The Fan: One of the biggest commodities.
Throughout these times, we’ve seen so many tours cancelled or downsized due to a lack of sales. We’ve seen artist who are hyped up to be the next big thing suddenly being yesterdays news. The way the music landscape has shifted so much in such little time has shown isn’t a coincidence with a rise in streaming. But, the importance of artistry and knowing your base is only rising.
People have been asking, what are this era’s new superstars going to be. Although we do have rappers that hit a certain tier of stardom, how many are definitive superstars, how many do you think can pack out arena or stadium?
I think rap’s biggest problem now is the line between a rapper and a artist. And the line between a listener and a fan. We are in a world where there’s so many forms of media that are trying to grab your attention at all times. Not just music, but movies, video games, the news.
I think for success in the streaming era you simply cannot rely on just 7 seconds of fame. There has to be some sort of connection there outside of people playing your music and the blog era is a prime example of how to do it. We talk so much about when the new superstars are coming, but less talk about how much longevity the old ones are having. Going on 13 years of being relevant now. We see catalog albums that defined the previous era getting more plays and discussions than new ones from mainstream rappers.
The key to success to me? Connect with your fans. Making them feel a part of something. Caring about the other stuff that just isn’t the music. The attention to detail. The artistry. Making them feel like they are a part of a exclusive club. Merch. The list goes on. The full blown package of artistry is so important. The value of musicianship is higher than ever.
You can even make the arguments now that it’s better to have a niche fanbase with no big mainstream appeal. For example, Alchemist. Although his radio presence is not there, he makes up for it in so many areas, and it’s the same for a lot of the rappers he works with.
The streaming era is much less of a tale of what artists are doing wrong, but what their predecessors are doing right and how they need to follow suit in some shape or form.
