WHAT WOULD JEEZY DO? | BY WENDY DAY
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Disclaimer: Thug Motivation 101 is my favorite album. Ever.
We’ve all heard how the music business has changed since Young Jeezy first
exploded on the scene (my favorite rapper in the mid-2000s), but what no
one seems to mention is how much better it has gotten for independent and
unsigned artists to make money. Today, artists don’t HAVE to sign to major
labels. They can choose to do so, if they want to become pop stars like Drake,
Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, or Billie Eilish, but the era of Major Labels as gatekeepers
is gone.
Rappers and singers can go directly to the fans, as long as they have some
know how and some money to market and promote themselves. This is what
Young Jeezy accomplished in the early 2000s with his popular mixtapes—remember
Come Shop With Me? The Streetz Is Watching? Trap Or Die? He owned
the streets and minds of many rap fans. And it’s easier and more accepted to
take the indie route today. Here’s how to do it:
Get your social media numbers up—legitimately. Real followers and potential
fans matter more than just buying numbers (bots or fake fans to boost
your numbers) because eventually you will need your followers to support
you. If they’re fake, they can’t support you. You should absolutely engage
real people and use hashtags to attract potential followers. You can go to
the accounts of artists who have a similar sound to yours and engage their
biggest followers by starting a conversation with them on their own posts. If
you intrigue them, they will naturally check out your bio or page to see who
you are, and eventually, your music.
Don’t just @ people with your music or always be promoting your music on
social media. Be human. People want to know who you are and see what
you’re about. Post authentic, everyday content. Start a conversation with
them. This is how artists like Jeezy marketed themselves on the streets.
They blitzed the streets with tens of thousands of mix CDs and did shows
throughout the south to build recognition and awareness. They interacted
with their fans and the industry in key cities. Today, we start that momentum
online and then move into the real world as the movement heats up.
Release as much content as you can without overwhelming the fans. The
more opportunities you take to make people aware of you, your music,
and your image (who you authentically are), the bigger your buzz will grow
provided you have music that the fans want to hear and they like what they
see. The fans are harder to reach today than ever before because they have
so many entertainment options at their fingertips.
There is no one way to reach everyone, so try to reach as many people as
you can through social media marketing, digital ads, influencer marketing,
video releases, radio play, mixtape sites, Spotify playlists, Pandora and
YouTube channels, podcasts, street promotions, performances, TV and film
soundtracks, advertising, touring, clubs, etc. Jeezy made every release an
event, and although the attention of fans wasn’t as fractured as it is today, it
still took work online and in person for Jeezy to build love and recognition.
In real life, focus on your region first. Don’t try to reach the entire United
States all at once. Start small and grow. Hopefully you have a budget to help
you grow, because this industry is not cheap. Of course when you’re working
the internet, it’s a bit challenging to focus on your region (a 5 to 7 state area
surrounding where you live). But do the best you can to maximize your
budget, as targeted as you can. This means if you live in Atlanta, for example,
you’ll focus on buying Facebook and Google ads in FL, GA, NC, SC, AL, VA, TN,
and MS.
12 // OZONE MAG
Often, when building a new career, we go outside of the artist’s hometown
and build them in the surrounding areas before focusing on home. We
want to boost show income as quickly as possible and sometimes the areas
surrounding where you live show more love faster. In the early 2000s, when
Jeezy first came into prominence, he was loved in Atlanta and this ignited
quickly throughout the Southeast as fans shared his music. Today, the majority
of fans consume their music via streaming, so it’s important to get on as
many playlists as possible and reach your fans on whichever platform they
prefer, whether that’s Youtube, Spotify, Apple Music, SoundCloud, Spinrilla,
MyMixtapes, Amazon Music, Tidal, Tik Tok, or Deezer. Be everywhere!
In order to get your music everywhere, you need a distributor. A distributor
gets your music onto the music platforms and they collect your money
for you (DSPs—digital service providers, like Spotify, Apple, Tidal, Amazon,
Deezer, Pandora, etc). It will be up to you to get your music on YouTube (music
and videos), SoundCloud, Audiomack, Tik Tok, Dubsmash, Triller, Dat Piff, My
Mixtapes, Spinrilla, and Live Mixtapes by uploading it directly or sending it to
each platform.
Your distributor will either upload your music to the DSPs for a flat fee and
then pay you 100% of the income, or pay you a split of the income (usually
80/20, except for STEM and United Masters, both of whom pay a higher
percentage to the artists, around 90/10). The distributors who upload for a flat
fee are TuneCore and Distrokid, and the distributors who pay a percentage of
income are companies like Empire, Symphonic, AWAL, Orchard, and Capitol.
Many distributors offer label services and/or advances for artists who already
have a buzz or a movement in place. Normally, it takes 90 days to get paid by
your distributor (so you receive money in April from music streamed on the
DSPs by fans in January). The more money a distributor puts up or the more
risk they take, the higher the percentage will be in their favor. So instead of
receiving 80% from a distributor (80/20 deal), if they spend $100,000 on marketing
and promotions for you (label services), your deal may become a 60/40
or 70/30 deal (60% or 70% to you, the artist). Ideally, you will have someone
on your team with the experience to build a successful career for you while
you play the role of the artist.
The industry is constantly growing and changing, and the things that are
important today may no longer be relevant six months from now. The key to
success is to stay on top of what works and brings income into your company,
and don’t chase the things that no longer work. There are blogs and video
websites that matter and there are influential podcasts and video interviews
you can do to reach fans. There are music conferences and festivals to attend
and performances to do. Radio is still a great way to reach a large amount of
listeners at once, if you have the budget to invest and if your music is commercial
enough. Internet radio is increasing in popularity, as are the dance
video sites like Tik Tok, Triller, and Dubsmash.
The most important aspect of your career is knowing your market and demographic.
While I know that the majority of fans are 13 to 26 for a burgeoning
rapper or singer today, I don’t know where they live or how they spend their
time. And it’s imperative that you do know this. That’s something that hasn’t
changed over the years.
You also need great music. Not good, but great! And finally, you need a strong
work ethic. This is where Jeezy and others of his generation stood out. He was
willing to outwork everyone else, and that’s why he’s a multi-millionaire today.
So ask yourself, “What would Jeezy do?” The real answer is: Whatever he has to
do to succeed. You should too.
MAG
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