I Feel Like Strange Music Is Letting Good Talent Go To Waste (Long Read)

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Charles Weis on December 18, 2011 at 12:12pm

with your logic we should drop everyone... Tech, Prozak, Jay Rock & BLH are the top sellers as far as first week goes, and pretty much sales in general, you obviously don't know shit about anything, gtfo of this thread unless you have something some-what intelligent to say. Prozak has a lot more reach than you think, all you're proposing is Strange turn into a shitty major label that signs bullshit artists only becuz they sell well, just stfu you fail.

BIGBOI9 said:

how about this quit signing bullshit artists that dont have any popularity (prozak) and use your money a little bit better and get somebody that can give you that 1 000 000 in the first week. this is the only reason strange isnt at the top.

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Permalink Reply by MetaPmUsic on December 18, 2011 at 2:26pm

you have some good points. That being said, Tech has LONGEVITY. He has been selling records since what 2000? Mac Miller will be gone in a year or two. He's horrible....and he's a fraud. You need to take that into account. As far as the artists that strange music signs? I agree with you. They don't have their own audience and unless they can compete (quality wise) with Tech they won't piggyback of his success. I think the problem lies with the quality of some of the artists.... there's definitely some good talent....Krizz, Scatterman and Snug Brim, Big Scoob, Brotha Lynch (who's been around FOREVER and i mean that in a good way). But alot of the new acts aren't doing their part. There needs to be stronger artists in the bullpen to carry some of the weight.....

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Permalink Reply by MetaPmUsic on December 18, 2011 at 2:27pm

advertisting and promotion only gets you so far...

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Permalink Reply by John Doe on December 18, 2011 at 3:40pm

Wow, first of all thank you, Mr. Weiner, for actually reading through these posts and responding in such a comprehensive way. I really do appreciate it. I would usually take the time to write a long, drawn out reply to all of the points you brought up but it seems that everyone else took the liberty of doing so first haha (and thanks to you guys as well). Also, I apologize if the Mac Miller thing struck a nerve, but I just feel that if he can become so big independently (technically "independent"; I understand the Atlantic support, but still) then a member of Strange Music should, in theory, be able to do the same.

If there really is no money left in the budget for promotion at the end of the day, then I guess the sole responsibility of campaigning is indeed up to the artists themselves and my message really shouldn't be aimed at you (the label). However, like Siikez and Cole said, it wouldn't hurt the label to keep us a little bit more updated on things like release dates, push-backs, etc. Basically what I'm trying to say here is that I just want SM to be the best label it can be and if you are doing all you can to ensure that, then God Bless you and more power to you. I'm excited to see what Strange Music brings to the table in 2012 and beyond.

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Permalink Reply by ₡₱♛ on December 18, 2011 at 4:27pm

He doesnt need to take that into consideration because your statement about Mac Miller is just your opinion. I do not think he will be gone in 2 years. That dude is everywhere, and everyone I know bought his album. He is huge in the college crowd, and I don't see him going away any time soon. Also, Skat & Snug havent been on Strange for like 3 years. And no Kutt on your list of talent on the label?

MetaPmUsic said:

you have some good points. That being said, Tech has LONGEVITY. He has been selling records since what 2000? Mac Miller will be gone in a year or two. He's horrible....and he's a fraud. You need to take that into account. As far as the artists that strange music signs? I agree with you. They don't have their own audience and unless they can compete (quality wise) with Tech they won't piggyback of his success. I think the problem lies with the quality of some of the artists.... there's definitely some good talent....Krizz, Scatterman and Snug Brim, Big Scoob, Brotha Lynch (who's been around FOREVER and i mean that in a good way). But alot of the new acts aren't doing their part. There needs to be stronger artists in the bullpen to carry some of the weight.....

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Permalink Reply by Techn9cian4life on December 18, 2011 at 5:12pm

I debated on weighing in on this thread just cause Ive addressed this myself multiple times. I do agree with a lot of the people who have talked about how the album gets promoted a month before the release, and then a month after the release, and the promotion is pretty much finished. Being on the street team I see this first hand. Perfect example... We got the Damn Fool AND Young Bleed promo packages about 2 weeks before the album dropped. That puts a lot of pressure on us, and not a lot of time to actually promote the album. Sure we could post things on Facebook and what not, but thats only reaching the same people over and over again. We all know Strange has mastered the touring aspect of the game, that's a given. That's obviously not doing enough though.. Cause Tech is the only artist making good numbers first week, while every one else on the label doesn't even push 10,000 units first week. Ive also said  before that Strange needs to stop signing artists. Krizz and Kutt have been along Tech's side for over 10 years yet they arent getting the same recognition Tech does outside Strange Music's core fan base. Until all or at least most of the artists on Strange are pushing the same numbers as Tech, they should not sign any more artists.That is all.

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Permalink Reply by MetaPmUsic on December 18, 2011 at 6:26pm

good call....Kriss and Kutt are dope as fuck.build the foundation then add on top of it.

Techn9cian4life said:

I debated on weighing in on this thread just cause Ive addressed this myself multiple times. I do agree with a lot of the people who have talked about how the album gets promoted a month before the release, and then a month after the release, and the promotion is pretty much finished. Being on the street team I see this first hand. Perfect example... We got the Damn Fool AND Young Bleed promo packages about 2 weeks before the album dropped. That puts a lot of pressure on us, and not a lot of time to actually promote the album. Sure we could post things on Facebook and what not, but thats only reaching the same people over and over again. We all know Strange has mastered the touring aspect of the game, that's a given. That's obviously not doing enough though.. Cause Tech is the only artist making good numbers first week, while every one else on the label doesn't even push 10,000 units first week. Ive also said  before that Strange needs to stop signing artists. Krizz and Kutt have been along Tech's side for over 10 years yet they arent getting the same recognition Tech does outside Strange Music's core fan base. Until all or at least most of the artists on Strange are pushing the same numbers as Tech, they should not sign any more artists.That is all.

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Permalink Reply by Tha Joka on December 18, 2011 at 7:30pm

I've been sayin this shit for the longest time now!!!! Last time i said SM needs to do something about promotion i got flamed for it...What the fuck.. 
My quarrel is more with how the artist get treated..Tech should know that it takes time to build ,it's not over night..Cognito,IMO, was one of the most talented artist on SM,he brought a vibe that stood out from everyone else...but instead of letting him come to fruition,giving him time to evolve as an artist,they dropped him...Irv's been down with SM for awhile and IMO he's one of the more well rounded talented artist SM has ever worked with..I think Irv out raps Krizz any day..But yet they sign Prozak over him?? And now it seems that their stringing Ces Cru along..which I see them as a very smart move for SM..
SM's biggest mistake was ignoring Hopsin when he kept bugging them...and now look at him...he'll be bigger than SM ,it's just a matter of time before FV takes off...with the sign of Dizzy Wright,which was a very smart move, FV will be gaining more exposure,put the rent on it..and before much longer UG artist will want to be on FV and not SM because FV is about the quality and not quantity.. 

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Permalink Reply by matt meyer on December 18, 2011 at 7:37pm

i left out jay rock because some people were scepulating that he would leave when his contract is up. but yes i do think he will get big too
 
Cole said:

you dont think Jay Rock will?

matt meyer said:

i think in the long long run, the main acts are going to be mayday and stevie stone. because let's face it... tech, kali, kutt, scoob, and lynch are old.

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Permalink Reply by Living T on December 18, 2011 at 7:50pm

Young Bleed should've gotten way more promotion.

"An old school No Limit artist coming back to release an album under a rising independent label!"

Get that phrase circulating and people are bound to be interested. Hip-hop heads love to hear "old school artist coming back", because it gives hope for the rap game.

I agree that Irv would have been a better sign over Prozak. More marketable, and in my opinion, more talented.

I've felt like Kutt could make it big for a LONG time. I feel as if he's a combination of Eminem and Tupac, and #2 on Strange behind Tech. Buuut, of course, no recognition for him. He'd be better off using Jay Rock to try to get signed to Top Dawg.

As for Kendrick, you can't really call him underground considering he got a lot of recognition when Dre backed him with Aftermath and rumors were flying that he got signed.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin on December 18, 2011 at 8:47pm

Yes, good point. But if you have to PAY other people/websites/companies or whatever you're not 100% independent/underground. Mac Miller claims to be "independent" but he really is not in my opinion. But NOT paying and NOT asking to get on some website is what being independent/underground is all about man!

John Doe said:

Thanks for reading and commenting guys.

Another point I forgot to bring up: We live in the internet age. Strange Music and its artists need to use this to their advantage. Tech already gets pretty good coverage on most rap sites/blogs, but Strange needs to make sure (even if they have to pay) that ALL of their artists are getting reported on by those sites/blogs. Also, Strange NEEDS to clean up their websites. All of them look pretty bad, imo (except maybe the store). For example, if I go to the Strange Music Blog site and click "artists", all they have are pictures of Tech, Kutt, Krizz, BLH, and Scoob. Seriously? Show some pride.

And on a minor note, when is Tech (or anyone else from Strange) going to get reviewed by Pitchfork? They are basically the leading voice in music on the internet right now and pretty much dictate what's cool (to many people, not necessarily me). Tyler the Creator, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar - all blew up this year and have been reviewed by Pitchfork. I think if someone like Krizz got a glowing Pitchfork review, it'd do wonders for his career.

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Permalink Reply by Charles Weis on December 18, 2011 at 8:58pm

to be fair, Cognito asked to leave, not the other way around

Tha Joka said:

I've been sayin this shit for the longest time now!!!! Last time i said SM needs to do something about promotion i got flamed for it...What the fuck.. 
My quarrel is more with how the artist get treated..Tech should know that it takes time to build ,it's not over night..Cognito,IMO, was one of the most talented artist on SM,he brought a vibe that stood out from everyone else...but instead of letting him come to fruition,giving him time to evolve as an artist,they dropped him...Irv's been down with SM for awhile and IMO he's one of the more well rounded talented artist SM has ever worked with..I think Irv out raps Krizz any day..But yet they sign Prozak over him?? And now it seems that their stringing Ces Cru along..which I see them as a very smart move for SM..
SM's biggest mistake was ignoring Hopsin when he kept bugging them...and now look at him...he'll be bigger than SM ,it's just a matter of time before FV takes off...with the sign of Dizzy Wright,which was a very smart move, FV will be gaining more exposure,put the rent on it..and before much longer UG artist will want to be on FV and not SM because FV is about the quality and not quantity.. 

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