ARTISTS NEED TO MIND THEIR DAMN “BUSINESS”!!!!! By Lady Phoenix
During my short dwelling in the industry, I see so many artists today focused on their music and not placing more emphasis on their "BUSINESS". More than half of artists today are in a non-PROFITTING status where the distributor and/or label have spent more money than the album releases have earned. This moves onto the next album, and then the next, until the artist is so much in a hole, it seems they will never make any money from their music. I also see a lot of artists who don't even have a clue what publishing is, why they are owed mechanical royalties upfront, or any other crucial information that will insure they collect all monies from the revenue streams out here today. Why aren't these artists interested in knowing the business? Awhile back Bell, Biv, Devoe (BBD) and TLC were on the "Monique" show and talked about them being ripped off and not receiving what they thought they should have gotten from their art, because they didn't take the time to pay attention to the "BUSINESS".
Lesson from my wonderful mentor: Find yourself a music professional that knows the business and proves to you to be a trustworthy source of information and resources. Your partner "Junior" (you know everyone knows a Junior) who knows no more than you about the industry, is not the idea of a music professional who you should be linking up with, no matter how close you two may be.
There are over 60 items on the list of sources of revenue streams for your music!! Are you as an artist tapping into all of them?? Some of the most common are: performance royalties, mechanical licensing, ring tones, use of a song in a motion picture, use of a song in a television series, use of a song in an advertising campaign, digital download license, video game music license. Being armed with information is being a step ahead of the scammers, sharks, and cheats!!
Are you also into the NEW MEDIA of the business: “Internet service providers, digital rights management, podcasting, blogs, compression, downloads, wireless, streaming, subscription and non-subscription services, MP3, hyper-distribution, encryption, decryption keys, platforms, interactive music, portability, mobile devices, watermarking, fingerprinting — these words and many more form the vocabulary of the new music business. SO I ADVISE ALL WHO READ THIS, RESEARCH WHAT I HAVE SPIT IN YOUR EAR AND LEARN ABOUT YOUR DAMN BUSINESS.
Don’t Say I’m Pretty for a Dark Skin Girl By Karis Soturi
I am so sick and tired of going anywhere and being told that for some reason I have beat the odds of what beauty is suppose to be cause obviously being dark skin doesn’t fit its descriptions. As a black woman living in America it’s expected for me to encounter various forms of races and prejudice views. It’s unfortunate that with all of the racism I ever faced majority of it was from another black person. It’s disgusting and truly amazing how much self hate infects our African American community. What’s even more disturbing is how we’re stupid enough to nurse this cancer we posses.
Before I go any further let me first clear up all the stereotypes about us ebony colored women. First, I am not insecure or low maintenance so if u want to get with me u better bring your A+ game. Second, I’m beautiful because God created me and he chose this shade of skin for me to live in so if you have a problem with it take it up with him. In consideration of that statement, as a human being I should be judge by the character of my heart and not the color of my skin. I’m more than certain that is what Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, and all the other great historical black leaders throughout history were fighting for. Or maybe I misunderstood them because according to the point of view of our modern society they must have only been referring to the lighter skin blacks? It sounds ridiculous when you actually think how many years we as black people have been fighting for equality when we really should have been having an ethical war amongst each other.
To further illustrate my point, a rapper will make a 100 songs about a light skin woman but I can count on one hand how many songs I’ve ever heard which mention a dark skin women and none of them where even nominated for a BET award. As a result, we have a countless number of black men, whether they are of a lighter or darker complexion because somehow from my experience this rule doesn’t apply to men, with a preference for lighter woman. I personally could care less if Lil Wayne starts rapping about dark skin women. To be honest I don’t feel as if having more rappers make songs that sexualize us in a disrespectful way will help this issue anymore since that’s a whole other issue on its own. Seriously, who wants to fight to have more dark skin girls in the next tip drill video? However, to be marketed more as beauty in the music and other entertainment industries alike would be a little alleviating to this issue.
After all is said and done we cannot solely blame media. At some point we as individuals have to take the blame. To justify someone by the color of their skin means that you have a personal problem which needs to be addressed? Especially if you are one of those dark skin guys who has a preference for a girl who doesn’t even share your skin color. Now that’s what I call self hate at its finest! I’m not saying there is anything wrong with dating someone who doesn’t share the same skin tone as you because I do embrace diversity. On the other hand, beauty does not run up to only a certain skin tone. True beauty is undefinable and Black beauty happens to be one of its many variations it comes in.
How will you overcome your obstacles? By Karis Soturi
I’m sure that everyone including myself have has knocked down a spiders web before. Just to find a new web at the very same place a couple of hours afterwards. One interesting thing about this brand new web is that the same spider that made this web made the one you destroyed earlier that day. The only way to permanently get rid of the web is to get rid of the spider cause no matter how many times you knock down its home that spider will not fail to rebuild it as intricately and complex as the one before.
When you are face with great difficulty how will you overcome your obstacle? Will you be like the spider and rebuild whatever it was that was demolished? Or will you crumble under the pressure and forget about what you were building to in the first place? Unquestionably, only through failure is true character revealed fore you never know who anyone really is, including yourself, until you see them at their lowest point and how they conquer their obstacles.
Before all else ask yourself when your last mission to success was obliterated, much like the spiders home, how did you react? Did you even feel the urge to reconstruct a new path to your goals? Additionally, not even the thickest blanket of shame should stop you from moving forward with your dreams and aspirations. Whereas, success without failure is beyond an illusion, however, failure without success is very possible. It’s up to you to find the courage within yourself to continue to press forward no matter what barriers stand in your way. Furthermore, remember exactly what was your initial purpose for reaching your future desires. A spider knows without its web it has no home, no way to eat, it cannot reproduce, or care for its offspring’s. So its very clear why even at its current homeless state the spider has no problem to rebuild its web and builds it just as eloquently as the previous web.
In final considerations, ask yourself who you are? Is it possible you don’t know because you can’t remember the last time you failed at something? If so be ashamed of yourself because evidently you’re not making any drastic steps to achieving your goals. You’re playing it safe which is a trap in its own. For instance, a care is safe in your driveway, but that’s not what cars are made for. What are you made for doing?
FEMALE REPs IN THE RAP GAME TODAY By Lady Phoenix
“Is Nicki Minaj really the face of female hip hop?” That’s the question quite a few people are wondering about in the industry today. Out of all the female mc’s the world have seen, why there is only one major representation of female hip hop today. There are many more female artists out here that are not receiving the attention they deserve. These female mc’s offer more than half naked looks but they also offer meaningful- lyrical content that can set off a controversy with the proper industry push. They can get in a cypher and kill it harder than any dude out here but being that the industry is clouded by pussy, ass, tits, or what they expect you to do to get that dollar their light is dimmed. Artist such as Jackie O, Reece Steele, Rasheeda, Sheeba , Ebony Eyes, Lady Luck, Babs, Shawwna (from DTP), 5 Star Moet, Candy Red, Charlie Baltimore, Vita, Lola Monroe, Jane Blaze, Imani Coppola, Heather Hunter, Brixx, Bareda, Lobo, and Jean Grae , just to name a few, are unsung artist that deserve as much shine as Ms. Minaj. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking home girl she has earned her place but I just feel as though we should support or allow other female mc’s to shine and share the spotlight to gain their place. Google the names I’ve listed and I guarantee you will agree, if not oh well u just learned about another female mc.
SEX SELLS; OR DOES IT? By Lady Phoenix
Sex sells is the oldest adage in advertising. We associate sex with mostly everything in today's world.
You see it every single day infiltrating your computer, tv, ipod, and cell phone screens. Plastered on billboards, bus stops, on buses, and the side of buildings. Companies want to tap into your subconscious mind, by displaying this imagery and hoping that it prompts you to associate sex with their products thereby causing you to purchase it.
Go to any of the social networking sites and you will see an array of hotties, scantily women posing, posturing, insinuating sexual things, just to sell unrelated products like real estate, a book, their music, hearing aides, or something so far unrelated to sex as in a product that helps you clean your clothes better, could fail. Abusing your audience's attention is a dangerous thing. Showing skin to get attention and then trying to sell completely unrelated products can be disastrous to say the least.
Does this type of advertising really pay off the dividends that these advertisers whether corporate or individual are expecting?? Some do benefit, but a large majority of others do not. You need to be careful and think how nudity is sufficient towards a targeted market, no matter how free thinking of a society they may be. You need to take into consideration that everyone in that market is not going to see the advertising in the same vain, so focus on what matters to you as a company, the commodity or product you are selling, and how it will affect you in the long run.
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