Your Favorite White Boy

Part III: “Labels And The Internet”

Part IV: “Who’s Hot Coming Up?”

I’m a tad late on this, but its important, so I’m going in. Part IV is a quick discussion on who Young Guru, Neef and Young Chris (well, mostly Young Guru) think is coming up and has promise (Wale, Mickey Factz, Charles Hamilton).

There is an interesting sidebar by these older heads that the “kids today” who are listening to rap, and have no appreciation for music of 10-15 years ago, probably have the same lack of appreciation that we did for music from the 70′s. And Guru is absolutely right about that – we need to teach the next generation about hip-hop.

But I wanted to speak on one of the other subjects: online music sales. Guru is amazed/impressed that the majors essentially gave up their right/ability to sell music online to Apple and Steve Jobs. Now Jobs is essentially on track to own the music industry in 15+ years. Given what technical dinosaurs the record labels were (and still are), its no wonder a computer company took the lead in creating a new way for music to be enjoyed.

However, Guru went on to say that if he had unlimited resources, he would be getting the finest minds in MIT to devise a plan to protect his digital music while selling it. Guru seems to forget that technology does not exist in a vacuum. zShare and Megaupload is only in Web 1.0. As quickly as the labels devise new methods to lock down and sell music, videos, etc others will devise torrents, limewires and other new software. Illegal efforts > Legal Methods. Always. As long as free is still, well, free. Its quite a motivator.

And what’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with listeners “breaking down” an album, as Guru says, and purchasing songs, rather than whole albums? Sure the labels and artists will need to come to new agreements on marketing, publishing, etc, probably on a song-by-song basis. But technology has finally allowed listeners to break the monopoly of the record labels. No longer can they package a bunch of garbage, priced at $12.99, around one hit song. Those days are ovah.

There is an argument that this circumstance saved hip-hop. There is a constant complaint that the “suits” decide who gets signed and they dictate the kind of rap heads get access to.   No longer.  Now all you need is ProTools and an internet connection.

In the short term, it means there is no barrier to entry.  You can’t throw a cat without hitting a rapper.  But they still won’t sell and they’ll move on.  The C.R.E.A.M. will rise to the top, as they always have.  But the ultimate arbiters of who get to decide on whether these new rappers get a buzz is no longer the A&Rs or the label reps.  Its you.

I have no doubt – none – that record labels will figure out a way to continue to make money, whether through iTunes or on their own.  But trying to restore the monopoly and force listneners to pay for everything will be difficult, if not impossible.  That ship has sailed. They are better served adapting to the new circumstances and deciding what activities or costs should be free and which will not.

And sign contracts accordingly.

Tags: Hip-Hop Roundtable, Internet, iTunes, Jabari, Steve Jobs