Ludacris Speaks on the Beauty of Being an Independent Music Artist

Ludacris and Tyrese were on Power 105.1 FM's The Breakfast Club show last week to promote the latest Fast and Furious movie that they both star in, and the discussion veered towards their individual music careers and the fact that they are both on independent music labels right now. And then Ludacris took time to speak on the beauty of being independent.

Dave East Signs Deal with Def Jam

New York rapper, Dave East just signed a deal with Def Jam Records. Nas signed him two years ago to his Mass Appeal records, but now he is signed to Def Jam Records. I guess he feels the major label can take him where he wants to go faster than Mass Appeal could. He is probably still signed to Mass Appeal, but with a joint deal with Def Jam. I wish him all the best.

Update on Nas's 'The Lost Tapes 2' Album

Nas is about to drop his last album with Def Jam, which is being speculated to drop early 2016. After that, he would totally focus on his independent label, Mass Appeal Records, which his future albums would be released on.  He is a part owner of the label. News out right now is that Nas will soon be dropping his long awaited The Lost Tapes 2 on Mass Appeal Records. 

Game Just Got $4 Million From E1 For His Blood Money Label

Everyone is going independent these days, and Game doesn't seem to be doing badly for himself in the indie world. After completing his five album deal with Interscope two years ago with the release of his Jesus Piece album, he became a free agent. At one point he wanted to get signed with Cash Money, but he changed his mind, and formed a new label (Blood Money Entertainment) with his long time friend, Stat Quo. The Blood Money label is in a joint deal with E1 (Former Koch Records), and Game got paid $2 million for the deal...plus $2 million upfront for his upcoming album, Year Of The Wolf. 





During his recent interview on Big Boy's Neighborhood radio show (on Power 106 radio), he spoke on his current situation at E1 Entertainment.  





“It’s my own world, man. I’m in cahoots with E1 formerly known as Koch. We got a sweet deal. They came with a better deal than Interscope did in the beginning when I was young. I got two million up front. All cash. Wasn’t even a recording budget. And then after that they gave me a million dollars to record and then I got a million dollars to promote. Yeah, nowadays. And then the crazy part about the million that they gave me to promote is I put that in my pocket cause all my friends—It don’t cost nothing to get on The Neighborhood.”




That's a super sweet deal. So, let's do the math. Let's say the first $2 mill he was given is for signing the deal with E1, which should be to entice him to stay with them for the long haul. The second $2 million he got was for his upcoming album, Year Of The Wolf, which is going to be a group album, and his first under the indie label. He already shot two videos for the album; Bigger Than Me, and Or Nah. The album drops September 16th, the same day as 50 Cent's Street King Immortal Album. So, do you think Game can recoup the $2 mill he was given by E1 for this album? The album won't go Plat, or even Gold. It would probably sell like 30k first week, and end up at a total of 100k sold. And if each CD sells for an average of $5, that would just be half a million made from album sales. Unless he has singles that go Gold or platinum, I don't see how he can recoup that $2 mill. But I am sure E1 knew what they were doing when they gave him all that money. 


Which ever way, I am happy for Game's new situation. 

Talib Kweli Praises Macklemore's Success

While a lot of older rappers are hating on Macklemore's success in Hip Hop, rap veteran, Talib Kweli says Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' success should be praised. He focuses on the fact that they attained a monumental status in the music industry on their own, without a major label, and that every independent artist out there should take time to study how they did that.

Appearing on Melissa Harris-Perry's Show, Talib Kweli spoke on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's success, and how they did it without a major label.




 “Macklemore & Ryan Lewis did not do this with a major label. They did it on their own, with their own label, and it got so powerful that they had to employ Warner Bros. to promote their records. Me as an independent artist, me as an artist without a label and all these independent, underground Rap artists, we should be paying attention to the blueprint that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis set up, rather than the racial overtones of them winning a Grammy.”

Stat Quo Speaks on Advantages of Indie Over Major

A lot of artists are going the independent way, and saying 'fuck you' to the major labels. Why sign to a major label to get a $500k advance, and get 35 cents off each of your CDs sold, when you can put up the music on iTunes yourself, and keep up to $5 on each CD sold to yourself. Former Shady-Aftermath artists, Stat Quo, during a recent interview with HHDX, spoke on the advantages of being Independent over being signed to a major label.







“You can put your own music on iTunes. iTunes takes 30 percent of it. That means essentially if they sell it for $9.99, you’re getting $7. Even if you go through an online distributor, they take 20 percent and you get 80 percent of it. You’re still winning. If I sell a CD, and lets say that I’m just putting it on iTunes, I’m getting $7 in my pocket for every CD that I sell. Whereas if you go through a label, what do they give you? A dollar? Some change? A label is only good at building your brand to where you can go all over the world and be who you are.”





True, established acts that have money saved up are better off going the indie route. I hope Stat Quo and Game can pull off that 'The Firm Records' they started together a couple of years ago, so Game doesn't have to sign with Cash Money. I am a Game fan, and I know that at this point in his career, he can barely go platinum with an album again. If his albums are flat-lining at about 300k sold, it will only be wise to go the indie route. Even if he doesn't sell that much with the indie deal, and he sells just about 150k copies total, it is still a good look...that is about $750k made off the album if he got $5 off each CD. He wouldn't even get that much if his album sold a million copies on a major label.