This entire thread is senseless. Music is selling at a decent pace. There aren't as many albums released today as there once was, but we still manage to keep up. If anything, the problem is that labels don't take chances and put out as many artists these days because the payoff isn't what it was a few years ago.
If labels went back to a 1980s work ethic, the payout would be equivalent. They got used to that early
millennium hustle of throwing out anything, putting a video on MTV and going 4x platinum without doing any work.
It's time for guys to get back in the trenches, but they've gotten too used to being given piles of money for small amounts of work. Now is a time when hard work pays off. Much like any era of music up until the point where albums could sell like hotcakes off no effort.
Hip hoppers are the funniest to me. We've convinced ourselves these cheaply made makeshift albums are worthy of more. Remember Ill & Al Scratch? Brand Nubian? Smoothe Tha Hustla? Nine? Group Home? Bahamadia? Nonchalant? Nicole Wray? Channel Live? Royal Flush? Cormega? Sunz of Man? Gravediggaz? Jeru the Damaja? Nice N Smooth? Lords of the Underground? Souls Of Mischief?, B.U.M.S.? Whoridaz? Artifacts? Beatnuts? Heather B? Big Noyd? These guys sold way less than albums we call "failures" now. They got promoted better, and got more chances to return with another release. That's back when slow money was still the story of success.
Everyone has the Puff Daddy mentality now. "If they don't go multiplatinum off top, abandon the entire project and drop the artist". That's not the story to success. Look at how much groundwork was done to establish Destiny's child. Their 1st album is unknown to most of the world. But they regrouped and the second made them household names, from there Beyonce gained exposure that lead to a solo career. What if Rihanna wasn't given a second chance after her lackluster 1st album?
The problem with records today starts and stops at the execs and suits. They're the ones doing the half assed job. They won't scratch and scrape to make you successful like they once did because there came a time when you could just walk anyone in that office, give them a makeover and a predictable generic cliche' single and sell 500k 1st week 4M by the end of the year.
That's some new shyt, it wasn't like that except a few years...they just got so comfortable during that time, they forgot how much work it once took. PERIOD.
Proof is in artists like Riff Raff or Mac Miller who can stay more relevant than most fly by night "Majors" by continuously fighting to keep themselves relevant when a label would've moved on by now. That short attention span doesn't equate to big bucks like it once did...you now have to develop, establish, and stay consistant...LIKE YOU ONCE DID.
As long as people play the blame game instead of seeing that...they'll keep missing the money out there.
after only 2 or three hit singles?
