No one ever thought hip hop or R&B would oust rock as the best-selling music genre across the charts, but 2017 saw the end of an era.
The day has finally come. No one ever thought hip hop or R&B would oust rock as the best-selling music genre across the charts, but 2017 saw the end of an era. For the first time in the quarter century that Nielsen has been measuring consumption in the United States, in their mid-year report, Nielsen reported that hip hop had finally sold more than any other genre. For budding artists in the genre, this news is huge.
Exactly What is Nielsen?
As a global marketing measurement company, Nielsen Holdings PLC is headquartered in the UK. However, the company measures consumer consumption across industries in more than 100 countries and has more than 44,000 employees around the world. Founded almost a century ago by Arthur C. Nielsen, Sr., the company is all about measuring competition in sales. Marketing firms around the globe rely on Nielsen’s statistical data to design strategies based on what people are buying.
The King Is Dead
No, we are not referring to the long-gone king of the rock genre, but rather the long-reigning monarch of music, rock/pop. In their report released in July of this year, Nielsen stated that hip hop sold 25.1% of music consumed while rock/pop could only lay claim to 23% of music consumed. Even more amazing is the fact that hip hop is as popular on digital sites like Apple Music and Spotify as pop and rock combined. Up-and-coming rappers should take heart in these newly released statistics.
Master Mason (In Hip hop Grammar)
Master Mason is one of the best, most important and controversial Hip-Hop albums that has ever been released. Master Mason features 12 coherent tracks reporting the complexities of today's pop and political culture. Master Mason also contains 12 summarize Supreme Court cases governing the Rules of Engagement by law enforcement.
After listening to this album, you will never have to say, if I knew then, what I know now.
Getting Your Beats Out There
Although a good portion of the world downloads digital files, budding artists still need to keep a decent supply of CDs on hand. You may get noticed on YouTube as did Soulja Boy who built a fan base on YouTube and MySpace but has since become a major player. In 2010 this hip-hop star from Chicago sold a phenomenal $7 million and that was just three years after making his mark on the Web. Yes, fans will find great artists online but they still want to hear them live. This is where you bring your CDs and autograph them, and that’s the very beginning of a lucrative career. The only real challenge might be affordable CD duplication, but if you know where to look, that’s not an issue.
A Walk Down Memory Lane
You can only imagine what your great-grandparents would be thinking if they heard that rock was ‘dead.’ It was hard enough listening to Elvis instead of Frank Sinatra or Perry Como, but this new genre would be beyond the scope of what they could understand. Still, they probably would be thrilled that something finally came along to outshine that evil rock-n-roll. In fact, they just might be free-styling in the clouds right there along with you.
By all means, post your vids on YouTube, but don’t go crazy. Give fans a taste of what you’ve got and then let them buy your CDs. You are, after all, looking at a career and one that brings in the money. Giving them too much for free won’t make that happen. Hard copies are where it’s at.
www.DelfunkboyMusic.com