L'attirail

Its that time. You have finally decide to make a move on up and make a demo. You should, initially, focus on the product. In the case of todays music industry, this means concentrating on your beat.

The beat is the very underpinning of every rap tune or hip hop song. There is no getting around it. You have to have unique and professional beats to make you and your music stand out. You need to find a site providing you with professional beats. Consider what you want, then download a series of samples. If you are not sure what you want, download a variety of instrumental beats.

The first question you need to ask yourself concerns your style of vocals. How will the beat sound coupled with your vocals and lyrics? You should base this, partly, on how you hear it. Listen closely and determine whether the music sounds right to your trained ear. You are a professional. You know a good beat when you hear one.

Selecting the right beat also depends upon knowing how your audience will react. By now, you should know what turns an audience. You need to consider your audience and your music before you put it out there.

The demo must reflect your own unique approach and reveal to its listeners why an audience will follow you. It should sound like it is real. It must show producers, managers, talent scouts and any music business personnel at least two things: What you and your music can do and who you and your audience are. If you want to accomplish this, you have to start with the right, hot beats.  Read more...

In this article we discuss the long and short term effects of the global economic recession on the music industry and how these changes have already affected music sales

The economic recession which has, according to the latest data, been ongoing for at least the last year, has caused many consumers to cut back on spending. The United States, one of the strongest consumer markets for entertainment products, has been hit particularly hard by the recession.

While new music continues to be marketed to the masses, the cutbacks in consumer activity are certain to have an effect on the way consumers choose to spend their dollars and whether music will be as viable a product as it has traditionally been.

From 2004 to 2007, online music sales went from a non-factor in overall sales to an impressive 30 percent of all music sales in the US. The potential for online music sales to be a force is certainly there, but the music industry remains stifled by some stiff competition that always offers its products at the best price: free.

Music piracy via online music sharing sites and software has long been blamed by the industry as the cause for the majority of their woes with little regard to what the infiltration of those services may tell the industry about their products.  Read more...

Hip hop music was huge in the United States just a few years ago. At one point in 2000, sales even hit a record high of over 1.8 billion USD. That was when Hip Hop R&B had over taken all other genres of music in terms of record sales. To find out why Hip Hop music sales are slumping currently, one has to rewind a little and understand how Hip Hop all started out.

Before Hip Hop got accepted into the mainstream, many Hip Hop artists pretty much stayed underground to practise their art form. No one knew Hip Hop was going to become the titan that it would develop into. When Hip Hop first began, it started out in the streets. It was a movement by people who were disadvantaged, or were ostracized by the community – they were looking for a way to express themselves and their plight. And express themselves they did.

Hip Hop music is spontaneous and witty. For example, when a battle takes place between two artists, the lyrics are never pre-written. Each competitor will be given the opportunity to rap for a certain period of time. The audience is the judge. The culture of rap is that the judging audience is never biased making it a truly democratic art form. Whoever comes up with the most original and creative lyrics will win the battle. Of course, there is an element of like and dislike. So the lyrics have to connect with the audiences as well. The final results of the battle is based on the cheers of the audience. Whoever receive the loudest cheer, wins the battle.  Read more...