This is my very first blog to educate you artists that want to make it in this music “Business” as you feel as though your talent should be heard. Now I’m not trying to knock anyone dreams of trying to be that next “Big thing”. If you want to get on in this industry it will take plenty of hard work. Unless you got a bunch of money it will be a long haul and for those that do “Buy” there way in, I will say it now I don’t respect you at all. Damn that rhyme, I should be a rapper too [laughs].

To get straight to business I have some advice you upcoming artist be need to be advised on. Recently I was downtown in Philly getting ready to meet up with my homey Trel Mack to hang out and handle some business. While on the way there I ran into this dude trying to sell me his album, mixtape, or whatever for 5.00 dollars. I’m pretty sure many of you upcoming artist do this and always say “5 ain’t much man, support me”.

Let me tell you something I understand you had to pay for studio time, album covers, duplications, all that, but if I never heard of you why the hell I’m buy your damn CD? No disrespect, but that’s like a car salesman trying to sell me a car I never test drove, see the comparison? Anyway while talking to this dude I tried and tried to explain to him that you need to give them away for free and he looked at me like I was crazy. Now it’s time to be real my homey’s.

The CD is on it’s way to being extinct like a fuckin dinosaur. CD sales in the industry are dieing every year and compared to last year it’s been an 11% decrease in the physical album sales, which is terrible (Do ya research and know what’s going on, the info is out there). If music fans today won’t even buy a top selling artist like 50 Cent, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne’s album what makes you think they will buy yours. Yeah these artist had huge first week numbers in CD sales and don’t forget they drop heavily the following weeks to come, but that’s nothing compared to the music fans that downloaded the shit out of their albums for FREE, yes FREE!!!

A smart artist on the rise will give the music away for free, can you imagine how many hands that will touch the product and increase your chances of getting heard? Exactly, but this dude just didn’t get the picture I was trying to help him see and he didn’t even realize who he was talking to.

(Now I’m very young in this industry too, but I know my shit and learning more by the day).

But no, he wanted to go the hard route and hustle his music all day for a petty five dollars and I know for a fact he had a harder time. You never know whose hands your album will touch if you simply give them away.

The funny thing this dude had know idea I was a freelancer for many major online hip-hop sites and print publications and if I liked what I heard, who knows I could’ve did a review, got a track online, etc. See the bigger picture now my fellow artist that’s trying to get on? You don’t know who is who or who knows who, or who is very connected to get you to that next level, so why not sacrifice the money to get heard instead. Yeah I understand some people might take it and throw it away, but at least they are seeing your name.

Be sure to check out Quinton’s site Skemusic.com

You see this industry is built on sacrifice and you have to put in that work. Working for free in this biz is a must and the many people who reach the pinnacle of the music industry made it for the love and passion of this game and then the money came, but that’s a whole different blog coming for next week.