IN PRISON for 8 YEARS.. need some ADVICE!

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andreyoung90

Guest
I got locked up in 2006 when I was 16. just got out yesterday. im 24... i know a lot of shit changed. Before I got locked up I was makin music and doin good for bein so young. mostly local shit but I had opened up for bone thugs, paul wall & slim thug, baby boy (the this is the way i live dude).. paul wall actually hooked me up with a verse after i opened for him.

anyway my 2 older cousins promoted me and got me those shows and my buzz, all i had to do was make the music. one of them was killed 2 years after i went to prison and the other one went in to prison last year. i dont associate with nobody i did before i went to jail so im on my own doing this shit. and the game changed so much that im lost as hell.

here is what i know i need. then i got some questions about shit.

facebook
twitter
instagram
soundcloud
reverb nation

--is it best to release a lot of music at once? if a site is putting my music up should i flood them? seems like i should only push a song like that so often so that way when people hear me and look me up i got songs they aint heard yet. im not sure which is the best way to pace how much and how quick i put music out.

--should i use tumblr as my website? and do it blog style or use blogspot like drake does with ovo? i def like the idea of using a blog as a site instead of just a website cuz it seems like every music site is in blog style. either way can i get some tips on it?

--should i link my twitter to my facebook account so everything i post on twitter shows up on there or should i use facebook for exclusive updates? again i dont know how exclusive to be in order to entice people to check out my other sites.

--how should i go about promoting my music? im in a curfew til 2015 so i cant really do shows. cant even leave the county til i get reviewed in october. i dont just want to hit random people and ask them to listen to me. so what promotional tools can i use? how can i connect with people?

--what other sites should i be on? what other tools is out there that i can be utilizing?

--can somebody give me a list of blogs/sites that will accept submissions from artists?

give me some game yall.
 
andreyoung90 said:
--is it best to release a lot of music at once? if a site is putting my music up should i flood them? seems like i should only push a song like that so often so that way when people hear me and look me up i got songs they aint heard yet. im not sure which is the best way to pace how much and how quick i put music out.
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This is really a strategy related decision, many approaches can work. Having new music coming out often can work well, but too often can also end up with people feeling it's somehow spammy, especially if you push it through email blasts and so on. And just plain not pushing it may result in very few people noticing at all. Doing effective promo work for multiple one song releases will require a lot of work or be costly. Projects can be easier to promote and I personally feel that it's easier to generate some value to projects. Starting with a digital release of some sort could be a good idea, maybe a free digital EP? In my opinion, a few good songs would leave a better impact to listeners than one and "next one dropping in two weeks" for starters at least. It could leave a clearer image of what you are about.

andreyoung90 said:
--should i use tumblr as my website? and do it blog style or use blogspot like drake does with ovo? i def like the idea of using a blog as a site instead of just a website cuz it seems like every music site is in blog style. either way can i get some tips on it?
Click to expand...
Tumblr should work fine if you don't post in the usual Tumblr way (or any other blog platform would work too), but think of it as an official, informative website for you as an artist. Would also be the low cost solution, attaching your custom url is naturally possible.

andreyoung90 said:
--should i link my twitter to my facebook account so everything i post on twitter shows up on there or should i use facebook for exclusive updates? again i dont know how exclusive to be in order to entice people to check out my other sites.
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Hell no. I would unfan a page that was posting about their daily life like Twitter accounts do. Doing that would need you to really think on what you can post on Twitter as it will go to your Facebook fan page too. I would consider Facebook page within the region of "moderate updates". Twitter can be and should be more frequent, as in daily activity to be really efficient.

andreyoung90 said:
--how should i go about promoting my music? im in a curfew til 2015 so i cant really do shows. cant even leave the county til i get reviewed in october. i dont just want to hit random people and ask them to listen to me. so what promotional tools can i use? how can i connect with people?
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Utilise internet to the maximum until your able to do shows (and continue to utilise it after that too). Maybe put that time in to working on new material and releasing it so you have that new material ready for performing.

andreyoung90 said:
--what other sites should i be on? what other tools is out there that i can be utilizing?
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I would add Soundcloud for posting songs one by one and Bandcamp for possible releases, more relevant for hosting music online than Reverbnation imho.

andreyoung90 said:
--can somebody give me a list of blogs/sites that will accept submissions from artists?
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Praverb has put together a list to help you with that: The Ultimate Hip-Hop Blog Directory | Praverb.net
 
That's all really great-sounding advice from jyri, which is fantastic (especially since old-timers such as Yours Truly are not as up on all of the social media stuff)... The one thing I would offer for you to consider (and I'm speaking from several perspectives here-- label, publicity/promotion, producer/artist, journalist, and former broadcaster): _maybe _ you want to play-up the angle on your story? As a music journalist, I'd be more interested in the "human interest" angle of a story like yours (Where's he been? Why no music for so long? What happened? What will happen next?) than just getting a press release from just-another-1,000,001-rapper... It might work to your advantage (depending on how you present it)...

GJ
 
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rhythmgj said:
That's all really great-sounding advice from jyri, which is fantastic (especially since old-timers such as Yours Truly are not as up on all of the social media stuff)... The one thing I would offer for you to consider (and I'm speaking from several perspectives here-- label, publicity/promotion, producer/artist, journalist, and former broadcaster): _maybe _ you want to play-up the angle on your story? As a music journalist, I'd be more interested in the "human interest" angle of a story like yours (Where's he been? Why no music for so long? What happened? What will happen next?) than just getting a press release from just-another-1,000,001-rapper... It might work to your advantage (depending on how you present it)...

GJ
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As ugly as that may sound, it's true. That can and will actually help you brand yourself as a producer/artist.
 
theres not a lot of violence in my music tho. ill be honest im not all that different from whats out there right now but difference is since ive been rapping so long i have more skill than most that are big right now. but my music isn't negative enough to push that story or positive enough to make it a inspirational turn-your-life-around story. i just rap about normal shit and make sure i do it with skill.
 
I'd have to somewhat cosign rhythmgj and juse. Or at least it isn't something that should be hidden. One of the main reasons is the human interest rhythmgj brought up. So not to overexaggerate it especially if it doesn't show in your music but still have it as a part of your backstory/history, just like to tell who you are and where you come from. This is somewhat terrible, but if nothing else, the whole "8 year break due to prison time" will at least catch the eye of a music blog writer when looking through the tons of music submissions they receive daily.
 
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Exactly (see jyri's and juse's comments above). And to be clear, I'm not advocating for more violence in your music; that's not my thing, quite the contrary, actually. I'm just saying _tell your story_-- the interesting part is that it's still happening; it's not over yet. Something you should remember. You are scripting the rest of your life right now, so why would you say that your story isn't positive enough? People are interested in the struggle, it's true (all good stories have conflict), but you can start making yours a positive example today...

GJ
 
Social media it's where it's at...don't release a lot of music concentrate on good hit sounding singles, make a Facebook artist page and make that your primary artist site, promotion there is cheap and very effective, continuously post new content and respond to your fans and don't make the same mistake a lot of rappers do which is they think their shit is super hot and release music when it turns out that the majority of people hate it, share your music for critisism before releasing it! Good luck glad your out!
 
Brother, stop chasing a music dream and get an education and a real job. You already have wasted 8 years in jail. Start doing the right thing and integrate yourself back into society with a day job and some education. This rap game will have you doing something stupid and getting locked up again.

Please think about what I am saying and do music as a hobby. You need to establish yourself as a reformed and respectable member of society. Being a rapper or producer will not do that for you.
 
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