Transcript
Getting in today’s music business is a little bit different than it has traditionally been for rappers. Before, the goal was to find an A&R at his record label and give them a demo tape. We don’t have tape anymore, or a demo CD. But, today, now the need to be seen by an A&R is not like it used to be.
Now, because of the Internet, you can get into the music business by just putting out music and giving it directly to the consumer. You can do that via your website. You can do that via other websites, such as, you know, SoundCloud, you know, Bandcamp, and many others. Or you can go directly to iTunes via TuneCore because, unlike the past, you don’t need a record label to get out to the people.
Now, where you do need a record label is that they have a machine that can help you get out to the world at large, because they have more money and they have a larger platform for you to launch from. Now, because so many people have access to the Internet and there’s so much competition out there, what you need to do to get into the business is you need to build something called a buzz.
And what a buzz does, it lets people know that you have a following, people are interested in who you are. So, the way you build a buzz is by putting out music via social media, via shows, to people that enjoy your type of music. And if you can build a buzz, then you can go to a record label and that record label will look at your numbers and say, “Wow, this person has a buzz. I’m going to give them a chance.” And that’s how you break into the music business.
