Independent Record Labels You Should Know

From independent icons like XL Recordings and Sub Pop to newer teams like 88 Rising and Mind of a Genius, here are some of the essential labels you should know. As always, we encourage you to do your own digging and share your own favorites with us, but as long as you discovered just one new label, artist, or piece of music that you love from this list, then we did our job.

From legendary indies to internet-based upstarts, these labels are all doing something special.

The Evolution Of Gangster Rap

Gangsta rap or Gangster rap is a style of hip hop characterized by themes and lyrics that generally emphasize the "gangsta" lifestyle. The genre evolved from hard rap into a distinct form, pioneered in the mid-1980s by rappers such as Schoolly D and Ice-T, and was popularized in the later part of the 1980s by groups like N.W.A. 

Universal Music Group Drops Distribution Company

Universal Music Group officially dropped the name Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD), and updated its U.S. structure. In a digital market, where applications like Spotify, Tidal, and iTunes have limited the number of hard copies purchased by consumers; it looks like Universal Music Group will be placing more interest in marketing and e-commerce operations.

The Truth Behind Cash Money Vs No Limit Records Beef

Cash Money Records and No Limit Records were both two of the largest hip-hop powerhouses in New Orleans. What people don’t know is that the beef started before both camps really started blowing up.

Anybody that been a follower of deep dirty south music knows about the history or the turf rivalry that been going on between Cash Money and No Limit Records.

Spotify Shuts Down Its Uploading Program

Spotify is shutting down its direct upload program, which allowed artists to upload music to the streaming service without getting a third party involved.

Lil Wayne Suing Universal Music Group

Lil Wayne claims that he’s owed tens of millions of dollars for discovering and nurturing artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga. In the latest episode of his ongoing legal drama with the recording company, Lil Wayne, or Dwayne Carter Jr., claims that Universal Music Group is paying itself instead of paying the royalties it owes him, who filed a federal lawsuit. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, Carter claims that Universal has diverted tens of millions of dollars of his profits to repay itself for the $100 million USD it advanced to Cash Money Records, Inc.

Spotify May Be Doing Deals With Independent Artist

As the internet grows and the music industry landscape continues to morph, artists are finding newer ways to generate income without the help of a major label. According The New York Times, the folks at Spotify are helping some of them along the way.

#Letthemusicplay #LightUpLive #soundrecovery #nowplaying #radiostream #onlineradio #radiodirectory

 

Supporting independent artists doesn't only benefit you, it also benefits the artists. Presaving and streaming their songs, reposting their posts on your Instagram story, and even just telling your friends about them are all so immensely helpful.

Top Music Sites For Artists

We live in an age where this world is busy running after each and every minor thing. Gone are the days when people had to buy cassettes or CDs for their favourite songs. Every touch has become modernised, and so has the music industry. 

Various sites host music, and you can just have a great time pass when you’re in a mood to listen to some really good music.

Jay-Z Nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Among the other nominees, this is probably the biggest milestone in Jay-Z career. Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Tina Turner and Iron Maiden lead this year’s nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a female-heavy list of 16 acts that includes for the first time The Go-Go’s, Mary J. Blige and Dionne Warwick.

Artists are eligible for a nomination 25 years after the release of their first official recording. There are two newly eligible acts in Jay-Z and Foo Fighters while artists nominated for the first time include Blige, The Go-Go’s, Iron Maiden, Warwick and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

YG And 4Hunnid Records Sign Multi-Million Dollar Deal

YG and 4Hunnid Records inked a multi-million dollar deal with Interscope this week.

The deal was made off the strength of YG and affiliates like DJ Mustard’s past work. The rapper discussed the deal with Billboard. “Joie [Manda, president of urban music at Interscope Geffen A&M] was really behind our whole movement and everything we had going on,” he said. “[Joie] knew what I did, who I had something to do with. With the album being a classic, [DJ] Mustard popping off, Ty [Dolla Sign] popping off ‘cause we all from the same camp, he felt like I could have my own label and do the same things we did for ourselves and other artists.”

Manda apparently has a lot of faith in YG and 4 Hunnid’s vision and is prepared to back them. John Janick, the CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M also expressed his excitement over the deal while speaking to Billboard. “YG has an unbelievable eye for talent and an innate understanding of what people want to hear. I know 4Hunnid and Interscope will do great things together.” YG hopes to do more than recruit artists with hot singles. He really wants to help new artists follow in his blueprint which involves constantly releasing new material. “It’s a lotta other artist-owned labels who want artists with hot singles like for right now and that’s cool because that’s the easy money but we getting brands. We teach artists how to build brands and be businessmen and business ladies.”

Free Internet Radio With Jango

Jango is a free online music streaming service that allows users to create and share custom radio stations. Users choose artists to stream, and the station plays music from similar artists. The Wrap-Up Magazine has decided to join forces and promote this website in support of unsigned artist.

Free internet radio, just like Pandora only fewer ads and more variety. Listen to hundreds of genre stations or create your own with your favorite music. Jango Radio is a free, personalized radio service that plays the best music by artists you love. Just start with the name of one of your favorite artists.

(CLICK HERE) To Go To Jango.com

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Jay Z Talks Tidal, Jimmy Iovine, And Rewriting The Music Rulebook

Jay Z doesn’t give many interviews. In conversation, he often pauses mid-sentence, considers, rewinds, slices and reshapes his answer, choosing a more appropriate word or analogy that draws a finer point before revealing it to the interviewer. What’s commonly assumed is a mistrust of the press may just be that unlike his work in the studio or onstage, Jay Z doesn’t ultimately control the final result of an interview, and therefore treads more carefully while giving one.

$8M Raised To Get Artist Paid

“A lot of the new tools that have been created in the fintech space have really been focused on the services that have enabled independent small businesses to grow on their own,” Rabkin said. “Artists and creators are no different, the problem is no one’s created tools that cater to them. If you look at Intuit you have Mint, but for an artist with unpredictable income and difficult to track revenue streams [it’s different]. You can plug in your bank account, but Intuit and mint doesn’t plug into iTunes or YouTube or Spotify.”

Another problem Stem is trying to tackle is ensuring that collaborators that may not be able to monetize their content. Some artists — like first-timers — may be releasing content but have to treat it purely as promotional or marketing. Instead of just focusing on making money of touring, Rabkin said Stem will hopefully offer those artists some way of driving revenue right from the get-go.

The data that Stem brings in from all these disparate platforms may also, itself, be valuable. Artists can get information on their listeners and start to zero in on some of their preferences. That might help them tailor their tours or other parts of their marketing. But adding information around revenue streams on top of that adds another layer of data that can signal a much stronger level of engagement than some of the other signals they might have.

There will likely be plenty of competition in the space. Kobalt, for example, raised $75 million at a $775 million valuation last month. And each of these services — like iTunes or Spotify — may end up simplifying their artist tools down enough that it may not require such complicated background gymnastics to figure out how to get the right people paid. But Rabkin hopes that by building a seamless enough experience Stem will be able to attract a wide artist base that includes Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Anna Wise, Chromatics, and Poolside.

Artists To Watch Volume 3 Mixtape

realRAPpromo.com have released the third volume of our "Artists To Watch" mixtape series. Artists To Watch Vol. 3 consists of 13 tracks with artists such as B The Big Dawg, Allencortez, Chevyllac, JITT, Jones'90, KyKy Poetic, Lil Buck, Miami Made David, Blue Eyed Soul DK, PAGE, ReDroue, Treeo, and Zehmar.

Saigon Talks Mobb Deep Beef

 

Havoc started off speaking about the era in hip-hop before him, which Saigon explained as “an awakening.” Saigon then turned his attention to Mobb Deep coming on the map, and he explained that he “lost half my fanbase” during their beef. Saigon then explained that Prodigy and Havoc were trying to “wake people up” with their music, and he pointed out that 2Pac and Ice Cube were doing the same thing. 

Behind The Beef - Foxy Brown Vs Lil' Kim

 

Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown are two all-time female MC’s who paved the way for so many female artists and many of those artists have cited them as influences and we can still see it today. Two people who started out cordial in the beginning but after a while things just weren’t the same and that’s that.

2Hotradio And Freekey Zekey Searching For Talent

(The Wrap-Up Magazine) Do you know someone wildly enthusiastic about ‘making it’ in the music business? Is it their dream to be on stage during BET Awards Weekend OR be the next top model or actor in a video called We Hustle featuring Lil Wayne, and mingle with the biggest stars in the game? Then this opportunity could be their BIG BREAK!

Freekey Zekey, president of Dipset & 2HotRadio are looking for the next talent to appear in his upcoming video called We Hustle starring himself featuring Lil Wayne. Freekey Zekey completely understands the power of social media and is providing singers, rappers, models, extra, producers, DJs, actors, dancers and more an opportunity to join him in LA during the BET Awards Weekend 2016. Those selected will land a spot in the video shoot which can increase a person’s social media following by the millions.

2HotRadio.com has changed the way consumers feel about aspiring artists, one song at a time. New artists are played live on 2HotRadio.com EVERY DAY in front of a fast growing global audience. Most radio stations, promoters, and nightclub owners are not interested in aspiring talent because they are labeled as “Starving Artist” or “Struggle Artists” However, at 2HotRadio aspiring artists are welcomed with open arms; and are treated in the same manner as Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce or any other major artist in the game. The station understands that anyone of them could be the next one to make it.

 This is a very credible opportunity. If you don’t take your entertainment career seriously, this isn’t right for you. (Go Gettas Only) Go to www.2hotradio.com and sign-up today before it’s too late. A $100,000 cash investment could be yours!

Why China Has The Fastest Growing Market For Music

China’s music market is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. If you don’t want to enter China, your music business is equal to “drop a big wallet”. The world’s most populous country, and their consumers’ pockets are bulging, and there is no reason why you should not come to China to do the music business.

China’s music media has many particularities due to historical reasons. It didn’t really form until the late 1980s. At that time,mainly music media are the newspaper, radio and television station.

In 1987, China’s first popular music magazine, “Audio & Video World”, was born, and the magazine was hailed as China’s “Rolling Stone” magazine(and later, it did,In 2006 They published a music magazine together, named “Rolling Stone China Edition”.but only one issue and forbidden by government ). Basic function as with “Rolling Stone”, as long as “Audio & Video World” magazine introduces artists, it must be famous and popular.

With the birth of “Audio & Video World” , many music magazines, such as X Music, Music Heaven, Modern Music Field,Hit Music, have been born. And also the TVs and radios were growing up before 2000, basically, all these music media were called music market orientation.

Source

TV stations, for example, are still a better platform, but they only recommend famous artists. For new artist, It is very difficult to get the chance to get exposure.So when you promote your artists and new music, you can choose some magazines such as “X Music ” ,”Q magazine Chinese edition”, “Easy Music World”,and even some foreign music magazine will also report it such as the Pump it Up magazine. They often focus on China music market.

Digital Music platform has music playing function and also an important platform for music sales. Currently the main platforms have the largest database of Chinese music fans. For example, QQ music, Xiami, Netease Cloud music. There are others platforms that can combine online and offline functions such as See Music, Street Voice, and crowd-funding platform Musi kid.

This kind of media is like linkedin,can build managements/labels and artists very professional relationships. Music dish China is a very strong music network in China.

Jay-Z Returns To Spotify Music

Rap icon Jay-Z brought his music discography back to the world’s largest streaming platform Spotify, leaving Tidal subscribers scratching their heads. The service he bought for $56 million in 2014 has struggled to gain any real market share against major players like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.