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Nasa from Uncommon Records Part 2
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 30, 2011 | 0 Comments
Since I first interviewed Uncommon Nasa almost two years ago, his label Uncommon Records has been building a name worldwide. They’ve expanded the roster, the fanbase and the catalog, so this follow-up interview is a detailed look at the business behind an effective independent hip hop label.
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Nobody is Going to Put You On
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 22, 2011 | 0 Comments
Reader question: “Do you think A&R’s are important, and how does a new artist send in his stuff or get looked at?” Quick Answer: Fuck no and don’t bother. Not being funny or even sarcastic: no label is investing in artist development and nobody in A&R cares about you until you’re making serious waves already, on your own, and building a track record of proven profitability. The long answer is more interesting than that, though…
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Hip Hop 2011: What Do I Do Next?
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 21, 2011 | 0 Comments
I’ve been doing Audible Hype in one form or another since 2008, and I get the same question at least once every week: “I’ve released an EP / mixtape / album / single … what do I do next?” This week, I happened to get the question from K-Shaun, a Virginia rapper, so I’m using his situation as an example — this is a short guide to sitting down in front of a computer and making way more noise for your project, today.
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How to Improve Your Live Show
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 17, 2011 | 0 Comments
“I think acts who put on a great live show and provide an EXPERIENCE in concert are going to be able to find their way to the money, while MCs/artists who are talented on record but can’t hold it down live are going to have a lot of trouble making a living.” — DJ Trackstar
The Open Questions Thread is still going, but I’m going to get straight into answering some. First up, one of the most common questions was about how to deliver a better live show. Rather than waste your time with my own idiot beliefs, I’ve assembled a roundtable of six actual professional rappers to share their experiences. Dig it.
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Open Forum: What Do You Want to Learn in 2011?
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 08, 2011 | 0 Comments
Open thread for the weekend: What do you want to see covered on Audible Hype this year? What are the biggest roadblocks you’re dealing with in 2011? What continues to frustrate and confuse you? What are the most important topics I need to be focusing on?
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The Higher Concept: "Life's Good" Part Two
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 07, 2011 | 0 Comments
In 2011, saying that you hustle is like saying you like to eat food. We know.
Since the first half of this interview, The Higher Concept has stayed insanely busy — that’s basically their comfort zone. New videos, new albums and constant late nights at their studio, The House of Dreams…so for this follow-up interview, I asked the most boring possible questions. We’re drilling into the mundane details of their Daily Operation. (And if you missed part one? Start there.)
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Kydnice on Life as a Travelling Engineer and Producer
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 06, 2011 | 0 Comments
One of the most important and least respected jobs in the business is audio engineering. From the Front of House guy running your live show to the session engineer sitting behind the boards while you record tracks, it’s easy for most of the industry to ignore them. Except when they fuck up. The cats who do pay close attention, though, are the same guys who really matter on the business side: producers, actual surviving label execs (they do exist!), producers with discerning ears, smart managers, and artists with the cojones and attention span to run their own circus. Kydnice is proof that it can still be a full-time job in 2011, too.
“Mr Mix Yo Song” is professional mix engineer, and here he’s opening up about his life’s work. He talks about how he got into it, what gives him his competitive edge today, and shares some hard-won business lessons…
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IV the Polymath
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 04, 2011 | 0 Comments
Artist development is going to be a central theme in 2011. Despite the fact a billion billion articles about the music business have been written in the past decade, the central magic trick remains a mystery: how do you get from total unknown to having an actual career to worry about in the first place? With that in mind, I’d like to introduce someone who’s pulled off exactly that — IV the Polymath.
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The Results of Our Production, Mixing & Mastering Survey
Posted by Justin Boland on Apr 02, 2011 | 0 Comments
Back in October 2010, we started the Production, Mixing & Mastering Survey and today, I’m finally posting the results. I’d like to give a special thanks to K. Murdock, Amir Sa’id and NASA Labs for helping to get the word out and send a lot of responses our way. All in all, we got 212 responses, almost entirely from self-identified rappers and producers. The results were a pleasant surprise for anyone who is interested in building a sustainable career in hip hop…
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Eamon Mulligan
Posted by Justin Boland on Mar 30, 2011 | 0 Comments
We’ve been doing artist interviews for 3 years now on Audible Hype — and that won’t stop anytime soon — but I want to shift focus in 2011 and start spotlighting the business side more often. First up, I’m honored to present this interview with a hard-working and highly respected manager: Eamon Mulligan of Legendary Music and the Ubiquitous Media Group. Here, we’re talking touring, responsibilities, and how to juggle about 10,000 roles at once…
