10 New Rules of the Music Industry
Where were you on Fri., Dec. 13, 2013 at midnight? Don't say sleeping, because you're lying. You were posted up in front of your computer on iTunes purchasing Beyonce Giselle Knowles-Carter's self-titled opus and you know it. King Bey dropped 'Beyonce' and not a single member of the Bey Hive knew beforehand. It was perhaps the boldest, Beyonce-est move in music history, as the songstress delivered a sexually-charged independent release as a middle finger to her label for not supporting her new musical pursuits.
While some artists in a lesser tax bracket may randomly drop "free albums" (we call them mixtapes, right?) at random, no one has done what Beyonce did when she delivered a surprise album without a gigantic promotional vehicle. This new rule that albums will unexpectedly fall from the sky is reserved for the Kings who know they'll still profit, despite what Beyonce said on 'Ghost' with, "Soul not for sale / Probably won't make no money off this, oh well." You know what that means: Azealia Banks, don't try this at home.
While some artists in a lesser tax bracket may randomly drop "free albums" (we call them mixtapes, right?) at random, no one has done what Beyonce did when she delivered a surprise album without a gigantic promotional vehicle. This new rule that albums will unexpectedly fall from the sky is reserved for the Kings who know they'll still profit, despite what Beyonce said on 'Ghost' with, "Soul not for sale / Probably won't make no money off this, oh well." You know what that means: Azealia Banks, don't try this at home.
Many years ago, the worst nightmare for an artist would be the release of a sex tape, a nude photo or some sort of past endeavor that they did for money and wished they hadn't. Nowadays, it's unearthing past tweets. Even present ones for that matter. If you put it out on Twitter, consider it etched in stone. Know why? Because someone out there is randomly taking screenshots of that tweet to use at a later time, regardless of whether or not you delete what you wrote.
Take Macklemore, who just swept the 2014 Grammy Awards and won the hearts of Americans through the song 'Same Love,' which came equipped with same sex marriages (officiated by Queen Latifah) when he performed the song live at the ceremony. However, a 2009 tweet from the indie powerhouse showed his overzealous usage of "no homo," which had the LGBT community in an uproar. Your thoughts and ideals can change. Sure. But be careful what you tweet when you tweet it, because five years later, you may be reminded of the skeletons in your cyber closet.
Take Macklemore, who just swept the 2014 Grammy Awards and won the hearts of Americans through the song 'Same Love,' which came equipped with same sex marriages (officiated by Queen Latifah) when he performed the song live at the ceremony. However, a 2009 tweet from the indie powerhouse showed his overzealous usage of "no homo," which had the LGBT community in an uproar. Your thoughts and ideals can change. Sure. But be careful what you tweet when you tweet it, because five years later, you may be reminded of the skeletons in your cyber closet.
Hey websites, ever been sued over a photo? Not pretty right? Not cheap either. Photo copyright infringement is almost as "dangerous" as sampling a song without clearance. Major professional photo banks like Getty Images were (and still are) a viable means of obtaining press photos of celebrities, in addition to photos from the celeb's publicist or managament. Not anymore. With artists and actors taking photos of everything from their faces to their food on Instagram, a whole well of flicks are at our disposal. Some people use Instagram more than others. Singers like Rihanna and Beyonce always have a steady stream of photos to check out, along with Miley Cyrus (and her tongue). On the rap front, Rick Ross always has some lovely photos to offer, as does French Montana (he even shared an Instagram photo of himself getting arrested). If you need Kanye West photos, though, head over to Kim Kardashian's Instagram page.
Reebok is another stickler. Last year, when Rick Ross uttered some sketchy bars on Rocko's 'U.O.E.N.O.' that suggested he was condoning rape, Reebok pulled his sponsorship right from under his large frame. Lil Wayne's Emmett Till line in Future's 'Karate Chop' remix left him without any more free Mountain Dew to drink. So you see, sponsors watch you like a potential employer does your Facebook page. Keep your brand squeaky clean, especially when you're paid to represent another one.
