Do you have the potential? Maybe...
But you'd be arriving at the party about 20 years late... the industry isn't what it used to be.
They're not looking for the next Prince anymore, but for artists they can mold and fit the current trends, which they chase as much as everybody else... desparately so.
That's probably the main thing that changed in 20 years, 'the industry' (by that I mean the majors, a couple of large indies along with major radio and MTV) don't set the trends anymore.
They've become followers. Most of them are simply looking for quick bandwagons they can hop on. Artists that are already generating buzz and releasing stuff on their own..
and that they basically just have to slap their label on and put the grand ole marketing machine behind.
A lot of the richness you see on rappers, is fake. The boat is a prop, the car a rental and the mcMansion is owned by the label. The chains are on loan... and 'the artist' is probably miles
into debt because of some messed up clauses in his contract making him responsible for all the debt taken on 'launching him' until he actually starts to sell something.
Go ask 50 Cent how the fake dollar bill thing is going for him.
And guess what... nobody is selling shit these days. Income from streaming is terrible.. and even with the shitty royalties they pay most streaming services are far from breaking even!
Something's gotta give there. Mp3's (itunes) have a better margin, but hey.. since streaming everybody stopped buying MP3's.
Most of the money some labels make these days actually comes from things like licensing. Getting one song played under a commercial can earn you more than a string of successful albums.
That changes the music they're after.. you better start making upbeat major key shit with a lot of happy whistling and easy to hum along melodies
Oh, and learn to play Ukelele. Or pumping
trance for EA to put under the next Need for Speed. PewDiePie earns more money and has more fans and pull than almost any musician out there... and he just talks into a webcam with bad jokes.
Don't look at Rihanna or Kanye breaking records left and right.. Look at everybody just below that. They're not doing well. How many people do you see built into a star and then poof.. gone.
Look up how they're doing now.
Sorry to be so bleak.. but 'the dream' isn't what it used to be. In fact, 'the dream' never was what it seemed. Google 'mafia + music business' for some fun evening reading.
In any case... like I said, labels have stopped 'developing' artists and are mostly just looking for 'the next big thing' to co-opt. So even if you're going for it, the best first step would be to
go at it independently and start generating buzz for yourself. That's what they look for anyway, something that'll make them money NOW and keep the numbers somewhat black for another year.
A decent indie band, who put out their own stuff to their own niche crowd and perform live regularly, can make a very decent living these days.. and operate everything independently.
That seems to me a much better position to be in, than whatever 50 Cent is up to these days.. lol.
