Too Many Songs, Not Enough Hits: Music Is Struggling to Create New Stars

[NO-BadAzz]

Labels did create stars. What artist has become a major star - as in they are a chart topper, crowd seller for multiple years across multiple albums - without a major label push? That’s one of the points of the article, not being able to build sustained stardom., hits pop off for multiple reasons but that doesn’t make people into bankable stars anymore. They gave a clear example of muni long. Had a huge hit song at the top of the year and you’d be hard pressed to find a discussion about her 6 months later

There were many underground record labels, and those people on those underground record labels created hit songs and albums. A major label only gets you into the eyes of white folks. Many rappers were already hot before they reached a deal with a major, E-40, Master P, UGK, 8Ball, Cash Money, etc, I can go on. These folks had hit records and had a roster full of so call stars before they were worldwide or pushed by a major

Labels have a small part in creating a star, my long paragraph in this thread about what I typed has a much bigger impact and more of the tangibles to create a star or hit record more than what the label does. Big Money doesn't create a star, it helps, small %, but the kind product that you put to the people is what gets people invested in your artist, that's where the "fan" "fans" become created for the star to be born/created

The buyer expresses those elements that I described in my first paragraph I wrote.

A label can have 100 artists on their roster and 0 of them can pop unless the people invest into that artist.

How do you make the people invest into that artist, see my first paragraph

Why people are not investing into artists and making them a star is what my first paragraph talks about.

 

[jerzboy]

there were merits to having gatekeepers and fewer paths to getting music out in the past, consumers appreciated music more (now it's disposable), the quality was higher, and there was a more collective/communal experience of music.

 

[FeverPitch2]

Labels create stars

Labels can make stars of those with star quality.
Only so much lipstick a pig can wear.

 

[NO-BadAzz]

Labels did create stars. What artist has become a major star - as in they are a chart topper, crowd seller for multiple years across multiple albums - without a major label push? That’s one of the points of the article, not being able to build sustained stardom., hits pop off for multiple reasons but that doesn’t make people into bankable stars anymore. They gave a clear example of muni long. Had a huge hit song at the top of the year and you’d be hard pressed to find a discussion about her 6 months later

In this example, the record game is its own enemy, they've created the state of which the game now has become. You have a hit song like she had back in 96-98, she'll be talked about still, but due to the climate, (that these record labels created by overloading the streets with music) then she will get lost in the sauce on that standpoint.

My first paragraph was a description on why hit records are not being created going much in-depth about the issue. Everything is the same, I'll sum it by saying that.

If you go to 100 stores and they sell the same shoe, size 4 shoe, red, you think those stores are going to have a high selling shoe? or in this case, a hit record, 40 record labels in another example produce the same artist, same songs, etc, how are you going to create hit songs from these record labels? when everything matches one another. That was what I was speaking on also, to align with the thread title.

I don't know how folks distinguish a Pooh Shiety from a 42 Duggs vs an EST GEE album/song, Not knocking them, but the software of these artist (to me) are the same

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

There were many underground record labels, and those people on those underground record labels created hit songs and albums. A major label only gets you into the eyes of white folks. Many rappers were already hot before they reached a deal with a major, E-40, Master P, UGK, 8Ball, Cash Money, etc, I can go on. These folks had hit records and had a roster full of so call stars before they were worldwide or pushed by a major

Labels have a small part in creating a star, my long paragraph in this thread about what I typed has a much bigger impact and more of the tangibles to create a star or hit record more than what the label does.

The buyer expresses those elements that I described in my first paragraph I wrote.

A label can have 100 artists on their roster and 0 of them can pop unless the people invest into that artist.

How do you make the people invest into that artist, see my first paragraph

Why people are not investing into artists and making them a star is what my first paragraph talks about.

and all became stars - not local/niche stars - when they got on majors 40-jive, i forgot who no limit and cash money - universal, ugk didn't get on on until big pimpin, 8ball was never a major star

and why would a label, today, invest a ton into an artist with a wildly unknown ROI - the article laments that, you CAN invest in the 5-10 steps it should take for an artist to blow and they go no where, while someone else takes off. prime example is RCA with tinashe and doja...tinashe got the budget, the media, the photo shoots, and every conventional push and nothing stuck, meanwhile they kinda let doja cat languish, this bytch releases a song about being a cow from her bedroom and took off. how do you expect labels to invest in people on GP when this is the result? they are admitting to being confused by today's consumption habits AND the fact that even after a hit, people still don't always become stars

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

In this example, the record game is its own enemy, they've created the state of which the game now has become. You have a hit song like she had back in 96-98, she'll be talked about still, but due to the climate, (that these record labels created by overloading the streets with music) then she will get lost in the sauce on that standpoint.

My first paragraph was a description on why hit records are not being created going much in-depth about the issue. Everything is the same, I'll sum it by saying that.

If you go to 100 stores and they sell the same shoe, size 4 shoe, red, you think those stores are going to have a high selling shoe? or in this case, a hit record, 40 record labels in another example produce the same artist, same songs, etc, how are you going to create hit songs from these record labels? when everything matches one another. That was what I was speaking on also, to align with the thread title.

I don't know how folks distinguish a Pooh Shiety from a 42 Duggs vs an EST GEE album/song, Not knocking them, but the software of these artist (to me) are the same

bro, you're off base because the record labels are not the gatekeepers. artists are going straight to the source and they themselves are putting out music that sounds like 5 other artists, consumers are fine with this because we listen in smaller and smaller bubbles and therefore, like the articles says, tons of songs, no stars.

i listen to payroll giovanni, larry june, currensy, jay worthy and that whole crew...these dudes all use the same producers, this aint their label pushing them to do this, they all independent, this is their choice and it doesn't matter because as you can see from their threads, there is the same 10-15 of us who consume it. THE WHOLE PARADIGM HAS SHIFTED

 

[EA]

I feel like relying on the machine to find out who to listen to is lazy now considering all of the outlets we have available to us as consumers. I’m discovering new artists on a regular basis and listening to new music all the time. I couldn’t care less about if it’s “popping” or not because consuming music should be a personal experience before it’s a shared one.

Labels are relying on luck just as much as the artists now because the amount of media available is overwhelming.

 

[Swahili P'Bitek]

"Mcs are crawling out every hole in the slum..." The supply is too much, and people do not want stars to be made for them, they want to play a part in making their own stars and share in their glory. Look at some social media celebrities, they barely have any talent, but people made them. The same thing is happening in the music industries, if somebody comes out too polished and "corporate", he/she may have one or two hits, yes, but they won't last.

Music consumption now operates on "street" music logic. What is hot is hot, kids do not want to be dictated to.

 

[TaxCollector13459]

They stopped artist development, shouldn’t be a surprise shii structure crumbling

 

[NO-BadAzz]

and all became stars - not local/niche stars - when they got on majors 40-jive, i forgot who no limit and cash money - universal, ugk didn't get on on until big pimpin, 8ball was never a major star

and why would a label, today, invest a ton into an artist with a wildly unknown ROI - the article laments that, you CAN invest in the 5-10 steps it should take for an artist to blow and they go no where, while someone else takes off. prime example is RCA with tinashe and doja...tinashe got the budget, the media, the photo shoots, and every conventional push and nothing stuck, meanwhile they kinda let doja cat languish, this bytch releases a song about being a cow from her bedroom and took off. how do you expect labels to invest in people on GP when this is the result? they are admitting to being confused by today's consumption habits AND the fact that even after a hit, people still don't always become stars

I'll ask you this, was Master P a star when Ice Cream Man, I'm bout it bout it drop?? Was Lil Wayne a star when Get it How you Live came out?? Was Juvi a star when Soulja Rags album dropped in 97, if not when did he become a star what year and with what ALBUMS/SONGS?? Was BG a star when Chopper City came out or "It's All on U" dropped when did he become a star then, did he become a so call star when Check mate came out??

When did Nas become a star? he was on a major, which album?

Getting with a major expanded their reach/audience, they were already hot before signing to these major, they've already established the work.

UGK didn't get big until big pimping?? UGK was stars before Jay, if these cats weren't already stars, why a person like Jay-z put them on a record? You don't put unknown, or local stars on a record and shoot a video for it,

UGK didn't reach a "certain" crowd until Big Pimpin, them dudes were already stars.

If the record labels make you a "star" as you stated, then how come Juvenile isn't still a so call "star" in 2022, meaning if he drops an album on Cash Money will it do more than 400 degrees??

According to what you said, and the other poster, record labels create stars, so if they create stars, then they should be able to keep their artists stars until...

Fans make you a star, not a record label.

 

[jensyao]

too many industry plants. music isn't organic enough or from grassroot sources. too many fabricated hits based on copying. because entertainment value is subjective and is hard to quantify and predict popularity even for different songs made by the same artist, people treat music (or art in general nowadays) more as a hustle with a pyramid scheme/Ponzi scheme/trickle down economic/marketing dynamic instead of evaluated as a true artform.

once inner city schools lose funding or when those schools let too many delinquents into the school, the music teachers are the first to get cut or supply a subpar music education where the students basically hang out and learn nothing and whatever sound these new artists create is a reflection of that. even black musicians back in the michael jackson/quincy jones/prince era used to play an extraordinary amount of instruments and know chord progression themselves before school's budget got cut and now we can't play those instruments or know music theory anymore and have to resort to sampling and paying expensive clearances/royalties. those who can still make music mostly get their knowledge from a musical family background or from playing the church organ or singing in the church choir.

the music industry itself is a fukked up 360 deal to get into and you need to be young, naive, or have a conceited ego to even sign one of those contracts, which are basically marked-up million dollar loans with expensive studio/hidden fees to pay back. you have to pull a lot of world star/street credibility stunts out of debauchery, controversy, death, or ignorance to even get popular for social media to react to it, and that has nothing to do with the integrity of the music. most people don't make it thru their contracts, get shelved, or get stuck with a huge deficit to their name to even get resigned for another record company to make more music to even pay back those debts. artist have to release 4+ albums to even renegotiate their contract for a bigger record deal and budget, but by then, most of their better songs and ideas are already wrung out of them and it's harder to make hits when there are copycat artists and fans already expect you to make this type of music and you become 'predictable' with your output

when artists remain independent, there's no machine to push for their popularity so they remain relatively unknown unless they hustle youtube/soundcloud, become a meme, sexualize themselves, or make music supporting the LGBT community to get a shyt ton of streams to even earn a living, but by then, you are basically what the fans make of you in terms of being a caricature ventriloquist of yourself if you have any soul or humanity left within you to make the type of music that you want and not be pressured to be puppetted by perception or demand to sell out and make generic ass microwave radio friendly music.

music can be a profession but society's infrastructure and industry treats it more as a low wage commodified past-time where acts are considered interchangeable or replaceable, the most qualified musicians are paid peanuts compared to their talent, and only a select few get extremely popular with outside endorsements, side products/hustles, and tours to become wealthy

 

[NO-BadAzz]

bro, you're off base because the record labels are not the gatekeepers. artists are going straight to the source and they themselves are putting out music that sounds like 5 other artists, consumers are fine with this because we listen in smaller and smaller bubbles and therefore, like the articles says, tons of songs, no stars.

i listen to payroll giovanni, larry june, currensy, jay worthy and that whole crew...these dudes all use the same producers, this aint their label pushing them to do this, they all independent, this is their choice and it doesn't matter because as you can see from their threads, there is the same 10-15 of us who consume it. THE WHOLE PARADIGM HAS SHIFTED

Ok. I think you missing the point with what I am saying, which is, the current climate now in which the article talks about has made it much harder for a star to be created. Who created this climate? The artist, the consumer or the record labels?? because this was not the climate 20 or so years ago, the setup was not like this 20-100 years ago in regard to music.

The music game is in now, the state it's in, has made it much harder for a hit song or songs to be created. I have stated in my first paragraph was how the past climate/setup established, the formats that made hit songs and made stars all the way from LL, Stevie Wonder, Motown acts, GAP Bands etc, the format that those record labels, artists used created them stars and allowed them to produce a product that the people liked which made those people become fans.

Your last paragraph, I'm not disagreeing with you, those artists are in this climate and will not get the fans that they may have would have gotten, let's say back in 98 or so.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I'll ask you this, was Master P a star when Ice Cream Man, I'm bout it bout it drop?? Was Lil Wayne a star when Get it How you Live came out?? Was Juvi a star when Soulja Rags album dropped in 97, if not when did he become a star what year and with what ALBUMS/SONGS?? Was BG a star when Chopper City came out or "It's All on U" dropped when did he become a star then, did he become a so call star when Check mate came out??

When did Nas become a star? he was on a major, which album?

Getting with a major expanded their reach/audience, they were already hot before signing to these major, they've already established the work.

UGK didn't get big until big pimping?? UGK was stars before Jay, if these cats weren't already stars, why a person like Jay-z put them on a record? You don't put unknown, or local stars on a record and shoot a video for it,

UGK didn't reach a "certain" crowd until Big Pimpin, them dudes were already stars.

If the record labels make you a "star" as you stated, then how come Juvenile isn't still a so call "star" in 2022, meaning if he drops an album on Cash Money will it do more than 400 degrees??

According to what you said, and the other poster, record labels create stars, so if they create stars, then they should be able to keep their artists stars until...

Fans make you a star, not a record label.

i'm in a meeting....i aint answering all this, no, they were not stars before these major label debuts pushes. they were niche/regional. you could be a star to your region, but we are discussing top 100/top 40 repeat billboard stars. ugk aint that, jive before 400 degrees aint that, etc.

 

[NO-BadAzz]

i'm in a meeting....i aint answering all this, no, they were not stars before these major label debuts pushes. they were niche/regional. you could be a star to your region, but we are discussing top 100/top 40 repeat billboard stars. ugk aint that, jive before 400 degrees aint that, etc.

Ok

According to you, you have to be on a major to crack top 100/top billboard and be a star. As I stated a major give you a longer reach, you still have to put out good products to become a star and make hit records

Your first sentences doesn't even make sense, Again, you gotta have some type of clout for majors to even consider investing and dropping an album on you or your record label artists, these folks were doing something, whether you call in regional/niche (which my first paragraph talks about) and if you knew how the game was back then, the game was regional, No Limit didn't do big numbers on the East Coast, CMR didn't do big numbers on the East Coast (even being on a major label) Trick Daddy etc, these acts weren't huge sellers on the East Coast, just like East Coast acts weren't huge sellers down south, I can't remember the East Coast artist, but he came down here to NOLA and got boo'd because folks wanted to see Juvenile. I can't remember the artist and he was big at the time.

So again, the game has always been "regional" cut.

Jay-Z wasn't a so call "star", going by your definition and stance and he was on a major for how long before he became who he is today?

Majors only get you a bigger reach to tap into a new fanbase. No different from a local store/company getting a contract with Amazon to sell their product, they would be on a bigger platform to reach a bigger audience. The product still has to be good for that new audience to fukk wit it. The local store was already doing their thing before Amazon.

 

[KFBF]

They gave a clear example of muni long. Had a huge hit song at the top of the year and you’d be hard pressed to find a discussion about her 6 months later

How much of that first hit popping would you attribute to the record label and how much would you attribute to the actual music? 60/40? 30/70?



Why should the average music consumer in 2022 care that record labels can’t manufacture stars anymore?