager can make or break an artist’s career!!
A good manager can enhance and help the career of an artist, a DJ, or a producer. But an ineffective manager can even more easily ruin an artist’s career. People don’t go out of their way to hire someone to destroy them, but they do inadvertently choose folks who are inexperienced, not properly connected, and who possess no experience in management. I see this everyday. If we had better managers in urban music, there would be no need for Rap Coalition, and we’d have rappers with longevity like Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, and Madonna.
When artists call me and ask me to refer managers, I cringe. I can think of only a few people that I would personally hire if I wanted to be a successful artist in this business, and they are too busy right now to be effective for anyone other than the artists they already manage. How can I refer artists to someone that I’d never hire in a million years (I don’t), or how can I refer a few folks worthy of referrals, but whom I know are too busy to even find the time to return phone calls (again, I wouldn’t). So I rarely refer managers. This is a problem.
A manager is supposed to be the liaison between the artist and the record label. They are the person responsible for relaying the artists’ concerns and fears to the label (therefore a label employee is rarely a good choice as a manager if they work at YOUR label). They are also responsible for offering constructive ways to fix problems. On the flip side, they are also the ones responsible for getting the artist to do what he or she needs to do, often a difficult task. Good communication skills, relationships, experience, and being organized are key for the person entrusted with this life-changing position. An artist who hires a friend is an idiot. An artist who hires a relative to manage his or her career is an idiot. While they may be trustworthy (we hope) and hungry (ambitious), they are not experienced or connected enough most of the time to do an even basic job of managing a career.
If you look at the bulk of artists with failed careers or declining careers, you can often see they are managed by inexperienced managers or people who work for the record label (either openly or covertly). While the artist only has one career, the managers are able to move onto other clients or other jobs within the industry to make money, so the decision of management affects the artist far more than the manager.
A manager is also responsible for obtaining opportunities for the artist to make money outside of the record deal (endorsements, touring, acting, merchandising, etc). So few managers in urban music are good at this, therefore we now have a spate of companies setting up solely to do deals between urban artists and corporate America (myself included). If we had better and more skilled managers out here, these cottage industries would not be popping up all over to accomplish what an experienced manager should be able to do on their own (by the way, the manager usually still gets a percentage of that income even if someone else brings it to the table).
When To Choose A Manager
Choosing a manager should occur when there is something to manage. At the beginning of an artist’s career, the focus should be on building a buzz and hype for yourself. The more well-known you become, the easier it will be to attract the right people to your career. It’s simple business basics really…managers get paid 20% of a new artist’s income, or 10% to 15% of an established artist’s income. Managers are in the music business to make money. An artist becomes attractive to a manager when that manager can apply their connections, experience, and contacts easily, and to where 20% really becomes something of value. The hotter an artist’s buzz, the better manager they will attract. The more they have going on with their career, the better manager they will attract. Having a manager on board before you sign to a major label would be a good decision because having them involved in the bidding war and negotiation process will help you--a great manager adds tremendous value in a label’s eyes.
How To Choose A Manager
You have one career, and most rappers only get one shot. So unless you want to languish at a mediocre label selling 25,000 CDs and downloads a year, you better get this right the first time around. The key, in my opinion, would be to know who the top managers in the business are, and attract one of them, or someone who trained under one of them.
For some unknown reason, in urban music, we have people who sprout up out of the blue and announce “I am a manager.” They don’t train under an efficient manager to gain experience and connections. But they are often on the streets enough to know who the hot artists are, and they get on by latching onto that artist’s coat tails. The problem is that these hot artists need someone who can take their career to the next level, not act as an anchor around their neck to make a quick buck.
First of all, you want a manager who is professional and runs their business like a business. They need to excel in basic business skills such as returning phone calls, attending meetings, planning schedules and calendars, knowledge of the music industry and how it works, and they need to know who’s who in the industry and have some access to those people. Sadly, there are plenty of mis-managers who sit back and answer the phone (sometimes) and choose opportunities to bring to the artist from what is offered, and then there are effective managers who not only choose from the offers that come in everyday, but are also visionary enough to figure out what the artist wants to be doing, and goes and gets it for them.
For many artists, they plan to hire a manager for the newer level their career is at, and then they plan to hire an experienced manager once they become a star. The problem with this plan is that it often creates a power struggle within the camp for control of the artist’s career during the transition phase. Additionally, there are multiple fees to pay, plus having an inexperienced manager early in a career is not a smart way to build a career to attract a more serious manager. It’s best to manage yourself until you get to a point where you need a professional to take you to the next level. This is a BUSINESS! A power struggle also forces away many of the good people within the camp who could have been helpful in the artist’s career.
I, personally, think managing artists sucks. It’s a thankless babysitting job for the most part, and unless you happen to get to work with a Platinum superstar, there is not enough money involved in management for most folks to eat well. So many managers who could have been great, leave to start their own labels (where the REAL money is) or leave the music industry to get better paying jobs elsewhere. Some who work under the big management companies like Violator, The Firm, etc, leave to start their own management companies long before they have the proper connections and experience in place to do so, because they grow weary of working hard for little pay under others. They don’t realize the financial realities of the music business, and often jump into a worse situation.
My biggest concern, and the reason I am even writing this, is that management consists of shaping, developing, and controlling artist’s careers--their LIVES. If a manager fucks that up, they are fucking up another human being’s life. Most don’t look at that, they look at their own thirst for money. A manager, by contract, is supposed to have the artists’ best interests at heart. How many do you suppose can forego a benefit for themselves to benefit their client? Precious few.
I once did a deal for an incredible artist at a major label. I kept telling him he needed a good manager to help shape his career. Six months into his first release, he STILL didn’t have one; he just had friends around trying to act like a manager. He was afraid of choosing the “wrong” one (he had been burned years ago by a real scumbag) so he had chosen none. By his third release, he finally got a real manager, but by that time so much damage had been done to his career that his star was fading, not rising. Every time he put out a release, it sold less. It’s hard to resurrect a career…far easier to do right the first time from the beginning.
The artist should NEVER be the bad guy at the label, it alienates the label staff--but the manager can be the bad guy. The label may hate the manager, but if they love the artist they will still work just as hard for him or her. If they hate the artist, his or her career is over. Politics reign supreme at record labels, and the staff works projects that are slam dunks, or projects they like…regardless of who the priority is at the label. Also, if the artist has burned bridges in the industry (like with radio, club DJs, etc), not only will their careers suffer, but so will the careers of artists coming up under them. A good manager ensures the artist is never on the firing line, because the manager is always. And with some experience and relationships, the manager is not out there burning bridges. If something does go wrong, it’s fixed immediately and not left to fester til it’s time to work the next release and ask for more favors.
A good experienced manager knows what to expect and how to work records. They work in conjunction with the label not in opposition to it, and certainly not without input and suggestions to the label. If you have no experience and things are going wrong, how will you fix them? How will you even know when things are going wrong if you haven’t worked a project before?
So how does an artist choose a good manager in this day and age where there are so many snakes, and so many inept managers with promising business cards? The best suggestion I can make is to look at the careers of other artists you admire--whose careers you admire, not music, and seek out that person. Is that artist getting opportunities that are usually afforded only to superstars, but isn’t selling as many units to do so? Is the artist getting a lot of awareness outside of what the label does for him or her? Do they seem to have a stream of income to fall back on besides being beholden to the label. Research, research, and then more research.
Make certain that if you meet with a manager that they really did everything they say they have. Look for a manager who has great relationships with booking agents, entertainment attorneys, corporate America (for sponsorship of tours and endorsement opportunities), access to label presidents and A&R staff but who does not have a deal at any given label (unless you don’t mind being put through their deal), and even film agents if you want to go that direction with your career. Follow up, ask questions, get references… after all, you only have one career, and a bad manager can end it prematurely for you.
Things to watch out for:
-a manager with a loyalty to any one label
-a manager who collects your money (they should NEVER touch your money, a business manager or accountant does that job)
-a manager who works at a label, especially if it is your label, or a manager who owns a label and wants to manage you AND sign you to his label (this is called double dipping and is a breach of fiduciary duty).
-artists he or she has managed before but no longer does (ask the former artists why they left)
-managers who promise to book you shows (that is NOT their job)
-managers who ask for more than 15% or 20% (max) of your entertainment income
-managers who want to sign you to 7+ year deals (watch out for those contract terms called “options” that extend the life of the contract automatically)
-a manager who wants to take or buy your publishing from you
For The Aspiring Managers Reading This
If you want to become a manager, or be a better manager, the best thing you can do is work under a fully experienced manager to learn as much as you can. This will also give you access to their connections and relationships so you can begin to cultivate your own. This is a “who you know” business. You probably won’t make much money at first, but the long term benefits are outstanding. On average, managers get between 15% and 20% of the artist’s entertainment income. How amazing would it be to sit back in ten years and contemplate not only the millions of dollars you made in the music industry, but also the careers you built and the lives you’ve impacted along the way. Isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?
For My Southern Playas
Recently, I have been discussing with some of the power players in the industry why southern artists get little regard in NY inside of the music industry. Southern music sells very well and many of our biggest stars are from the south. Yet they don’t get much face time on BET, rarely get magazine covers by themselves, hardly ever get the bigger endorsement deals, etc. So I starting asking “why?” and people were happy to share the answers with me.
What I thought was a dislike for southern music, is really a dislike for the business practices. I heard story after story of bad experiences in trying to deal with management or teams for Gucci Mane, OJ, Young Jeezy, Plies, Shawty Lo, Soulja Boy, UGK, Young Buck, Yo Gotti, Rick Ross, etc. The biggest complaint was one of access…either no one knew whom to call or who was in charge. I heard the frustration of being sent from person to person within a camp just to set up a photo shoot for a major publication or not having phone calls or emails returned. Others complained of artists having inept teams who didn’t understand how the industry worked or basic understandings of who was who in the music business. Many of the teams had outrageous demands for their artists, or the artists just never showed up. Basically, all of the problems were ones that would have been eliminated by having an experienced team.
Many of the people I spoke with said they called some of the bigger DJs in the area where the artist was based to find out who represented the artist, and the DJs bad mouthed the artists telling of their own bad experiences which made the folks no longer want to work with the artists. People in this industry definitely talk. You know it’s a serious problem when I call a video booker and still hear negative stories about a group that hasn’t appeared on TV in years, or stories about an old management team from 5 years ago for a platinum rapper. You only get one chance to make a good impression, and people work with people they like and who are easy to work with. Don’t believe me? How many southern artists have been on the cover of XXL or Vibe (RIP), featured in clothing ads, or featured on BET in the past few years that the south has been running shit? It seems out of proportion to me.
So, until we in the south get our shit together on the business tip, we can expect for the better opportunities to go to the artists with proper representation, good teams in place, signed to respected record labels, and less buzz and sales. Fortunately, many of the artists whose names were shared with me regarding difficulty with their management teams, have changed management. This seems to be a blessing for all involved. But what happens when those old teams start to manage new artists? Can they undo the damage to their reputations, and have they learned enough to now be effective? We can only hope. Especially since these artists and teams are some of my favorite artists and people!!
A manager is the key component in any artist’s career! A manager is the person who helps the artist set goals and then puts the team in place to achieve those goals. The manager also sets up a system of checks and balances to be certain the team is on track to achieving those goals. He or she handles all of the artist’s business-- essentially becoming the face of business for that artist. And here’s the most important part: a manager can make or break an artist’s career!!
A good manager can enhance and help the career of an artist, a DJ, or a producer. But an ineffective manager can even more easily ruin an artist’s career. People don’t go out of their way to hire someone to destroy them, but they do inadvertently choose folks who are inexperienced, not properly connected, and who possess no experience in management. I see this everyday. If we had better managers in urban music, there would be no need for Rap Coalition, and we’d have rappers with longevity like Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, and Madonna.
When artists call me and ask me to refer managers, I cringe. I can think of only a few people that I would personally hire if I wanted to be a successful artist in this business, and they are too busy right now to be effective for anyone other than the artists they already manage. How can I refer artists to someone that I’d never hire in a million years (I don’t), or how can I refer a few folks worthy of referrals, but whom I know are too busy to even find the time to return phone calls (again, I wouldn’t). So I rarely refer managers. This is a problem.
A manager is supposed to be the liaison between the artist and the record label. They are the person responsible for relaying the artists’ concerns and fears to the label (therefore a label employee is rarely a good choice as a manager if they work at YOUR label). They are also responsible for offering constructive ways to fix problems. On the flip side, they are also the ones responsible for getting the artist to do what he or she needs to do, often a difficult task. Good communication skills, relationships, experience, and being organized are key for the person entrusted with this life-changing position. An artist who hires a friend is an idiot. An artist who hires a relative to manage his or her career is an idiot. While they may be trustworthy (we hope) and hungry (ambitious), they are not experienced or connected enough most of the time to do an even basic job of managing a career.
If you look at the bulk of artists with failed careers or declining careers, you can often see they are managed by inexperienced managers or people who work for the record label (either openly or covertly). While the artist only has one career, the managers are able to move onto other clients or other jobs within the industry to make money, so the decision of management affects the artist far more than the manager.
A manager is also responsible for obtaining opportunities for the artist to make money outside of the record deal (endorsements, touring, acting, merchandising, etc). So few managers in urban music are good at this, therefore we now have a spate of companies setting up solely to do deals between urban artists and corporate America (myself included). If we had better and more skilled managers out here, these cottage industries would not be popping up all over to accomplish what an experienced manager should be able to do on their own (by the way, the manager usually still gets a percentage of that income even if someone else brings it to the table).
When To Choose A Manager
Choosing a manager should occur when there is something to manage. At the beginning of an artist’s career, the focus should be on building a buzz and hype for yourself. The more well-known you become, the easier it will be to attract the right people to your career. It’s simple business basics really…managers get paid 20% of a new artist’s income, or 10% to 15% of an established artist’s income. Managers are in the music business to make money. An artist becomes attractive to a manager when that manager can apply their connections, experience, and contacts easily, and to where 20% really becomes something of value. The hotter an artist’s buzz, the better manager they will attract. The more they have going on with their career, the better manager they will attract. Having a manager on board before you sign to a major label would be a good decision because having them involved in the bidding war and negotiation process will help you--a great manager adds tremendous value in a label’s eyes.
How To Choose A Manager
You have one career, and most rappers only get one shot. So unless you want to languish at a mediocre label selling 25,000 CDs and downloads a year, you better get this right the first time around. The key, in my opinion, would be to know who the top managers in the business are, and attract one of them, or someone who trained under one of them.
For some unknown reason, in urban music, we have people who sprout up out of the blue and announce “I am a manager.” They don’t train under an efficient manager to gain experience and connections. But they are often on the streets enough to know who the hot artists are, and they get on by latching onto that artist’s coat tails. The problem is that these hot artists need someone who can take their career to the next level, not act as an anchor around their neck to make a quick buck.
First of all, you want a manager who is professional and runs their business like a business. They need to excel in basic business skills such as returning phone calls, attending meetings, planning schedules and calendars, knowledge of the music industry and how it works, and they need to know who’s who in the industry and have some access to those people. Sadly, there are plenty of mis-managers who sit back and answer the phone (sometimes) and choose opportunities to bring to the artist from what is offered, and then there are effective managers who not only choose from the offers that come in everyday, but are also visionary enough to figure out what the artist wants to be doing, and goes and gets it for them.
For many artists, they plan to hire a manager for the newer level their career is at, and then they plan to hire an experienced manager once they become a star. The problem with this plan is that it often creates a power struggle within the camp for control of the artist’s career during the transition phase. Additionally, there are multiple fees to pay, plus having an inexperienced manager early in a career is not a smart way to build a career to attract a more serious manager. It’s best to manage yourself until you get to a point where you need a professional to take you to the next level. This is a BUSINESS! A power struggle also forces away many of the good people within the camp who could have been helpful in the artist’s career.
I, personally, think managing artists sucks. It’s a thankless babysitting job for the most part, and unless you happen to get to work with a Platinum superstar, there is not enough money involved in management for most folks to eat well. So many managers who could have been great, leave to start their own labels (where the REAL money is) or leave the music industry to get better paying jobs elsewhere. Some who work under the big management companies like Violator, The Firm, etc, leave to start their own management companies long before they have the proper connections and experience in place to do so, because they grow weary of working hard for little pay under others. They don’t realize the financial realities of the music business, and often jump into a worse situation.
My biggest concern, and the reason I am even writing this, is that management consists of shaping, developing, and controlling artist’s careers--their LIVES. If a manager fucks that up, they are fucking up another human being’s life. Most don’t look at that, they look at their own thirst for money. A manager, by contract, is supposed to have the artists’ best interests at heart. How many do you suppose can forego a benefit for themselves to benefit their client? Precious few.
I once did a deal for an incredible artist at a major label. I kept telling him he needed a good manager to help shape his career. Six months into his first release, he STILL didn’t have one; he just had friends around trying to act like a manager. He was afraid of choosing the “wrong” one (he had been burned years ago by a real scumbag) so he had chosen none. By his third release, he finally got a real manager, but by that time so much damage had been done to his career that his star was fading, not rising. Every time he put out a release, it sold less. It’s hard to resurrect a career…far easier to do right the first time from the beginning.
The artist should NEVER be the bad guy at the label, it alienates the label staff--but the manager can be the bad guy. The label may hate the manager, but if they love the artist they will still work just as hard for him or her. If they hate the artist, his or her career is over. Politics reign supreme at record labels, and the staff works projects that are slam dunks, or projects they like…regardless of who the priority is at the label. Also, if the artist has burned bridges in the industry (like with radio, club DJs, etc), not only will their careers suffer, but so will the careers of artists coming up under them. A good manager ensures the artist is never on the firing line, because the manager is always. And with some experience and relationships, the manager is not out there burning bridges. If something does go wrong, it’s fixed immediately and not left to fester til it’s time to work the next release and ask for more favors.
A good experienced manager knows what to expect and how to work records. They work in conjunction with the label not in opposition to it, and certainly not without input and suggestions to the label. If you have no experience and things are going wrong, how will you fix them? How will you even know when things are going wrong if you haven’t worked a project before?
So how does an artist choose a good manager in this day and age where there are so many snakes, and so many inept managers with promising business cards? The best suggestion I can make is to look at the careers of other artists you admire--whose careers you admire, not music, and seek out that person. Is that artist getting opportunities that are usually afforded only to superstars, but isn’t selling as many units to do so? Is the artist getting a lot of awareness outside of what the label does for him or her? Do they seem to have a stream of income to fall back on besides being beholden to the label. Research, research, and then more research.
Make certain that if you meet with a manager that they really did everything they say they have. Look for a manager who has great relationships with booking agents, entertainment attorneys, corporate America (for sponsorship of tours and endorsement opportunities), access to label presidents and A&R staff but who does not have a deal at any given label (unless you don’t mind being put through their deal), and even film agents if you want to go that direction with your career. Follow up, ask questions, get references… after all, you only have one career, and a bad manager can end it prematurely for you.
Things to watch out for:
-a manager with a loyalty to any one label
-a manager who collects your money (they should NEVER touch your money, a business manager or accountant does that job)
-a manager who works at a label, especially if it is your label, or a manager who owns a label and wants to manage you AND sign you to his label (this is called double dipping and is a breach of fiduciary duty).
-artists he or she has managed before but no longer does (ask the former artists why they left)
-managers who promise to book you shows (that is NOT their job)
-managers who ask for more than 15% or 20% (max) of your entertainment income
-managers who want to sign you to 7+ year deals (watch out for those contract terms called “options” that extend the life of the contract automatically)
-a manager who wants to take or buy your publishing from you
For The Aspiring Managers Reading This
If you want to become a manager, or be a better manager, the best thing you can do is work under a fully experienced manager to learn as much as you can. This will also give you access to their connections and relationships so you can begin to cultivate your own. This is a “who you know” business. You probably won’t make much money at first, but the long term benefits are outstanding. On average, managers get between 15% and 20% of the artist’s entertainment income. How amazing would it be to sit back in ten years and contemplate not only the millions of dollars you made in the music industry, but also the careers you built and the lives you’ve impacted along the way. Isn’t that what it’s all about anyway?
For My Southern Playas
Recently, I have been discussing with some of the power players in the industry why southern artists get little regard in NY inside of the music industry. Southern music sells very well and many of our biggest stars are from the south. Yet they don’t get much face time on BET, rarely get magazine covers by themselves, hardly ever get the bigger endorsement deals, etc. So I starting asking “why?” and people were happy to share the answers with me.
What I thought was a dislike for southern music, is really a dislike for the business practices. I heard story after story of bad experiences in trying to deal with management or teams for Gucci Mane, OJ, Young Jeezy, Plies, Shawty Lo, Soulja Boy, UGK, Young Buck, Yo Gotti, Rick Ross, etc. The biggest complaint was one of access…either no one knew whom to call or who was in charge. I heard the frustration of being sent from person to person within a camp just to set up a photo shoot for a major publication or not having phone calls or emails returned. Others complained of artists having inept teams who didn’t understand how the industry worked or basic understandings of who was who in the music business. Many of the teams had outrageous demands for their artists, or the artists just never showed up. Basically, all of the problems were ones that would have been eliminated by having an experienced team.
Many of the people I spoke with said they called some of the bigger DJs in the area where the artist was based to find out who represented the artist, and the DJs bad mouthed the artists telling of their own bad experiences which made the folks no longer want to work with the artists. People in this industry definitely talk. You know it’s a serious problem when I call a video booker and still hear negative stories about a group that hasn’t appeared on TV in years, or stories about an old management team from 5 years ago for a platinum rapper. You only get one chance to make a good impression, and people work with people they like and who are easy to work with. Don’t believe me? How many southern artists have been on the cover of XXL or Vibe (RIP), featured in clothing ads, or featured on BET in the past few years that the south has been running shit? It seems out of proportion to me.
So, until we in the south get our shit together on the business tip, we can expect for the better opportunities to go to the artists with proper representation, good teams in place, signed to respected record labels, and less buzz and sales. Fortunately, many of the artists whose names were shared with me regarding difficulty with their management teams, have changed management. This seems to be a blessing for all involved. But what happens when those old teams start to manage new artists? Can they undo the damage to their reputations, and have they learned enough to now be effective? We can only hope. Especially since these artists and teams are some of my favorite artists and people!!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Taking Your Career To The Next Level
By, Wendy Day (www.IndieLabelBuilder.com)
I started another new company last week! It’s an incubator for indie labels and indie artists so they can make more money doing what they love to do! Getting paid for doing what you love to do is wonderful. How many people in life get to say that they love their job and make money living their dream? Most do not. But I am living proof that it is possible. Almost every rapper who makes money is living proof, and certainly every person working in this industry-- and getting paid for their work, is living proof. And thankfully, my clients are living proof of this, too!
That doesn’t mean that you don’t have to grind hard, or pay dues, or any of the other things that come with building success…it just means that it’s possible. And some people are even superstars at it! Early on in your career, you have to decide what you stand for, and what you are willing to do to succeed. For me, it was as simple as deciding that I was willing to work harder than everyone else, give up personal relationships, personal time, vacations, and large sums of money to achieve success with my companies (I own and run 5 businesses within the music industry right now). What I was NOT willing to give up was my integrity, my morals, and I was never willing to compromise an artist’s career or what was best for them in order to advance myself (which slowed me down considerably in this fuck boy industry).
It took me 6 years to get paid for my work in this industry (I started a not-for-profit organization first). It took me 10 years to make enough money to support myself, and another 5 years on top of that to actually have a comfortable income so that I could invest, start new businesses, get some life insurance, and help my family.
Learning a skill in the music business is important, but even more important is getting really good at it. OK, not just really good, but great at it. Malcolm Gladwell in his seminal book “Outliers” proved that it takes 10,000 hours of doing any one thing to get really proficient at it—to master it. Ten thousand hours of doing something repeatedly to master it!! If you do one thing for ten hours a day, that would be 1,000 days—3 years and 9 months (roughly) without a break. Are you willing to do that?
So, if you aren’t willing to master a skill, it’s important that you find someone who has mastered that skill and put them on your team. If you want a manager who is great at what they do, you’ll need to find someone who put the time into becoming a great manager. In most cases, that’s someone who studied under someone else who was great and got the benefit of their experience and connections. Now, bear in mind that the greater the manager is, the more likely he or she is to look for an artist who is the best! Very few people who are good at what they do want to spend time with mediocre folks around them.
DJ Greg Street sent out a tweet on Twitter last night that said it best, “Know your strengths and hire your weaknesses.” It’s important to know what your own weak spots are so you can compensate by hiring someone who’s is skilled in areas that you are not. [As an aside, I gotta point out the incredible access to free knowledge we have on Twitter! Just by following the OGs in the industry and reading their tweets every now and again, you can pick up incredibly valuable jewels about this industry! You can also learn a lot about people’s personalities, who is fame driven or money driven, and who is truly approachable! www.Twitter.com/RapCoalition]
So, I get inundated with artists asking me what they can do to move their careers forward with no money at all. And while I don’t truly feel it’s possible to do anything in life with no money at all (shit, even sitting home and watching TV costs rent, electricity, and cable), a good place to start a buzz is on the internet (costs: computer, internet connection, electricity) because there is a lower barrier to entry (that means any idiot can get on the web).
When promoting yourself or your artist, whether online or on the streets, there are two distinct categories of people you would want to reach: fans and the industry. The better your balance at reaching these two segments, the faster your star will rise. So as the fans get to hear your music and be excited by you (and if they’re not excited by your music, investigate that sitting home and watching TV thing some more), so should the folks who work in the music industry. The fastest way to reach them is by attending an event that brings them all out. The Ozone Awards, TJsDJs quarterly events in Tallahassee, the A&R event in New York City that happens a couple times a year, the Core DJ retreat twice a year, TUMS event in Dallas, the GO DJ event in Houston, the SEAs in Mississippi, Mary Datcher’s annual event in Chicago, The Hittmenn DJs Reunion in Jacksonville in early July, etc. To get a full understanding of which events attract the industry and are worth the expense, you have to have some access and some understanding of the urban music industry. Oh, and they all cost money (travel, food, hotels, entry badges, crap to hand out to promote yourself, etc).
Once you have CDs to sell in the marketplace, whether you are an indie label that is NOT looking for a record deal or if you are an artist already signed to a major label, promoting to the industry is a terrible waste of time and money. At that point, consumers and fans should be your focus. But the printing companies are happy when an established artist is stupid enough to blitz industry events with posters and flyers. At that point in your career, a performance will work wonders to spread the word about you throughout the industry—posters and flyers are wasted on the industry because they won’t buy your CD anyway. Again, only promote to the industry if you are looking to get signed to a label (and sales of your CD regionally is really the ONLY way to catch their attention if your goal is to have a successful career, but you won’t listen, so have fun with your hanging posters and passing out flyers and mixed CDs—I think you should do that, too. Bumping your head is a great way to learn).
The point is that everything costs money, and while you don’t have to spend millions to do this effectively, it will take SOME money on your part. If you have less than $50,000 to start promoting yourself, expect to lose it. If I had less, say $10,000, I’d press up mixed tapes and sell them and keep flipping the money until I had at least $50,000. Then, I’d make a list of everything I wanted to do in an area that consisted of a 3 to 5 hour driving radius from my house, and I get price quotes. Posters, flyers, snippet CDs, mixed CDs, t-shirts, travel money, industry event money, etc….a list of everything I would need and what it costs. And that would be the target I would need to raise before starting my promo blitz. There’s nothing worse than being $10,000 into your project and not being able to go any further because you ran out of money and hadn’t made a plan. Then and only then, once I had a budget (even a minimal one), I’d begin to apply it.
The cheapest place to start a promo campaign is the internet. MySpace is still effective for all the late adapters that are still there. It’s a place to see a quick and easy profile of you and your music (plus still a great place to go to get laid). At some point they might even figure out a way for you to get paid for putting your music there… Twitter is a great way to build your movement and invite people to follow you so they get to know you and like you. It can backfire too, you could alienate fans if they see what an asshole you really are in real life. There are quite a few artists and promoters that I am following who seem to get it. You could follow them for awhile and do what they do. But remember that the internet is only one part of a full campaign:
Tyrese is Tyrese4ReaL (brilliant use of Twitter)
Mistah FAB is MistahFAB
40 Glocc is 40Glocc
Rock City are RockCityVI and R_City
Plies is GoonAffiliated
Gangsta Boo is GangstaBoo901
Toure is ToureX
Universal Records is universal_music
Nipsey Hussle is Nipsey Hussle
Yung Joc is IAMYUNGJOC
K’naan is Iamknaan
Inertia is Inertia9
Kingpin is streetkingpin
DJ Khaled is TheRealDJKhaled
Drumma Boy is DrummaBoy_Live
Quest Love of the Roots is Questlove
Nicki Minaj is nickiminaj
Theda Sandiford is BondGyrl
Asher Roth is asherroth
Brandi Garcia is djbrandigarcia
Then there are quite a few industry people that if you follow them, they drop jewels and you can read and learn for free:
Ed Lover is MrEdLover
TJ from TJsDJs is TJsDJs
Julia Beverly is JuliaBeverly
Wendy Day is RapCoalition
Daymond John is DaymondJohnFUBU
Kim Osorio is kimosario1
Nancy Byron is rappublicist
Gary Archer is Legendgary
Classic from Da Grindaz is Classichiphop
Then there are the people who just purely entertain or share industry news:
Slim Thug is slimthugga
Lil Duval is lilduval
Ludacris is ludajuice
Paul Wall is paulwallbaby (he farts a lot)
Charlemagne is cthagod
Don Cannon is DonCannon (he’s cranky a lot which is funny as hell)
Rap Radar is ElliottWilson
Andreas Hale is andreashale
XXL Mag is XXLStaff
Harry Allen is harryallen
All Hip Hop is AquaAHH, allhiphopcom, steveraze, Grouchygreg
Tony Neal is TheCoreDJs
Music Registry is musicregistry
Bob Lefsetz is Lefsetz
Amanda Diva is amandadiva
DJ Scream is djscream
DJ Smallz is djsmallz
Hip Hip is HipHop1978
Swizz Beats is TheRealSwizz
Miss Info is missinfo
Plus, as you eavesdrop on conversations, you learn what’s important to people, how they feel about the music in general, what their philosophies are, and where they are speaking or attending events. When you see the same names come up over and over, you start to learn who the players are and who has power. If you Tweet to people who do not know you, and even some who do, don’t expect a reply. It’s more to read their thoughts, ideas, and promotions, than to have a real conversation. For me, it’s not the place to do business, just to keep in touch in 140 characters or less…
Since Twitter isn’t the place to really try and do business with folks who don’t already know you (and even some who do), it’s important to build your own email list and keep in touch with fans that way. I won’t go into detail with that because there are so many free articles and services out there that can educate you on e-newsletter building. Fan Bridge offers a free email service, and the more popular paid ones are: Mad Mimi, Constant Contact, My Newsletter Builder, Campaign Monitor, and I just got an e-newsletter this morning from ListMails.com swearing they are cheaper than everyone but I’ve never tried them. Expect only 10% to 15% of your emails to ever get opened, and even less to be read all the way through. My emails that offer something, like advice or articles, have a better rate of response than just the purely promotional ones I send out. I still send both because I want people to know what I am working on for the most part…
If you are promoting yourself or your music, make sure you have a point to it. Just sending around music for people to listen to, isn’t very productive. Personally, I rarely open up anyone’s emails with mp3s attached. If I haven’t already heard of you or you don’t already have a buzz, I don’t have the time to check out your music. There are thousands of folks out here who WILL listen to your music. But I get over 600 emails a day, and probably 100 of them matter to me. I just don’t have time to listen to everything. There are more artists and producers today than ever before, and everyone thinks they are the best and offering what’s missing from the industry. Personally, the only thing I think that is really missing from the industry is for the truly talented artists to put in some serious hard work. Just talent alone is not enough…
But even though the internet is as close to free as a promotional device will come, it’s not enough. It’s only one piece of your promotions and marketing pie! You need publicity, advertising, radio spins if you have a radio record, street awareness, club awareness, word of mouth, performances, a promotional tour--and here’s the kicker….it all needs to hit at the same time. So if you have a radio record that will take 12 to 16 weeks to get hot, and if you want the local magazines and rap magazines to write about you and they have a 2 to 3 month lag time, and you want the local bloggers and internet websites to cover you and they have a 2 to 7 day lag time, you have to make certain that you work your project to people when you want it to hit, not when it’s convenient for you. If I want the January issue of XXL Magazine to cover my artists, the publicist will be getting all the photos and press releases and stuff to them by September. Yet the Bloggers will receive the material in December.
It’s like cooking a meal…everything has to hit the dinner table at once or it isn’t a successful meal. This element of timing is where I see the majority of indie labels and indie artists mess up. And it’s a costly mistake because it is usually means the end of your project. Anyway, it’s enough of a problem and a challenge that I’ve been able to build an incubator to show folks how to do it right! Many of us out here are still making money in the music business, doing what we love and selling CDs (and selling downloads)! And it truly doesn’t get any better than that!!
I started another new company last week! It’s an incubator for indie labels and indie artists so they can make more money doing what they love to do! Getting paid for doing what you love to do is wonderful. How many people in life get to say that they love their job and make money living their dream? Most do not. But I am living proof that it is possible. Almost every rapper who makes money is living proof, and certainly every person working in this industry-- and getting paid for their work, is living proof. And thankfully, my clients are living proof of this, too!
That doesn’t mean that you don’t have to grind hard, or pay dues, or any of the other things that come with building success…it just means that it’s possible. And some people are even superstars at it! Early on in your career, you have to decide what you stand for, and what you are willing to do to succeed. For me, it was as simple as deciding that I was willing to work harder than everyone else, give up personal relationships, personal time, vacations, and large sums of money to achieve success with my companies (I own and run 5 businesses within the music industry right now). What I was NOT willing to give up was my integrity, my morals, and I was never willing to compromise an artist’s career or what was best for them in order to advance myself (which slowed me down considerably in this fuck boy industry).
It took me 6 years to get paid for my work in this industry (I started a not-for-profit organization first). It took me 10 years to make enough money to support myself, and another 5 years on top of that to actually have a comfortable income so that I could invest, start new businesses, get some life insurance, and help my family.
Learning a skill in the music business is important, but even more important is getting really good at it. OK, not just really good, but great at it. Malcolm Gladwell in his seminal book “Outliers” proved that it takes 10,000 hours of doing any one thing to get really proficient at it—to master it. Ten thousand hours of doing something repeatedly to master it!! If you do one thing for ten hours a day, that would be 1,000 days—3 years and 9 months (roughly) without a break. Are you willing to do that?
So, if you aren’t willing to master a skill, it’s important that you find someone who has mastered that skill and put them on your team. If you want a manager who is great at what they do, you’ll need to find someone who put the time into becoming a great manager. In most cases, that’s someone who studied under someone else who was great and got the benefit of their experience and connections. Now, bear in mind that the greater the manager is, the more likely he or she is to look for an artist who is the best! Very few people who are good at what they do want to spend time with mediocre folks around them.
DJ Greg Street sent out a tweet on Twitter last night that said it best, “Know your strengths and hire your weaknesses.” It’s important to know what your own weak spots are so you can compensate by hiring someone who’s is skilled in areas that you are not. [As an aside, I gotta point out the incredible access to free knowledge we have on Twitter! Just by following the OGs in the industry and reading their tweets every now and again, you can pick up incredibly valuable jewels about this industry! You can also learn a lot about people’s personalities, who is fame driven or money driven, and who is truly approachable! www.Twitter.com/RapCoalition]
So, I get inundated with artists asking me what they can do to move their careers forward with no money at all. And while I don’t truly feel it’s possible to do anything in life with no money at all (shit, even sitting home and watching TV costs rent, electricity, and cable), a good place to start a buzz is on the internet (costs: computer, internet connection, electricity) because there is a lower barrier to entry (that means any idiot can get on the web).
When promoting yourself or your artist, whether online or on the streets, there are two distinct categories of people you would want to reach: fans and the industry. The better your balance at reaching these two segments, the faster your star will rise. So as the fans get to hear your music and be excited by you (and if they’re not excited by your music, investigate that sitting home and watching TV thing some more), so should the folks who work in the music industry. The fastest way to reach them is by attending an event that brings them all out. The Ozone Awards, TJsDJs quarterly events in Tallahassee, the A&R event in New York City that happens a couple times a year, the Core DJ retreat twice a year, TUMS event in Dallas, the GO DJ event in Houston, the SEAs in Mississippi, Mary Datcher’s annual event in Chicago, The Hittmenn DJs Reunion in Jacksonville in early July, etc. To get a full understanding of which events attract the industry and are worth the expense, you have to have some access and some understanding of the urban music industry. Oh, and they all cost money (travel, food, hotels, entry badges, crap to hand out to promote yourself, etc).
Once you have CDs to sell in the marketplace, whether you are an indie label that is NOT looking for a record deal or if you are an artist already signed to a major label, promoting to the industry is a terrible waste of time and money. At that point, consumers and fans should be your focus. But the printing companies are happy when an established artist is stupid enough to blitz industry events with posters and flyers. At that point in your career, a performance will work wonders to spread the word about you throughout the industry—posters and flyers are wasted on the industry because they won’t buy your CD anyway. Again, only promote to the industry if you are looking to get signed to a label (and sales of your CD regionally is really the ONLY way to catch their attention if your goal is to have a successful career, but you won’t listen, so have fun with your hanging posters and passing out flyers and mixed CDs—I think you should do that, too. Bumping your head is a great way to learn).
The point is that everything costs money, and while you don’t have to spend millions to do this effectively, it will take SOME money on your part. If you have less than $50,000 to start promoting yourself, expect to lose it. If I had less, say $10,000, I’d press up mixed tapes and sell them and keep flipping the money until I had at least $50,000. Then, I’d make a list of everything I wanted to do in an area that consisted of a 3 to 5 hour driving radius from my house, and I get price quotes. Posters, flyers, snippet CDs, mixed CDs, t-shirts, travel money, industry event money, etc….a list of everything I would need and what it costs. And that would be the target I would need to raise before starting my promo blitz. There’s nothing worse than being $10,000 into your project and not being able to go any further because you ran out of money and hadn’t made a plan. Then and only then, once I had a budget (even a minimal one), I’d begin to apply it.
The cheapest place to start a promo campaign is the internet. MySpace is still effective for all the late adapters that are still there. It’s a place to see a quick and easy profile of you and your music (plus still a great place to go to get laid). At some point they might even figure out a way for you to get paid for putting your music there… Twitter is a great way to build your movement and invite people to follow you so they get to know you and like you. It can backfire too, you could alienate fans if they see what an asshole you really are in real life. There are quite a few artists and promoters that I am following who seem to get it. You could follow them for awhile and do what they do. But remember that the internet is only one part of a full campaign:
Tyrese is Tyrese4ReaL (brilliant use of Twitter)
Mistah FAB is MistahFAB
40 Glocc is 40Glocc
Rock City are RockCityVI and R_City
Plies is GoonAffiliated
Gangsta Boo is GangstaBoo901
Toure is ToureX
Universal Records is universal_music
Nipsey Hussle is Nipsey Hussle
Yung Joc is IAMYUNGJOC
K’naan is Iamknaan
Inertia is Inertia9
Kingpin is streetkingpin
DJ Khaled is TheRealDJKhaled
Drumma Boy is DrummaBoy_Live
Quest Love of the Roots is Questlove
Nicki Minaj is nickiminaj
Theda Sandiford is BondGyrl
Asher Roth is asherroth
Brandi Garcia is djbrandigarcia
Then there are quite a few industry people that if you follow them, they drop jewels and you can read and learn for free:
Ed Lover is MrEdLover
TJ from TJsDJs is TJsDJs
Julia Beverly is JuliaBeverly
Wendy Day is RapCoalition
Daymond John is DaymondJohnFUBU
Kim Osorio is kimosario1
Nancy Byron is rappublicist
Gary Archer is Legendgary
Classic from Da Grindaz is Classichiphop
Then there are the people who just purely entertain or share industry news:
Slim Thug is slimthugga
Lil Duval is lilduval
Ludacris is ludajuice
Paul Wall is paulwallbaby (he farts a lot)
Charlemagne is cthagod
Don Cannon is DonCannon (he’s cranky a lot which is funny as hell)
Rap Radar is ElliottWilson
Andreas Hale is andreashale
XXL Mag is XXLStaff
Harry Allen is harryallen
All Hip Hop is AquaAHH, allhiphopcom, steveraze, Grouchygreg
Tony Neal is TheCoreDJs
Music Registry is musicregistry
Bob Lefsetz is Lefsetz
Amanda Diva is amandadiva
DJ Scream is djscream
DJ Smallz is djsmallz
Hip Hip is HipHop1978
Swizz Beats is TheRealSwizz
Miss Info is missinfo
Plus, as you eavesdrop on conversations, you learn what’s important to people, how they feel about the music in general, what their philosophies are, and where they are speaking or attending events. When you see the same names come up over and over, you start to learn who the players are and who has power. If you Tweet to people who do not know you, and even some who do, don’t expect a reply. It’s more to read their thoughts, ideas, and promotions, than to have a real conversation. For me, it’s not the place to do business, just to keep in touch in 140 characters or less…
Since Twitter isn’t the place to really try and do business with folks who don’t already know you (and even some who do), it’s important to build your own email list and keep in touch with fans that way. I won’t go into detail with that because there are so many free articles and services out there that can educate you on e-newsletter building. Fan Bridge offers a free email service, and the more popular paid ones are: Mad Mimi, Constant Contact, My Newsletter Builder, Campaign Monitor, and I just got an e-newsletter this morning from ListMails.com swearing they are cheaper than everyone but I’ve never tried them. Expect only 10% to 15% of your emails to ever get opened, and even less to be read all the way through. My emails that offer something, like advice or articles, have a better rate of response than just the purely promotional ones I send out. I still send both because I want people to know what I am working on for the most part…
If you are promoting yourself or your music, make sure you have a point to it. Just sending around music for people to listen to, isn’t very productive. Personally, I rarely open up anyone’s emails with mp3s attached. If I haven’t already heard of you or you don’t already have a buzz, I don’t have the time to check out your music. There are thousands of folks out here who WILL listen to your music. But I get over 600 emails a day, and probably 100 of them matter to me. I just don’t have time to listen to everything. There are more artists and producers today than ever before, and everyone thinks they are the best and offering what’s missing from the industry. Personally, the only thing I think that is really missing from the industry is for the truly talented artists to put in some serious hard work. Just talent alone is not enough…
But even though the internet is as close to free as a promotional device will come, it’s not enough. It’s only one piece of your promotions and marketing pie! You need publicity, advertising, radio spins if you have a radio record, street awareness, club awareness, word of mouth, performances, a promotional tour--and here’s the kicker….it all needs to hit at the same time. So if you have a radio record that will take 12 to 16 weeks to get hot, and if you want the local magazines and rap magazines to write about you and they have a 2 to 3 month lag time, and you want the local bloggers and internet websites to cover you and they have a 2 to 7 day lag time, you have to make certain that you work your project to people when you want it to hit, not when it’s convenient for you. If I want the January issue of XXL Magazine to cover my artists, the publicist will be getting all the photos and press releases and stuff to them by September. Yet the Bloggers will receive the material in December.
It’s like cooking a meal…everything has to hit the dinner table at once or it isn’t a successful meal. This element of timing is where I see the majority of indie labels and indie artists mess up. And it’s a costly mistake because it is usually means the end of your project. Anyway, it’s enough of a problem and a challenge that I’ve been able to build an incubator to show folks how to do it right! Many of us out here are still making money in the music business, doing what we love and selling CDs (and selling downloads)! And it truly doesn’t get any better than that!!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Could, Shoulda, Woulda
By, Wendy Day (www.WendyDay.com)
I’m one of those people that lives life with no regrets—everything happens as it’s supposed to and when it should. Not that I give up control to “destiny,” I just make the best decisions I can with the research I have at hand, trust my own judgment, and move forward once I make a decision. No regrets…I just don’t have time or energy to play the coulda, shoulda, woulda game.
At the last Core DJ Retreat in Atlanta, I ran into an old friend. I met him the same day I met Eminem at a music conference in Detroit in 1995 (please notice I don’t ever use the word “discover” as no one ever discovers anyone, they just offer the help and support they are able along the way). He and I were playing catch up, and it allowed me the time and luxury of going back over the deals I’ve done—and the ones I walked away from doing, and on my way home I was reflective about the ones that got away!
As a deal maker, I never did deals that were mediocre (I’d rather NOT do a deal than do a deal where there’s no leverage, which always results in a one-sided bullshit deal for the artist), I never did favor deals (they never work in the artist’s favor, they are just a quick way for the negotiator to get a quick check), and happily walked away from doing the deal if the mind of the person I was negotiating for just wasn’t “right” for some reason. For example, someone looking for just the biggest check possible upfront was NOT someone I wanted to negotiate for (in doing deals, building your company plus having ownership and control far outweigh just money upfront because the money comes when you’re successful, regardless). Walking away from the deal is always the hardest part….especially if you have a lot of time invested in the project or the artist, and especially if you’re broke.
So as I made that drive home, I reflected on the deals that got away from me for one reason or another. I regret nothing, but I couldn’t help wonder what would have happened if Boosie and Webbie were signed to Universal or Def Jam, Snoop controlled all of his masters and did separate deals internationally, and if Nelly had built his own independent label to be the Cash Money or the No Limit of the Midwest, with control, ownership, and proper funding.
Down South Hustlers
In the summer of 2004 or 2005, I met the owners of Trill Entertainment through a friend. They had been selling 30,000 CDs on their own through a small independent distributor who wasn’t trying to get them to the next level as a label (in my opinion). They also had no radio spins on either of their artists, but the artists were the hottest things on the streets (especially Lil Boosie). Upon meeting them, I introduced them to a bigger indie distributor (to get their numbers up outside of their region), and a radio promoter to get them some spins for Webbie so I could shop them a Cash-Money-type-deal at a major label. I was more excited about Trill than I had been about Cash Money when I met them. The artists had a stronger buzz, and the sales were strong and consistent on two indie released CDs. They were poised for greatness.
Let me cut to the end of the story: the owners of the label fell in love with Asylum, and ended up happily doing the deal there. I walked away the month before they did the deal because I didn’t think it was the best deal or situation possible for Webbie or Boosie (again, in my opinion). The week after Trill signed their deal, I got a call from the President of Universal, who offered double the money for just one of the artists than what Asylum paid for both, with a 50-50 split on the backend. The thing about Universal back then, was they spent the necessary money on marketing and promotion to drive their artists platinum. On the flip side, Asylum was an “incubator” for artists that the WEA system didn’t think could ever sell above 250,000 CDs. This limited thinking then forced the artists to never sell high numbers. If you go into a project expecting it to fail or to sell low numbers, it almost always does. With the buzz that Boosie and Webbie had on the streets in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, I knew that with the right machine behind them, and if they were a priority at whatever label they chose, they could be platinum superstars. Again, this is just my opinion. The upside to Asylum is that as an “incubator,” they offered a larger backend split for their deals…often 65%. If I owned an indie label, however, I’d rather have 20% of five million, than 65% of one million dollars. Both the money and opportunities would be bigger.
The trick to negotiating a deal is to properly match the artist to the label. It’s also the ability to get what you need to succeed in writing, because in the negotiating phase the major is going to tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get the deal done. I’m certain Asylum promised Trill the world to get them in house, and there’s no doubt it sounded really good to everyone—these guys are smart guys. They were inexperienced in the music business and leery of trusting others. In fairness, it’s real easy for me to be a Monday morning quarterback…they’ve done a great job with the cards they’ve been dealt. A really great job! But with the buzz that Boosie and Webbie had throughout the south, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if they had a major machine behind them. I believe both artists would have been multi-platinum on their first major releases and that those releases would have dropped sooner and with more frequency.
West Coast Bad Boyz
I was referred to Snoop Dogg through a friend of his assistant. His book had just come out and his deal with Priority was almost up. He seemed to be building new heights in his career in 1999. He had a stellar attorney on his team, but the thing about attorneys is they do deals to make money, not to build super think-outside-of-the-box deals, and I had a never-been-done-before plan that I pitched to Snoop and his wife (she was his manager at the time). It must have seemed a little crazy because no one had done it before.
Snoop’s goal was to set up his own label and then later add himself as the anchor act—once his deal with Priority was up (just a few short months away). My idea was to carve out separate deals for separate regions of the world, and hire one person on staff to oversee all of the deals. The additional revenue and ownership Snoop would have made would have far exceeded or outweighed the cost of hiring someone to oversee it. I called up friends who ran distribution companies (WEA, Uni, EMI, BMG, and Sony) to see if it would be possible to even do a deal of this magnitude. Everyone came back with a resounding “yes it could happen” because it was for an artist at the level of sales of a Snoop (he had a book in the marketplace, a film coming, and seemed to be on a tremendous incline in his career).
I envisioned doing a deal in the US, a separate deal in Canada, a separate deal in Europe, a separate deal in Japan, one is South America, and a separate deal in Asia. This way, we could chose whatever were the best distributors in each international area and do deals with the best of the best. We could also feature international superstars from those separate regions on the respective releases. It would be challenging, but financially rewarding for him. And, it would change the way artists did business internationally. Asia would become like Chicago or New York for a superstar, instead of the artist collecting only 25% or 30% of the sales revenue from that area. I put it on paper and pitched it.
Due to a mis-communication on my part, I thought they were with it, and made a call to Elektra and WEA to pitch my plan to them a week later. Sylvia Rhone went ballistic and called Snoop’s attorney and tripped on him (it seemed she believed a new Snoop deal was already being steered towards her for the whole world). Perhaps she saw my involvement as invasive and intrusive, especially since Snoop at Elektra wouldn’t have been my first choice—it wouldn’t have been a perfect fit. Anyway, I got a call from Snoop’s wife who asked me respectfully but loudly to back off, and that was the end of my opportunity with Snoop. But I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Snoop had done his new deal with individual international major distributors instead of just Interscope. It may have failed miserably, who knows!? Or maybe he’d be the wealthiest rapper in hip hop…regardless, he’d have owned part or all of his own masters, so he’d have been in control.
Midwest Mackin’
I met with a guy who was supposedly setting up Derty Entertainment for Nelly in 2003. I was in St Louis working with another label. This guy grew up with Nelly and had no experience in the industry—I believe he was a teller at a bank, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I didn’t really want to take the meeting (the guy had screwed me over in the past by telling some lawyer that I dissed him when I didn’t—and you know me well enough to know that if I dis someone I’m gonna take responsibility for it) but as a favor to Nelly’s publicist, I sat down with him for a 4 hour meeting. He was looking for my help to set up their label.
I explained to him how Cash Money was structured. I explained how No Limit sold records. I outlined how Creator’s Way in Chicago (Do Or Die and Twista came out of that camp) became the biggest label in the region in the mid-90s and where they had gone wrong (I believe we learn more from mistakes than successes). I told him what I had learned from insiders about Ruff Ryders and Bad Boy. A week later, he came back to me with a proposal. They decided to sign a lot of artists (as I recall, the number was 19 acts) and put them all out at once. Whichever ones succeeded, were the ones they’d back up with promotion and marketing. There was nothing about that plan that was attractive to me. As I argued with him, I realized he wanted me to help start it. His fiancé was involved in the clothing company and he felt he needed to be part of Nelly’s team somewhere or somehow. Throwing a slew of artists against the wall to see what would stick was insane at best. Upon thinking about it later, I wondered if Nelly even knew dude’s plan. Nelly is a sharp guy and this plan didn’t make sense on any level—something didn’t feel right.
I spent the next few weeks trying to get Nelly’s manager on the phone. When we finally spoke, he set up a meeting, but then stood me up meeting after meeting until I finally took the hint. Finally, I just gave up because I realized there were internal problems in the camp that signaled impending disaster. It was an outstanding lesson for me in the importance of having a good, strong, professional team and qualified people around--a lesson I quickly applied to my own company. The thing about having staying power in this industry is that it’s an industry of new and exciting. The biggest challenge is to stay relevant for any length of time. It’s especially challenging in Hip Hop, but even more challenging once the artist crosses over into the pop world. Sometimes the key is just to invest the money wisely and diversify into other successful businesses (clothing, energy drinks, sports teams, a wonderful charity, etc).
Derty Entertainment finally went on to regroup, get some key worker bees involved in the company and put out records through Universal, I believe. But I always wonder what would have happened if they had become the powerhouse in the Midwest that they could have been. I imagine every artist would have had to go through them to get on in that region. That would have been a very profitable endeavor.
The problem with sitting back and playing Could, Shoulda, Woulda is that it doesn’t take into consideration that anything could happen and that I surely don’t know everything. All three of the above companies and empires have done fine doing things their way. Tremendously fine. It’s easy to wonder what could have been, but it’s even easier to get back to work and build the next empire! Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda is a dangerous game.
I’m one of those people that lives life with no regrets—everything happens as it’s supposed to and when it should. Not that I give up control to “destiny,” I just make the best decisions I can with the research I have at hand, trust my own judgment, and move forward once I make a decision. No regrets…I just don’t have time or energy to play the coulda, shoulda, woulda game.
At the last Core DJ Retreat in Atlanta, I ran into an old friend. I met him the same day I met Eminem at a music conference in Detroit in 1995 (please notice I don’t ever use the word “discover” as no one ever discovers anyone, they just offer the help and support they are able along the way). He and I were playing catch up, and it allowed me the time and luxury of going back over the deals I’ve done—and the ones I walked away from doing, and on my way home I was reflective about the ones that got away!
As a deal maker, I never did deals that were mediocre (I’d rather NOT do a deal than do a deal where there’s no leverage, which always results in a one-sided bullshit deal for the artist), I never did favor deals (they never work in the artist’s favor, they are just a quick way for the negotiator to get a quick check), and happily walked away from doing the deal if the mind of the person I was negotiating for just wasn’t “right” for some reason. For example, someone looking for just the biggest check possible upfront was NOT someone I wanted to negotiate for (in doing deals, building your company plus having ownership and control far outweigh just money upfront because the money comes when you’re successful, regardless). Walking away from the deal is always the hardest part….especially if you have a lot of time invested in the project or the artist, and especially if you’re broke.
So as I made that drive home, I reflected on the deals that got away from me for one reason or another. I regret nothing, but I couldn’t help wonder what would have happened if Boosie and Webbie were signed to Universal or Def Jam, Snoop controlled all of his masters and did separate deals internationally, and if Nelly had built his own independent label to be the Cash Money or the No Limit of the Midwest, with control, ownership, and proper funding.
Down South Hustlers
In the summer of 2004 or 2005, I met the owners of Trill Entertainment through a friend. They had been selling 30,000 CDs on their own through a small independent distributor who wasn’t trying to get them to the next level as a label (in my opinion). They also had no radio spins on either of their artists, but the artists were the hottest things on the streets (especially Lil Boosie). Upon meeting them, I introduced them to a bigger indie distributor (to get their numbers up outside of their region), and a radio promoter to get them some spins for Webbie so I could shop them a Cash-Money-type-deal at a major label. I was more excited about Trill than I had been about Cash Money when I met them. The artists had a stronger buzz, and the sales were strong and consistent on two indie released CDs. They were poised for greatness.
Let me cut to the end of the story: the owners of the label fell in love with Asylum, and ended up happily doing the deal there. I walked away the month before they did the deal because I didn’t think it was the best deal or situation possible for Webbie or Boosie (again, in my opinion). The week after Trill signed their deal, I got a call from the President of Universal, who offered double the money for just one of the artists than what Asylum paid for both, with a 50-50 split on the backend. The thing about Universal back then, was they spent the necessary money on marketing and promotion to drive their artists platinum. On the flip side, Asylum was an “incubator” for artists that the WEA system didn’t think could ever sell above 250,000 CDs. This limited thinking then forced the artists to never sell high numbers. If you go into a project expecting it to fail or to sell low numbers, it almost always does. With the buzz that Boosie and Webbie had on the streets in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, I knew that with the right machine behind them, and if they were a priority at whatever label they chose, they could be platinum superstars. Again, this is just my opinion. The upside to Asylum is that as an “incubator,” they offered a larger backend split for their deals…often 65%. If I owned an indie label, however, I’d rather have 20% of five million, than 65% of one million dollars. Both the money and opportunities would be bigger.
The trick to negotiating a deal is to properly match the artist to the label. It’s also the ability to get what you need to succeed in writing, because in the negotiating phase the major is going to tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get the deal done. I’m certain Asylum promised Trill the world to get them in house, and there’s no doubt it sounded really good to everyone—these guys are smart guys. They were inexperienced in the music business and leery of trusting others. In fairness, it’s real easy for me to be a Monday morning quarterback…they’ve done a great job with the cards they’ve been dealt. A really great job! But with the buzz that Boosie and Webbie had throughout the south, I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if they had a major machine behind them. I believe both artists would have been multi-platinum on their first major releases and that those releases would have dropped sooner and with more frequency.
West Coast Bad Boyz
I was referred to Snoop Dogg through a friend of his assistant. His book had just come out and his deal with Priority was almost up. He seemed to be building new heights in his career in 1999. He had a stellar attorney on his team, but the thing about attorneys is they do deals to make money, not to build super think-outside-of-the-box deals, and I had a never-been-done-before plan that I pitched to Snoop and his wife (she was his manager at the time). It must have seemed a little crazy because no one had done it before.
Snoop’s goal was to set up his own label and then later add himself as the anchor act—once his deal with Priority was up (just a few short months away). My idea was to carve out separate deals for separate regions of the world, and hire one person on staff to oversee all of the deals. The additional revenue and ownership Snoop would have made would have far exceeded or outweighed the cost of hiring someone to oversee it. I called up friends who ran distribution companies (WEA, Uni, EMI, BMG, and Sony) to see if it would be possible to even do a deal of this magnitude. Everyone came back with a resounding “yes it could happen” because it was for an artist at the level of sales of a Snoop (he had a book in the marketplace, a film coming, and seemed to be on a tremendous incline in his career).
I envisioned doing a deal in the US, a separate deal in Canada, a separate deal in Europe, a separate deal in Japan, one is South America, and a separate deal in Asia. This way, we could chose whatever were the best distributors in each international area and do deals with the best of the best. We could also feature international superstars from those separate regions on the respective releases. It would be challenging, but financially rewarding for him. And, it would change the way artists did business internationally. Asia would become like Chicago or New York for a superstar, instead of the artist collecting only 25% or 30% of the sales revenue from that area. I put it on paper and pitched it.
Due to a mis-communication on my part, I thought they were with it, and made a call to Elektra and WEA to pitch my plan to them a week later. Sylvia Rhone went ballistic and called Snoop’s attorney and tripped on him (it seemed she believed a new Snoop deal was already being steered towards her for the whole world). Perhaps she saw my involvement as invasive and intrusive, especially since Snoop at Elektra wouldn’t have been my first choice—it wouldn’t have been a perfect fit. Anyway, I got a call from Snoop’s wife who asked me respectfully but loudly to back off, and that was the end of my opportunity with Snoop. But I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Snoop had done his new deal with individual international major distributors instead of just Interscope. It may have failed miserably, who knows!? Or maybe he’d be the wealthiest rapper in hip hop…regardless, he’d have owned part or all of his own masters, so he’d have been in control.
Midwest Mackin’
I met with a guy who was supposedly setting up Derty Entertainment for Nelly in 2003. I was in St Louis working with another label. This guy grew up with Nelly and had no experience in the industry—I believe he was a teller at a bank, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I didn’t really want to take the meeting (the guy had screwed me over in the past by telling some lawyer that I dissed him when I didn’t—and you know me well enough to know that if I dis someone I’m gonna take responsibility for it) but as a favor to Nelly’s publicist, I sat down with him for a 4 hour meeting. He was looking for my help to set up their label.
I explained to him how Cash Money was structured. I explained how No Limit sold records. I outlined how Creator’s Way in Chicago (Do Or Die and Twista came out of that camp) became the biggest label in the region in the mid-90s and where they had gone wrong (I believe we learn more from mistakes than successes). I told him what I had learned from insiders about Ruff Ryders and Bad Boy. A week later, he came back to me with a proposal. They decided to sign a lot of artists (as I recall, the number was 19 acts) and put them all out at once. Whichever ones succeeded, were the ones they’d back up with promotion and marketing. There was nothing about that plan that was attractive to me. As I argued with him, I realized he wanted me to help start it. His fiancé was involved in the clothing company and he felt he needed to be part of Nelly’s team somewhere or somehow. Throwing a slew of artists against the wall to see what would stick was insane at best. Upon thinking about it later, I wondered if Nelly even knew dude’s plan. Nelly is a sharp guy and this plan didn’t make sense on any level—something didn’t feel right.
I spent the next few weeks trying to get Nelly’s manager on the phone. When we finally spoke, he set up a meeting, but then stood me up meeting after meeting until I finally took the hint. Finally, I just gave up because I realized there were internal problems in the camp that signaled impending disaster. It was an outstanding lesson for me in the importance of having a good, strong, professional team and qualified people around--a lesson I quickly applied to my own company. The thing about having staying power in this industry is that it’s an industry of new and exciting. The biggest challenge is to stay relevant for any length of time. It’s especially challenging in Hip Hop, but even more challenging once the artist crosses over into the pop world. Sometimes the key is just to invest the money wisely and diversify into other successful businesses (clothing, energy drinks, sports teams, a wonderful charity, etc).
Derty Entertainment finally went on to regroup, get some key worker bees involved in the company and put out records through Universal, I believe. But I always wonder what would have happened if they had become the powerhouse in the Midwest that they could have been. I imagine every artist would have had to go through them to get on in that region. That would have been a very profitable endeavor.
The problem with sitting back and playing Could, Shoulda, Woulda is that it doesn’t take into consideration that anything could happen and that I surely don’t know everything. All three of the above companies and empires have done fine doing things their way. Tremendously fine. It’s easy to wonder what could have been, but it’s even easier to get back to work and build the next empire! Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda is a dangerous game.
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