Hiphop's Uphill Battle

I came across an article written by Phil Watts, Jr posted at http://www.411mania.com/. In it he gives his Mid-year look at Hip-Hop in 2007. I really got into the article and I agree with him on most of his points. Here are some things that he brought up that we should think on:

1) The decline in rap music sales
2) Downloadable music sales versus CD sales (we touched on this already)
3) The crackdown on the industry of mixtapes
4) The re-emphasis on censorship

One thing for sure Mr. Watts has love for Hiphop. I love the way he slayed one reviewer of the Jaylib reissue album. The reviewer was very disrespectful to both Jay Dee and Madlib and Watts let him have it. Well done!

Now back to the Mid-year look, I want to build on the downloadable music sales versus CD sales first. Like I said, we touched on this within the last couple of weeks as a matter of fact. What Watts indicated about this was kinda disturbing but destined to happen. He stated some sites like Hiphopsite.com have abandoned the CD and vinyl records to strictly selling downloads.

While this sounds cool to abandon the CD because online retailers are doing it, remember what I said before. CD are still a great marketing tool. I know some people would argue that they are dead but I would disagree and say that their marketing plan is flawed.

Remember my meeting with Scarface? Even today I would’ve still rather have given him a CD instead of link to a mp3 file. A CD has a certain presentation quality that you simply can’t get with a mp3 file. Its tangible to start with and most people are still used to CDs.

I would really like to get some feedback on this one. You can post your reply here or send me an email at mello@free-hot-rap.com.

Also, I just got some HOT new instrumentals from my man DJ Pocket from Serious Knock Entertainment. When they are posted to http://www.free-hot-rap.com/ I will sure to let you know.

Aight!!! Let’s Make It Happen!