Releasing an album...has it become harder, easier or neither?

[Z the laidback Virus]

This question is mostly aimed at those people that have some knowlegde of the nitty gritty of album release over the years. Has it become harder or easier for a rap artist to release an album?

At first, my thought would be that it's become harder: albums get shelved and people that used to release albums on a semi-regular basis years ago, such as Kam, King Tee or Ras Kass simply seem unable to release anything these days. (Considering they still want to get out music, that is)

But on the other hand; there is the surge of the independent market. Daz, JT tha Bigga Figga and even Ice Cube manage to get things released just fine this way. In fact, they make getting things released seem quite easy.

So, what is the real deal?

[Rud]

Releasing on a major is much harder nowadays, the deals are less forthcoming and those that are in place have massive limits on budget and promotional expenditure..reason being labels are struggling to make big profits on album sales of less than 750,000 due to people having easy access to free music and the "disposable music generation" that is building...hence why labels are concentrating on quick singles and ringtones..

the indi route will continue to grow and get easier to get product out...the only thing that needs to improve on these releases are mixing and mastering as the standard is poor...

[ABN]

thereīs so many new avenues where you can distribute your music so itīs easier the get your product placed. but thatīs also the downside with the internet and indie market, itīs oversaturated like crazy so while itīs easy to get your music out there itīs damn near impossible to get it sold. but if youīre a small artist(Kam,King Tee etc)then of course itīs gonna be hard to release anything on a major coz youīre not gonna recoupe. but itīs 10x easier to release your product today then it was 10 years ago coz of the internet and all the new players on the indie market.

[Z the laidback Virus]

Thanks for the answers.

Another question then: How can an indie artist expect to make profit from an album if he needs to buy a] studio-time b] beats and c] guest verses? I've always wondered that.

[ABN]

^that´s the tricky part. you pretty much have to have money to get started on the indie market. and features and stuff like that can always be worked out with giving the featured artists more points from the album sales etc unless it´s a platinum artist. and on the production tip you should find new producers that won´t really charge you anything and if their in your area then they´ll more or likely have a studio set-up where you can record your shit. you don´t have to be in a fancy studio to get shit to sound right. and most producers that´s not considered super producers(Dre,Timbo,Polow,Scott Storch,Pharrell,Kanye etc)will work with your budget if you actually have some talent, but then again they´ll prolly want some points of the album if it does fairly well so that´s why you should really stick with fresh producers. and most artists got the people fooled with how much they charge for verses, like Yuk saying that he charches 25k for a feature with an indie artist. now if anyone actually believes that their idiots. and if you got some real talent then try to get you a decent manager coz if they believe in you they´ll more then likely fund your studio time etc and you won´t have to pay them until some money actually starts to come in. but then they´ll recoupe their money and take another 25% on top of that.

[R-Tistic]

thereīs so many new avenues where you can distribute your music so itīs easier the get your product placed. but thatīs also the downside with the internet and indie market, itīs oversaturated like crazy so while itīs easy to get your music out there itīs damn near impossible to get it sold. but if youīre a small artist(Kam,King Tee etc)then of course itīs gonna be hard to release anything on a major coz youīre not gonna recoupe. but itīs 10x easier to release your product today then it was 10 years ago coz of the internet and all the new players on the indie market.

Yeah that's real talk.

From how I see it, I have paid attention to how things operate since the mid 90's, when I was recording my own bootleg tapes in my dad's studio behind the garage. The price and cost of recording and buying recording equipment that will give you quality results has increased exponentially with the release of advanced software and hardware that's been used through computers. I got my start in producing on Cubase on Windows 3.1 back in 94-95, which wasn't even 5% as efficient as much of the software that's out now. It took until the late 90's and early 2000's for affordable software to be available for independent artists to record on, and have quality results. My dad bought a Roland VS-1680 back in 99, and it was considered to be top of the line for a portable home recording studio...but two years later, newer versions of Cubase and Pro Tools were blowing it out of the water in every single way.

So as far as recording an album, things have definitely gotten easier. In L.A., I guarantee that every single neighborhood, from Baldwin Hills and Ladera to Compton and Watts, have at least three people that have home studios with B-quality equipment. In the 90's, you'd have to always spend hundreds of dollars just to record a professional sounding demo, let alone an entire album.

[R-Tistic]

. and most artists got the people fooled with how much they charge for verses, like Yuk saying that he charches 25k for a feature with an indie artist. now if anyone actually believes that their idiots.

LMFAO, ain't that the truth. That there is nothing but a deterrent in my opinion. Many, and I mean MANY producers do the same thing...especially those who aren't super producers. It's almost sad, because there are many rappers and producers that we talk about on here, who aren't making as much money as some of us who have Bachelor's degrees are making, or could make. I have heard some producers talk about how they charge $25,000 a beat, but you ONLY hear their production when it's for artists in their own camp, or those closely linked...and we know for fact that they aren't making $25,000 from that...so what kind of money are they really making?

[D1G1T4L]

. and most artists got the people fooled with how much they charge for verses, like Yuk saying that he charches 25k for a feature with an indie artist. now if anyone actually believes that their idiots.

LMFAO, ain't that the truth. That there is nothing but a deterrent in my opinion. Many, and I mean MANY producers do the same thing...especially those who aren't super producers. It's almost sad, because there are many rappers and producers that we talk about on here, who aren't making as much money as some of us who have Bachelor's degrees are making, or could make. I have heard some producers talk about how they charge $25,000 a beat, but you ONLY hear their production when it's for artists in their own camp, or those closely linked...and we know for fact that they aren't making $25,000 from that...so what kind of money are they really making?

yo you got your bachelors in cs already?