Mixtape vs Album

What it really boils down to is longevity and demograpihcs. Do you want to still make mixtapes when you're forty trying to compete? Regardless of the fact that Jay-Z did come pre-download it doesn't change the fact that the game changed with technology and that if you don't adapt you get left behind.

All this does is solidify my point. There are too many people on earth and not everyone has heard of XYZ.

Anyway 2chainz has been in the game for a long time. Playaz circle, DTP, Ludacris. He isn't new, he just re-branded himself. Also a lot of these majors that have been listed are getting finances off showcases and performances, not the tape itself. They give away the tapes for free.

I'm not saying they don't get any revenue at all from the tapes, I'm saying that it isn't close to what they get from performances.

Lets just look at the facts and the numbers. How many people succeed off mixtapes a year? How many tapes must be made for one good one to come out? Everyone named so far in this convo has been major and can afford to give away content for free and then make money from tours. But what about indies?

The only person I heard was Kendrick with Section 80. Logic does well with them. Ice Berg does well and he has finally reached another level of success.
 
Spektor said:
So is it good for indie artist to release mixtapes
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That is up to them. They can still be useful tools, my thing is just so many people do it and only a few succeed, obviously something else can be done. To many simple follow whats now. Those that shake the cage and do something new stick out.
 
Blk Aza said:
You don't actually believe everything that rappers say do you? The house was probably one of them 10,000 ghetto ass cribs
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considering what he was getting off shows around that time it's very believable. As far as rebranding himself. Of course I'm aware of that but part of that rebrand marketing came off mixtapes like Cocaine Cowboy and True Religion. Without that, if he went straight for the drake feature he would have ended up like a one hit wonder.

You can bring odds into anything like of all the albums released how many artists actually turn a god's honest profit out of it. Out of all the thousands spent on music videos how many do we actually pay attention or talk about. Out of all the street singles that never make an album how many were worth putting out.

If you play it by odds then nobody has any business in music. But for post-napster artist some free material of some sort, in rap at least, has to be put out to even be received by the populous. Very few can make the transition from SMASH first single to legit artist. They often end up as One hit wonders. So you need a full project to prove your album is worth more then $1.

and although I've been arguing for mixtapes, I am a much bigger fan of EPs, and "Singles" (2 to 3 song releases). There much shorter, have much shorter turn around time, less filler, can make the same impact, don't cost you money and doesn't fight against short attention spans. Rock artists have been doing these for first impressions since the dawn of time. I feel like hip hop will have to move in this direction and its also a way labels can cash in, like they tend to do.
 
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this might have been said but artists put less effort into an album cuz theres LESS MONEY BEING MADE EVERYBODY PIRATES AND STREAMS so what you do expect honestly
 
this might have been said but artists put less effort into an album cuz theres LESS MONEY BEING MADE EVERYBODY PIRATES AND STREAMS so what you do expect honestly
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really that is not the case at all people are making money off of singles, but the bottom line is are you making music that is current...music changes as time moves on.if we are still doing the same sound same patterns and the same arrangement as we did 5,10 or more years ago then yes you will not sell and you will get left behind. this is a main problem with rap/hip hop. just look at what fol rida,pitbull,far east movement have doneUntitled.jpg
 
A mixtape is given out for free. My question, does it cost as much money to make as an album? Both have origanal beats and features other know artist. Do they tell producers, "This is for a mixtape, so let me get that beat free of charge."

What about video shoots and mixtape ads?

Seem like they putting as much work.
 

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MoreRyanHall said:
A mixtape is given out for free. My question, does it cost as much money to make as an album? Both have origanal beats and features other know artist. Do they tell producers, "This is for a mixtape, so let me get that beat free of charge."

What about video shoots and mixtape ads?

Seem like they putting as much work.
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thats a good question but doesnt have a set answer. but ill tell you wats fasho its not what u no but who u no

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Spektor said:
So is it good for indie artist to release mixtapes
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its a must. unless you have a backer or label that can push your shit other wise people wont **** with your album if you dont have mixtapes they can check out. i hate to say the must like its a rule but as of now its common sense. mixtapes are to build following and stay relavent every so often you put an album out





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poszeone said:
really that is not the case at all people are making money off of singles, but the bottom line is are you making music that is current...music changes as time moves on.if we are still doing the same sound same patterns and the same arrangement as we did 5,10 or more years ago then yes you will not sell and you will get left behind. this is a main problem with rap/hip hop. just look at what fol rida,pitbull,far east movement have done
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im not disagreeing with you but that doesnt negate what i said bro. people are doing mixtapes because they can still get hella traffic (downloads and shows and sell merch) have singles which was your point and not need a major behind them or have to deal with suits trying to make them conform. or they just dont have the resources. you can get the same amount of attention off mixtapes as an album so why not. and thats great for flo rida and pitbull but they make club and pop songs wouldnt consider them hiphop which is wat were talkin about. and thats not the problem wit hiphop if it was meek mill mixtape wouldnt have some 3 million downloads. the problem is that alotta people dont wanna pay for music. its not albums that make the money its the shows so fans dont give a dam where the music come from if its and album or a free mixtape as long as its good theyll come to your shows so of course mixtape quantity is up and album quality is down. in hip hop
 
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But it seems as if u keep releasing mixtapes it makes u invaluable as an artist becuae u have too much music the audience can access....why not release a bit of music at a time like have 3 songs promote those for a year lay back for some months create revenue with those songs then relwase a album like for instance if release a single in june 2013 release 1 or two more in next quater or sizx mnths don't put out no more music for a year then drop album. I thiml it creates the right anticipation. If Dre would of did this for Detox and not prolong it....it could of sold hell of a lot
 

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Spektor said:
But it seems as if u keep releasing mixtapes it makes u invaluable as an artist becuae u have too much music the audience can access....why not release a bit of music at a time like have 3 songs promote those for a year lay back for some months create revenue with those songs then relwase a album like for instance if release a single in june 2013 release 1 or two more in next quater or sizx mnths don't put out no more music for a year then drop album. I thiml it creates the right anticipation. If Dre would of did this for Detox and not prolong it....it could of sold hell of a lot
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thats a good point bro. ur right oversaturation is never a good thing. the underachievers did basically what your saying. dropped a few singles and they just put out a mixtape that has got 50,000 dl in a few days. but its still for free. its a delicate balance but point blank in this day and age you have to have some kind of product that fans can have for free.
 
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There's a common misconception about mixtapes. Depending on the artists deal, they may not have more creative control. The label just doesn't give a damn about free material. I have been saying at least for a year now that artists are afraid to drop albums. The only consistant artist, album wise has been E-40. If you are from the west coast, he has been dropping heat forever. The past two years he's dropped like 5 album including a triple (that right I said triple) album. They just need to stop being scared and call it what it is. Mixtapes traditionally are freestyles over other artists tracks. They should call them EP's, compilations or pre-tapes.

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The labels only care about what people buy into. When lyrics were important to the demographic that was buying music, that's what labels pushed. As much as purists don't like Nicki Minaj, 2 Chainz, Trinidad James and Waka Flocka, people still watch the videos. The "so called" chinese rapper Psy got a billion hits on youtube by capitolizing on American ignorance. A catchy hook, a dance and a flashy video. At the end of the day, artists themselves only care about the money. The ones that don't have 360 deals make money off shows and the rest have to follow orders or hit the road.
 
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