Last night on Twitter, Kevin Shine ( A&R Consultant-Jive Records) asked for an industry topic to discuss. I immediately shouted out as many questions concerning the industry I possibly could before he settled on answering one of them. The question I purposed was this; afterward I allowed him to explain his reasoning on this important matter for the hip hop community without interruption (I've extended the conversation to include missing words that otherwise wouldn't fit with Twitter's micro-blogging capabilities.)
Can you speak about the declining sales in albums? Jay Z may be the first and only to receive a gold album for 2009,any suggestions for change?
Kevin Shine: The Problem I am addressing is the decline of sales, because as we listen to all this music, we hear three hits out of every thirty records and one blow out.Today we see a major decline in sales at retail, we see a major decline in quality album, decline in jobs at the labels, and lots of singles. Labels have artist sitting waiting on their release dates.Artist are not focus building quality catalogs.Everyone has an album/video coming out.
So we look at the decline in sales, people are not happy with the quality of artist, they like your record, but they aren't coming out to see you perform. Older artist are still holding their position in the big picture, while new artist are suffering. They are not building careers, they are living for the moment.
No Buzz, no major spins from Dj's or radio, no word of mouth, no money to push themselves, but they all want free money, no!
Hip Hop artist make records then run to the A&R or the radio, instead of taking it to the people.Everyone is looking for the microwave oven single, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it works,but mostly it hurts.No records are developed for the people, just radio.
Or we look for the club bangers!!! It's not always the best song,but we have been brainwashed into thinking the only way to break a record is the club.
The focus on a single sometimes hurts the whole project, because it doesn't match or nothing else on the project sounds as good, then we rush the CD.R&B and pop albums sound like compilation Cd's, 10 songs 10 producers, no one is focused on creating cohesive projects.
Everyone wants to be a pop star, because they think they're gonna make money, even if they're from the hood. What do you know about pop? That's whack.
What happened to R&B? I want to hear good R&B,
So should we go against the grain? Do the opposite of demand? Because this trend seems to be universal.
Kevin Shine:True. We don't trust the people to tell us the truth, so we look for any brainwashing vehicle we can use to manipulate the listener. So artist are selling you the hype of their project, over featuring albums, no true identity on the project, too many sounds, and too many egos.
It's hard to understand how people think this works. It's because the people reppin' the artist aren't connected or knowledgeable, so artist are missing opportunities and money.
For a project to work, all parties from the label, management, agents, lawyer, and fans have to be on the same page.
Street teams versus the internet is one better than the other?
Kevin Shine:We know the internet is gonna be the main source for distribution, no retail store is making enough money to support independent or major labels without a brand name.
So for all you new artist, its a tough time people are scared take your time with your projects, this could be your last chance to do it right. Be careful every artist doesn't understand how much you need songwriters on your project. Even if you think you are the best writer ever, its business not personal.
There is a big difference between a quality song versus quality records, do your homework, I hear a lot of song, not records. We all have to learn, but for those of us that are "know-it-all's", Good luck fam, I pray you are right, otherwise your ass gonna be broke!!!
I want to thank Kevin Shine for this brief enlightenment into some of the reasons we see a decline in record sales. I believe the more you are educated the better your chances for success. I think it's high time we all started to do our homework and stop letting our pride get in the way of our business. Keep doing you , don't lose your identity but at the same time take in the world around you. If this is your future then treat it as such, make your music timeless, make your brand everlasting and never give up on your dreams. I hope that one day soon we can see Hip Hop as the paramount force it once was, but it takes all of the bricks to hold the beast of a building up, so lets continue to work together for a common goal. Make music, Make money. Ya better believe it.
Follow Kevin Shine On Twitter@kevin_anr_shine
youtube.com KEVIN SHINE, & ASCAP WRITINGSESSIONS
Or www.myspace.com/kevshine
For more information about Kevin Shine and education.
Can you speak about the declining sales in albums? Jay Z may be the first and only to receive a gold album for 2009,any suggestions for change?
Kevin Shine: The Problem I am addressing is the decline of sales, because as we listen to all this music, we hear three hits out of every thirty records and one blow out.Today we see a major decline in sales at retail, we see a major decline in quality album, decline in jobs at the labels, and lots of singles. Labels have artist sitting waiting on their release dates.Artist are not focus building quality catalogs.Everyone has an album/video coming out.
So we look at the decline in sales, people are not happy with the quality of artist, they like your record, but they aren't coming out to see you perform. Older artist are still holding their position in the big picture, while new artist are suffering. They are not building careers, they are living for the moment.
No Buzz, no major spins from Dj's or radio, no word of mouth, no money to push themselves, but they all want free money, no!
Hip Hop artist make records then run to the A&R or the radio, instead of taking it to the people.Everyone is looking for the microwave oven single, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it works,but mostly it hurts.No records are developed for the people, just radio.
Or we look for the club bangers!!! It's not always the best song,but we have been brainwashed into thinking the only way to break a record is the club.
The focus on a single sometimes hurts the whole project, because it doesn't match or nothing else on the project sounds as good, then we rush the CD.R&B and pop albums sound like compilation Cd's, 10 songs 10 producers, no one is focused on creating cohesive projects.
Everyone wants to be a pop star, because they think they're gonna make money, even if they're from the hood. What do you know about pop? That's whack.
What happened to R&B? I want to hear good R&B,
So should we go against the grain? Do the opposite of demand? Because this trend seems to be universal.
Kevin Shine:True. We don't trust the people to tell us the truth, so we look for any brainwashing vehicle we can use to manipulate the listener. So artist are selling you the hype of their project, over featuring albums, no true identity on the project, too many sounds, and too many egos.
It's hard to understand how people think this works. It's because the people reppin' the artist aren't connected or knowledgeable, so artist are missing opportunities and money.
For a project to work, all parties from the label, management, agents, lawyer, and fans have to be on the same page.
Street teams versus the internet is one better than the other?
Kevin Shine:We know the internet is gonna be the main source for distribution, no retail store is making enough money to support independent or major labels without a brand name.
So for all you new artist, its a tough time people are scared take your time with your projects, this could be your last chance to do it right. Be careful every artist doesn't understand how much you need songwriters on your project. Even if you think you are the best writer ever, its business not personal.
There is a big difference between a quality song versus quality records, do your homework, I hear a lot of song, not records. We all have to learn, but for those of us that are "know-it-all's", Good luck fam, I pray you are right, otherwise your ass gonna be broke!!!
I want to thank Kevin Shine for this brief enlightenment into some of the reasons we see a decline in record sales. I believe the more you are educated the better your chances for success. I think it's high time we all started to do our homework and stop letting our pride get in the way of our business. Keep doing you , don't lose your identity but at the same time take in the world around you. If this is your future then treat it as such, make your music timeless, make your brand everlasting and never give up on your dreams. I hope that one day soon we can see Hip Hop as the paramount force it once was, but it takes all of the bricks to hold the beast of a building up, so lets continue to work together for a common goal. Make music, Make money. Ya better believe it.
Follow Kevin Shine On Twitter@kevin_anr_shine
youtube.com KEVIN SHINE, & ASCAP WRITINGSESSIONS
Or www.myspace.com/kevshine
For more information about Kevin Shine and education.
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