Not a big Kanye fan, but any monkey with a brain has to respect what he accomplished (otherwise, grow up). I thought this was a really cool video…two veterans looking back on how Kanye planned out years ahead and then stuck to his guns every step of the way. It’s an impressive story, period.

I can dig where Kevin is coming from, but just the same, he’s not broadcasting this transmission from Realityville. Yeah, in the real world, instrumental albums really ARE free beats because that’s how they get used. He still makes important points about how using them makes you look like even more of a lame wannabe than you actually are …but what else is new, right? Any instrumental file is a free beat, period.

It ain’t right but it’s real.

If you’re even remotely involved in the promotion and management of music events…then this is Must-Read status. Very important stuff.

Chris Bracco has been on a roll in 2010, delivering focused and useful content about the nuts-and-bolts stuff that matters more than opinions and statistics ever would. This is a short, solid article that also includes a downloadable, customizable template for your own email newsletters…worth checking out.

Good update on the biggest damn music corporation of all time ever. They’ve fallen on some rough times, but in this economy that’s not really a shocker. Solid analysis here…

I really, really like it when Rich Huxley writes. His optimism is a welcome antidote to…well, pretty much everything else I read about. Here, he’s taking on the most important issue for DIY artists like yourself: balancing the business with the actual creative process. Lots of good ideas here.

I’m not just a hippie: the Dead really did raise the bar for music business and lay out the template that everyone is still using. I’ve argued this point into the ground with a lot of “music biz” experts who think the industry started when Radiohead dropped In Rainbows. Don’t be like them. Read this and give it some thought.

Three out of four, I’d never heard of, so this qualifies as a super-dang-excellent Reading List to me. Clyde is the powerhouse behind HipHopPress and ProHipHop, as well as a stand-up human being.

Awesome video that got featured on the BeatTips blog…these guys are worth looking up if you’re not familiar, too!!

“Success is out there waiting for you. If you aren’t grabbing it, someone else will.” I like Madalyn Sklar, but that quote is polite bullshit. In reality, someone is always grabbing it. Someone already grabbed it back in the 80s. You need to take them all out if you want to put your hands on it yourself. There is absolutely no success waiting out there for any of you. It’s all taken. GET SOME.

It’s an interview with the head of one of the most successful independent hip hop labels in the known Universe, focused entirely on the business end of the operation and how the past decade has changed their approach to making money. That’s probably more than I needed to tell you, right? Print this out, save it.

Great reading — really nails the State of the Industry in 2010. I don’t agree with all of it, but so what? It’s definitely important stuff.

Some ugly (and hilarious) cautionary tales. You can never know too much about industry bullshit, folks…commit this to memory by any means necessary.

The entire Unkut Interviews archive is essential stuff, but this…this is just wild. Dante is out of his mind and he’s been living in the middle of hip hop history for decades now. Extremely funny, surprising, and educational, too…

I know it’s not my place to question another mammal’s creative journey and blah blah, but seriously, on what planet do people cut Elzhi verses off their songs? This dude is one of the best living rappers right now…this is a very interesting interview, to say the least.