I really respect Michael Tolle's (Mello Music Group) vision for his label. I have no idea where that guy came from, but it's what I personally always dreamed of when I thought about firing up a label. This is a cool article with a few different viewpoints from popular indie labels. I'm really interested in checking out the other parts and figured you all would be too.
Chris MossAs I have been compiling this article over the last several months, a constant question kept surfacing: Is Hip Hop old enough to come full circle? Most of us have a working knowledge גor, at least I hope so- about the history of Hip Hop and where it started out and where it stands today. The music began as a strictly independent genre only to be commercialized and commoditized by major labels years after its inception. As nature proves year in and year out, there is a time for flourishing and a time for fading, an ebb and flow, if you will, only to have this process repeated again and again. This mode of operation is not solely confined to a natural setting. The music industry, Hip Hop specifically, is redefining itself or, quite possibly, simply reverting back to what it knows best: independence.
To better provide answers and insights, I had the pleasure to personally speak with four individuals who are making גand have made- a impact in independent Hip Hop. They draw from the previous model set forth in Hip Hop almost 30 years ago and appropriate it as to fit their respective visions for today and looking ahead at tomorrow. Drew גDru Haג Friedman, CEO of Duck Down Music, Incorporated; Brent גSiddiqג Sayers, president/CEO/founder of Rhymesayers Entertainment; Michael Tolle, Director of Operations of Mello Music Group; and Travis OגGuin, CEO of Strange Music offer very candid views on Hip Hop and how they have been able to survive גand thrive- in a corporate climate that is apparently in flux. If you are an entrepreneur, take note. If you are a fan, simply enjoy because these gentlemen are intelligent, innovative and above all, staunchly independent.
How do you develop a marketing campaign and what elements do you consider?
Rhymesayers: It starts with the artist and the album and the accompanying vision. This spurs the direction and then we can determine the feasibility of it from there.
Mello Music Group: Our marketing campaigns are broken down into a few basic components: events, online, print, radio, and retail. Phase one of a typical campaign for Mello Music Group is 12-16 weeks; we then sit down and plan phase two after we see the results of the first campaign. Within each of those components though there is a lot going on.
How do you market to and determine your audiences? How do you adjust your marketing or tailor it specifically for each artist?
Duck Down: Black Rob or Talib Kweli, for example, have a builtגin fanbase and itגs going to those outlets to get their fans excited again. Itגs going to those places where they have relationships already. For David Dallas, weגre trying to find a niche for him and see who he reminds you of. This is not to copy artists out there; itגs just to use it as a reference, a starting point and ask, גWhoגs the market?ג We go to the sites and see where the גkidsג are going for this newer music. A big portion of it revolves around the Internet these days.
Rhymesayers: Atmosphere is going to do 150-200K units. Their base is rock solid! Theyגve broken out of all their boxes over the years and developed their own sound. We service alternative radio, too, as their core followers are not the urban market. With Freeway, we brought in additional marketing tools with his past performance and his story, as his core is the urban market but try to introduce them to Atmosphereגs audience, too. Itגs about expanding those boundaries. You have to cater to the categories, but we donגt try to isolate the artists to only those markets. We want to put the records into the hands of anyone that would be interested in that artist and product. This progression allows us to naturally grow because we havenגt reached a plateau, so to speak, and weגre still building.
Strange Music: We have a division of the company that looks at artists that have fanbases and previous sales histories like Brotha Lynch Hung and Young Bleed. Some people understand it; some donגt. People can be narrow-minded but we have other things going on here besides our flagship artist, Tech 9ine. גFגk what everybody else says. Weגre selling as much as anybody in independent Hip Hop right now.ג
What kind of money gets spent on budgeting? What kind of money do you see in return for each dollar spent on marketing?
Duck Down: Thereגs a general rule of thumb in the industry: assuming a record will sell 10K units, allocate a dollar for album production, a dollar for marketing, a dollar for co-opt and then a dollar for royalties. If a project is projected to sell a certain amount, this acts as a baseline. You have to adjust based on how sales are playing out.
Mello Music Group: Tough game. With new artists itגs essentially 1:1. But with established acts, you can get away with less investment. Thatגs why Mello Music Group is one of the few labels breaking new artists; you have to put a lot of marketing into it to break even, so you are truly investing in the future. For us it is worth it because we work hard to build loyalty and treat our team as family. For labels doing one-off projects with everybody, then all they want is a name thatגs already recognizable. This way they can pay an advance, put a project out, collect, and walk away. The return is higher, but itגs lazy. We could sit back and let Oddisee sell based on his name; but Iגd rather invest in getting his name out to new people because I love his music. I think if people hear it they will support it and he will continue to grow. So, for us we keep the marketing dollars high in relationship to the return. But as a rule, new artists would be 1:1 or 1:2 and established acts could be 1:5 (meaning spend 1 dollar and get 5 dollars in return). Nothing is for certain though; itגs all about paying close attention to your budget and watching where each dollar goes the furthest. Online marketing is easy to track, but sometimes types of marketing that are more difficult to monitor have a bigger long-term affect. I mean, what does an ad in Wax Poetics bring back? You donגt know exactly. But, I believe it is effective because I personally love reading that magazine and I know other people do too. So, we invest.
Speaking of print media, how effective is it in this era?
Duck Down: Itגs still a part of our campaigns using The Source, XXL, and other print media as theyגre in newsstands, airports, and offices. Thereגs still an importance to it nowadays. We canגt allocate to print media like we used to, but it still plays a role. If you see a banner on allindstrom.com or another site in addition to the print ad, thereגs still something to it. Itגs a combined effort, so to speak.
Rhymesayers: Unfortunately, itגs worthless. Who buys magazines still? Itגs nonexistent. We may run a Wax Poetics magazine because itגs more to support Wax Poetics because itגs such a cool magazine. The print companies havenגt even scaled down the pricing in terms of the change in industry norms and trends; theyגre still functioning off an old model. I can take that same money and make two videos instead. Iגve never ever gotten cost-to-value print advertising. Itגs not that we never do it; itגs just rare if we do it nowadays. Itגs never going to be ג95 again or 2000 again. So, how do we adjust?
Strange Music: I believe in posters, flyers and flats and we had 24 pallets of physical promo material for street teams to distribute. We even do billboard advertising, at times. Of course, we support the social media, on-line sites in this day and age and have a team dedicated just for this. You have to do both very well.
Do you market towards radio? If so, whatגs your campaign for terrestrial and satellite radio?
Duck Down: The radio stations are only playing 10 records! With the mixshow DJs, the program directors are letting them know that those records have to make there way into the mix programs. When a DJ has a slot to work in about 13 or 14 records, theyגre being told that 10 of those records have to come from the current playlist. That leaves three or four records for them to have some discretion over. Every now and then you get a Jay Electronica that arenגt in the major systems and break through. Tyler, the Creator is another example. These artists were happening without radio and radio is left having to catch up to them! We had a Kidz in the Hall record גDriving Down The Blockג and it was on TRL getting video plays. Radio still wanted to know what our spins were and they donגt take the risks they used to take. Spins are everything to them. Thank God for Sirius radio because theyגve been an outlet for us be it Tony Touch, Statik Selektah, and others. MTV has loosened up with the multiple channels they have and it allows us to have the conversation with them now. The Internet has forced them to adapt to the short attention spans of their audiences.
Strange Music: Are people paying attention to us putting Lil Wayne on a song called גFגk Food?ג How do you market that to radio? גItגs a do what you feel type record, so fגk that!ג Tech told me about the vision of the song. Anyone in the music business would have made this their single. Oh, T-Pain was on the record, too! (laughs). Iגm not trying to cash in on this; heגs doing this because Tech is real. There are some good radio stations, but itגs like a גboyגs clubג and Iגm not in the middle of it. Iגm excluded from it. גWe deal with about 20 stations right now and I really fגk with Reef and the guys at Sirius XM. I wish all radio operated like them.ג Radio is having to restructure because the money is not what it used to be and majors are not what they once were, financially speaking.
Traditional media/marketing vs. Internet/Social marketing. How would you shift your marketing assets for old vs. new artists in terms of old vs. new marketing tools and outlets?
Mello Music Group: Mello Music Group has found that knowing who the fans are is important in this. For example, our new group DTMD is composed of two 21 year olds, Dunc & Toine, and they appeal to both young and older fans. But many of their fans live online, so shifting attention to online and social media networks is helpful. Also, it affects how we talk to people online; younger people online expect a different approach than an older online fan. An older market is comfortable with straightforward, direct marketing. But, the younger generation is more aloof, they expect subtlety and they donגt want to know itגs marketing; they want to enjoy the experience seamless with their lifestyle גdonגt break the suspension of disbelief. Older consumers are savvy and busy and they want you to cut to the chase -what do you have for me? An example is as simple as CDs versus digital. An experienced fan will find out information online and then cop the CD or vinyl; a younger fan may find out online and cop online, and never miss the visceral affect of physical product. I personally live online like everyone else; but when it comes to consumption, I like to be patient and get those physical experiences of something coming in the mail and opening it, holding it while listening. I find that new artists attract fans that want to simply consume. Whereas more established acts have gained a number of followers who themselves are musicians and thus want to be offered insight into the creative process more than just product.
Duck Down: Peopleגs attention spans are quick and theyגre going to move on. You need something different to give them that isnגt seen on YouTube or commonly found on other outlets.
Strange Music: I think that a lot of the traditional methods are important like XXL, Murder Dog, and others and I support it. I believe that itגs a physical piece of goods has a history to it. All this digital material can be a little scary and mind-blowing because it doesnגt have the physical form and itגs stored on a hard drive somewhere that someday technology may no longer read.
Be sure to check out the conclusion of this article next week where topics such as giving away free music, direct sales and 360 deals are discussed.