The music industry is dead, and the how come doesn't matter. The question now is what next? How does an artist eat in an environment like this where record sales have dropped 20% since last year?
For rock bands, touring and merchandising will become more important than ever. Eventually they will be begging you to download their music for free, as long as you promise to pay 50 in damage for the live show and cop a T-shirt on your way out.
Rap acts though don't tour too tough. However, compared to the rockers, emcees are better suited to survive this new industry fallout. Ever since Diddy declared that anyone who questions how a rapper makes money is a "player hater", it's been open season for even the most indie leaning emcee to appear in commercials and have his own sneaker. Muscicians in other genres have to walk a fine line of art and commerce so they don't offend their fanbase. However, in hip-hop, the number of endorsements you score is part of your marketing plan.
Now, some see this and think there is too much commercialism in hip-hop. Me? I don't think there is enough.
From Sprite to Scion I see corporate sponsors as the new (or the first?) patrons of hip-hop. Back in the day, before recorded music and record labels, musical masters relied on patrons to front them while they made their art. In return for their investment, the wealthy patrons gained a higher social status by being linked to the incredible artists they fronted. Also, they would retain the artist to perform at their parties and write special dedications for themselves or family.
Now, doesn't that sound like how Reebok paid for the pairing of 50 Cent and Jay-Z or how Boost Mobile did the same with Kanye, Ludacris, and The Game?
I'm not mad at any of those examples, because despite the money that's flowing I think hip-hop does a good job of holding to two rules that makes sure the commerce doesn't harm the art:
Rule # 1. Commercials are clearly commercials. Sprite has never tried to pass off one of their famous freestyle spots as an authentic, spontaneous, off-the-top endorsement by a rapper.
Rule # 2. Art is clearly art. When Busta told Pharrell to "Pass the Courvoisier", I don't think he was considering a deal with that liquor brand, even if one came after the fact. He name dropped because it sounded hot, and that's it.
The only pass a rapper can get on rule #2 is if he owns the product he's pushing. Self-promotion is straight hip-hop.
I'm impressed with emcees like 50 Cent who has been able to remain independent and relevant and dangerous with his left hand, yet snatch coin from corporate America with his right. As 50 himself admitted in a Vibe Magazine interview, when asked about declining music sales industry wide, he said he doesn't care if less people buy the record, as long as they buy his clothing, vitamin water, videos game, and movies. 50 is in the business of selling a lifestlye, with music as the bait, a trick that Diddy and Jay-Z learned long ago.
