Thursday, December 16, 2010

BEEF?????

So I put up this status on Gmail: "Too Smart for your Dumb ass"
It wasn’t directed to anyone I just liked the term..............and the day began not much different than any other day until Bruce B.L.A.C.C IM'ed me.
I’m glad I responded.

So I had this looooooog conversation with my mans BRUCE B.L.A.C.C on IM and what it broke down to is that I need to keep a positive attitude because I’m loosing friends. There is some "List" of people who I have beef with.
BEEF????

C'mon, seriously Beef??? If there was any real beef I'd be handled by now, wouldn't I? I mean I live in Chicago, we don't let beef drag we handle it. Bruce also went on about how heads talk and they have been talking behind my back, REALLYY?? I have you whispering in the winds about me? Oh how sweet. He went on to say that I don't have the same friends as I once did. Now that ,I can agree on. Sometimes you get tired of doing the same song and dance with people. Sometimes you out grow them. Some times you stop letting them misuse you. A lot of times the people who you gave the benefit of the doubt to disappoints you so you stop dealing with them all together.

This is how the game of life is. In this war we lose a lot of soldiers to the everyday. The friends, real friends never go any where. I began putting The Secret in to play in 2007 when I got back from the Wonda Women Project Tour. The book, The Secret, talks about The Laws of Attraction, it states" Like Attracts Like" . 2007 was time that I started to "lose" friends. I'm ok with that. I look back on those gone and I see them in the same position they were in before, just a bit more bitter. I started to find myself with like minded people who were encouraging, self sufficient, dependable, reliable, progressive, nurturing, thoughtful, kind, strong, and not abusive. I’d attracted those people in my life and I did not need them any more. I'm not perfect never did I claim to be but if I'm not satisfied with my mobility I look in (at me) and then I look out (at my surroundings). I can't change what you do but I can change what I do. So I decided to be more overstanding of others. If you know me and I mean KNOW ME you'll know that I am brutally honest. And it's time I got brutally honest with me. Ang13:

Everyone will not like you.
Everyone will not like what you say.
Everyone will not like what you do.
Everyone will not like that fact that you think you're the shit.
Everyone will not like how you come across.
Everyone will not like the way you look.
the way you rap.
the way you think.
the way you speak.
the completion of your skin.
your character.
your height.
your weight.
what you stand for.

They won’t like a whole lotta stuff about you Ang13. But as soon as I change something about me they don't like they’ll find something else, then something else’s, then something else which means they will never be satisfied and I will never be who I am trying to live up to the expectations of others. So here is the easy way out. if there is sooo much that you don't like about me you are free to go, please don’t wound yourself any more. Bruce stated 'it upsets me that you're not larger then you are, I always wonder that. You should be large" A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF NEVER SATISFIED. I stated " I'm not large on your scale, and I don’t work on your scale I work on mine". There are more people who like me than those who don't. Those who do like me get all my love and I have a lot to give. Those who don't, that drag my name through the mud, I applaud you. Hater looks good on you, it looks bad on me so.... proceed. Bruce refused to name of those talking behind my back. But I'm pretty sure it's those same people who are smiling in my face. Do your self a favor and free yourself it will feel soooo good not to be a phony any more. And as arrogant as this sounds it’s the truth: “those who talk behind your back are behind you for a reason”.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Conversation with a Young emcee

A 19 year old rapper contacted me through reverbnation.com and asked me to check him out. I think this response was way over due and I never responded this way before but here is what I said (in a loving way of course):


I like what your doing but lets try somthin:

Ok take any one of your songs and check off how many times you make reference to the crazy 8:
1. niggas
2. bitches
3. money
4. drugs
5. guns
6. sex
7. cars
8. tags
No really because I didn’t do that when I first started. And because I didn’t I kept referring to :
niggas
bitches
money
drugs
guns
sex
tags
The reason why is because that is what I was always surrounded by:
niggas
bitches
money
drugs
guns
sex
tags
I had to change the way I thought cause I couldn’t change where is was living (i was a kid at the time). I started to read a lot, got around people who thought like me, not like the way I did in the past and my rhymes, vocabulary, people, and situations I was attracting to me started to change. don’t confuse it
niggas
bitches
money
drugs
guns
sex
tags
Run wild in the game. But you have to decide, do you want to be like them or better than them? You can be very successful without referring to the crazy 8 all the time. (Tho a bitch ass nigga took my money to by drugs and guns instead of taggin me up so he gets no pussy) just kiddin. Be the best representative you can be of the culture not just the rap game. You can reach the world with it, teach the world with it, or defeat your world with it.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

10 Great Tips to Help You FAIL as an Independent Artist.

10 Great Tips to Help You Fail as an Independent ArtistOctober 14, 2010

Article by Scott James of The Independent Rockstar Blog originally posted in Echoes on 10/14/10.

We’ve all seen and read posts and eBooks about how to ‘succeed’ as independent artists and to be honest, I’ve even written a few. But what about those of us who are bent on failure? Those of us who would like to know how to shoot ourselves in the foot as efficiently and painfully as possible? Those of us who would like to be more unsuccessful and confused? Well this post is for you!

Some of these things I’ve done myself, and I can assure you – they work amazingly well! Others I’ve merely watched in admiration as true masters of blunder and confusion have performed their magic before my very eyes.

So here it is, my guide to failure for the independent artist:


1. Steal Your Own ThunderGot a new CD in the works? Awesome! Make sure you release every version of every demo and every mix you record during the process on Facebook, Reverbnation, Myspace and anywhere else you can find. Try to confuse your fans so that they’re not really sure if you have a CD out yet or not. Don’t set a release date well in advance or plan your promotion to build anticipation. Try to make your release as flat and confusing as possible!


2. Don’t Sell Anything!You’re definitely going to get signed by a huge label in less than three months anyway, so why bother?! It’s much better to just wait for other people to come in and straighten things out. Taking responsibility for your own career is hard work and it might lead to success, so try your best to avoid it. Try to keep it real and stay as broke as possible. If you have any money then you’ll be less needy and you’ll have more leverage, which could lead you towards success, so stay away!


3. Hide Your Best StuffTry to make sure that people have a hard time getting to your best songs. Hide them on your online music players by either shuffling your songs randomly or putting them way down on the list. This will make sure that they’re less likely to get the best possible first impression.

Also, make sure you stop playing your best songs live as soon as possible in favor of new material. Remember, new is better than good. After all, you’re sick of your best songs by now anyway, so why should you go out of your way for people who haven’t heard your music yet? Besides, that would just draw in new fans, so don’t do it.


4. Don’t Deliver For Your FansIt’s generally best to reach for the stars and swing for the fences as soon as possible. Try to see if you can drag all of your fans out to the ‘big venue’ in town well before you’re ready to play there. That way you can make sure that your fans overpay to see you at a venue that doesn’t care about you and will cut your set short. Bonus points if your fans have to pay for parking. The whole experience should go a long way towards loosing your audience.

It’s always best to make sure your relationship with your fans is based on them doing you favors as opposed to a mutual exchange of value. People will willingly come back to see you if you focus on their experience and deliver the goods, so it’s best to make sure you focus more on having them do you favors.


5. Impress People With the Volume of Your ContentIf it’s good to have a YouTube video on your home page then it’s great to have 37! Try to mix in unprofessional and amateur content as much as possible. If you’ve done it – then why not show it! Obviously the big record companies are going to be way impressed when they see just how many ‘things’ you’ve done. If people have no idea how to digest the massive amounts of unorganized content on your page and tend to leave in frustration then you know you’re on the right track!


6. Don’t Tell Anyone Your NameWhen people come to see you it’s best if you keep a sense of mystery about yourself. Whatever you do, don’t give yourself away by showing or telling people the name of your act. Try to make them work for it. Remove any visual evidence that you even have a name and try to make sure that if you mention your name you do it in a way that’s garbled and difficult to hear and understand. Bonus points if your name is hard to remember like Anne Kalshzyagrakaviczich. In that case you can tell them your name once just to dare them to try and remember it. They won’t be able to! If they like you then this should piss them off. Awesome!

Also, try and secure a confusing URL for your website that’s spelled strangely and has numbers and dashes and is not memorable. Extra credit if you can make sure that the URLs for your YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter account and other social networking sites have nothing in common with each other. If someone wants to follow you then you certainly don’t want to make it easy for them!


7. Don’t Let Anyone Have Anything for FreeWhatever you do, make sure that no one gets their hands on your music without paying you. If more people got a hold of your music then you might generate more demand, so cling to your music with an iron fist. And whatever you do, if you ever do give away any of your music, make sure you don’t get an email address in return.

That might start you in the direction of adopting habits that lead to more money and more people coming to your shows.


8. Don’t Facilitate Long Term Relationships Your relationship with your fans should be all about one-night stands. Anything beyond that will just ruin the experience. If you actually look for ways to stay in contact with them like collecting their email addresses and finding creative ways to engage with them on Facebook and other social networking sites then one day you might wake up and find yourself gaining positive momentum and building a sustainable path of continued growth and success. So make sure people don’t have an easy way to stay in the loop or to find out when and where you’re playing next. If they do find you online, say on your website, make sure that it’s confusing and doesn’t have any dynamic content or a reason or means for them to stay connected.


9. Try Your Best to Be Vague and Confusing When Describing Your MusicWhen someone asks you what you sound like, try to make sure they won’t understand, remember and/or be excited about what you say. You don’t want to be painted into a corner by a concise and interesting description of your music. It’s best to try and give them a long-winded summary of every way to conceivably describe everything you will ever play. And whatever you do, don’t compare yourself to anyone else to give people a frame of reference. It’s best to tell people that you don’t sound like anyone and that you’ve invented a new kind of music. This should sufficiently confuse and frustrate them to the point that they don’t care to find out any more about you.


10. Talk About Yourself. A lot.Finally, it’s a good idea to make sure that you don’t talk about anyone or anything else besides you and your career. If you stop promoting yourself for even a minute and start talking up others and remarking about interesting subjects then people might actually start to think you’re a real person and listen to what you have to say and want to hear more from you. It’s best to avoid this scenario by incessantly blasting your ‘friends’ and fans with promotion. This should lead to nausea amongst anyone who decided to give you a chance – a great weapon in your quest for failure.


For bonus points, throw in a few complaints and guilt trips into the mix. This should make sure that even the few people who tolerate your interpretation of how to use social media won’t like you or want to see you succeed.


So there you have it. 10 powerful tips that are sure to help you fail! Use them well and use them often. Try and combine different tips and see just how quickly or painfully slowly you can run your career into the ground.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

So you want to be on a lable huh? Look how an indie label works and multiply the numbers by 10.

Why is it such a mystery to so many people the expenses labels deal with? Check out this great article written by David Rose giving you a breakdown from the indie record label perspective. Below is a summary of the actual expenses an indie record label incurred for a new release:

Recording advance: $15,000
Tour support: $2,100
Mastering costs: $934.96
Marketing: $13,433.23
Advertising: $2,067.50
Publicity: $5,153.34
Manufacturing: $16,581.04
Artwork / photos: $200
Misc: $587.71
Total: $56,057.78


Here is an overview of each of the line item in a little more detail:

Recording Advance – The money for the recording advance is used to cover the cost of recording. Including studio rental, mixing, session musicians, sound engineer and producer.

Tour Support – Artists have traditionally sold more overall units when they tour so record labels will often times financially support a tour. Tour support money can help pay some of the expenses of touring such as gas, insurance, hotels, food and supplies.

Mastering – Mastering is a post production process that takes the final mix of the recording, edits minor flaws, adjusts volume and stereo widths, equalizes tracks, etc. It’s usually expected that the person who masters the recording will be different from the person who mixes it so there is typically a separate line item in the budget.

Marketing – The marketing line item is entirely for retail co-op marketing expenses. Co-op marketing dollars are expenses distributors incur from retailers for special product placement, in-store promotions, listening stations or advertising. The amount of co-op marketing dollars the distributor (and ultimately the label) are willing to spend on a new release has a direct correlation to the amount of product the retailer orders.

Advertising – Advertising expenses can include any print, radio and online advertising the record label incurs to promote a new release (outside of retail co-op dollars).Publicity – It’s fairly common for a record label to hire an independent publicist for a 90 day period to help promote a new release to press, print and online media, bloggers and anyone else who can help influence music fans.

Manufacturing – The manufacturing costs for a CD with jewel case can vary but is still around $1.00 per unit for a distributor or label with measurable volume.Artwork – The cost of custom creative and / or photos for the release.

Miscellaneous – Just like the name implies this is the catch “everything else” expense category related to a new release. For example, legal fees or video production expenses charged to a new release could end up here.

For this particular release to break even it must generate $70,072.23 in gross sales ($56,057.78 + the 25% fee of sales paid to the distributor ). The typical deductions a distributor takes on sales including return reserves and breakage (to name a few) further impact cash flow on sales back to the record label.

It’s important for artists to fully understand how the basic economics of an indie label work since they will not get paid any royalties from sales until the record label recoups all the expenses incurred in getting the record to market. This is true of both traditional record label agreements and even “50/50” licensing agreements. It is very common for artists to never receive royalties on sales from their record label since many new releases never fully recoup their expenses.

Being signed to a record label is no guarantee of sales success. Artists need to carefully weigh what a record label is going to spend on a new release to determine the level of sales that will be needed to achieve profitability before signing a recording contract. Even though the artist might sell a lower number of units on their own there is a very real chance they can actually earn more money without a record label being involved.

Most indie record label owners are simply trying to get music they love heard by fans. They aren’t in it for the money. In addition to the above mentioned costs of getting a new release to market they have to cover multiple other expenses such as insurance, rent, payroll, travel and mechanical royalties . Making money as an indie label is no easy task. Needless to say, label owners give it a great deal of consideration before signing a new artist and committing to releasing their music.

It does take a lot of money and resources to get a new release to market. However, real transparency in accounting for these expenses is still largely lacking. Inevitably this leads to conflict between the record label and artist around recoupment of expenses and payment of royalties. Hopefully, as artists better understand the economics of record labels they will be able to make more informed decisions about when it makes sense to sign with a record label and when go it alone. Source: KnowTheMusicBiz

Saturday, May 1, 2010

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Friday, March 12, 2010

2 New Ep's by Ang13 : The Valut Vol. 1 & The Spill



2 Hot new projects by the legendary Ang13 : "The Vault Vol. 1" and "The Spill" are now available to the world!! Click the "Buy Now" links on the right side of the page to have download cards sent by mail(with-in 24 hours) or emailed to you (same day). They are predicted to go quick, so GO.....QUICK !!! get that new Fire!!! For Previews visit http://reverbnation.com/ang13 or http://Myspace.com/ang13 .

The Spill