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

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Permalink Reply by Dave Weiner on December 18, 2011 at 9:43pm

Incorrect.  We chose not to pick up Cognito's 2nd album.  Most labels take their time in making this decision (while the artist starves - Young Buck) however we felt the right thing to do was to expedite the process.  This allowed Cognito to move forward with his career.  Instead of publicizing his release, I made myself available for questions from other labels that were interested in signing him.  

Charles Weis said:

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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Permalink Reply by Charles Weis on December 18, 2011 at 9:50pm

ohh my bad, I thought Cognito wasn't happy with the way certain things were being handled and you guys came to an agreement to release him. I didn't realize that was the case though....

Dave Weiner said:

Incorrect.  We chose not to pick up Cognito's 2nd album.  Most labels take their time in making this decision (while the artist starves - Young Buck) however we felt the right thing to do was to expedite the process.  This allowed Cognito to move forward with his career.  Instead of publicizing his release, I made myself available for questions from other labels that were interested in signing him.  

Charles Weis said:

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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Permalink Reply by Mac Thunder on December 19, 2011 at 3:59am

THIS

Cole said:

Ok I find this hard to believe. Cognito's side of the story that he has made very clear in comments, Ustreams, etc. is that he decided to leave Strange Music because of "differences of creative direction" (i believe thats how he put it). Your post makes it sound like Cog was actually dropped from the label. If that is the case, you are essentially saying that Cog's side of the story is a lie. Or are you trying to say that the label and Cog came to an agreement in which Cog was relieved from his contractual duties to release a second album on Strange? Because that would make more sense.

Dave Weiner said:

Incorrect.  We chose not to pick up Cognito's 2nd album.  Most labels take their time in making this decision (while the artist starves - Young Buck) however we felt the right thing to do was to expedite the process.  This allowed Cognito to move forward with his career.  Instead of publicizing his release, I made myself available for questions from other labels that were interested in signing him. 

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Permalink Reply by STRANGEgenius on December 19, 2011 at 10:19am

greatest read on this site. from the OP and most of the comments.

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Permalink Reply by CrAzY~C! on December 19, 2011 at 1:15pm

ok im not gonna read the comments so idk how redundant im being but i actually read the whole post and fully agree with u!... Strange Music has shitty promotion and EVERY artist on strange is fuckin FIRE with the exception of Jay Rock IMO. nobody really mentions how goddamn talented  Kaliko truly is! he deserves 2 b his own artist and just as many fans as Tech! Strange Music is THE HARDEST label in rap 2day. and all-around no other hip hop/rap label puts out better music. Strange deserves 2 b the highest sellin label with EVERY artist as big as Tech.... ok imma bout 2 start ramblin i kinda 4got where i was goin with this. bottom line i agree with u.

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Permalink Reply by Charles Weis on December 19, 2011 at 1:17pm

I can understand this partially becuz a female friend of mine LOVES the vid for "Naked" but on the otherhand she knows nothing about Strange Music, Kutt Calhoun or anyone else on the label. So obviously the music video brought interest which could lead to checking out more songs, so I do believe that that's a part of the problem but I'm not sure if it's the biggest

Not thereal Tecca Ninna said:

I'm gonna pitch in my 2 cents & say I agree with this but I can also see it from Tech & Trav's point of view.  Let's face it, their from a totally different time when marketing was a lot different.  Maybe they'll see this & realize their not utilizing the internet marketing side enough.  Like what was said above, Hopsin's label will blow up.  It's because Hopsin knows how to promote through youtube and such.  He has blown up through youtube & his music videos and I think making more music videos for the artists & putting them out on youtube would help a lot.  Also, it seems like they feel the fans will promote the albums enough through their facebook's and such but I say you can't rely on the fans that much.  To a certain degree, yes, but their not gonna drive sales the same way they could through other internet promotion.  I think the biggest thing truly is music videos.  I believe that's a step in the right direction for SM.  I agree they shouldn't pay for spots in mags and radio so it's gonna be tough but with some brainstorming I think they'll come up with some great ways to free promote their artists because I do believe they truly care about their artists.

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Permalink Reply by Charles Weis on December 19, 2011 at 1:22pm

just becuz everyone works hard doesn't mean improvements can't be made, I'll always say "contentness is the perfect catalyst for laziness"

CHi Star said:

Shitty promotion?  Way to shit on everybody working hard behind the scenes. Congrats.

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Permalink Reply by STRANGEgenius on December 19, 2011 at 8:21pm

music videos and they need to fix their internet promotion.

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Permalink Reply by bryan mills on February 3, 2012 at 6:09am

I agree on some of the points that have been made but everything takes time and time is money a business is only successful with investers.ie strange doesnt want to sell out and get investers because they wouldnt like to share their money.So the reason Strange is functioning  because of the tours and because of the commitment to of artist to contribute.let me put it like this.If you met someone that just moved to your town and he didnt know anybody but you and you invited him to go to parties with you and meet your friends and the girls you know he would become popular thats how people get noticed by someone bringing them to the light and helping them become relevant.People like these artist mentioned  and support them and play their songs but i believe the problem and the solution lies in us.See everybody who likes Tech and is like omg tech tech tech n9ne omg he is so great when is he coming out with more more tech more and just ride tech's dick like he is the only rapper on the label.Tech likes all his label mates and affiliates and believes in them and supports them and puts them out there cuz he feels they are on the same level as him i think its time people spread the word about these artists like every one of you spread the word about tech and played tech to your friends and told everyone about. tech has the following  becuz he toured for years and years and more and more noticed him its up to us to demand the artists and spread the word about them becuz we are the fans word of mouth is king go on facebook post their songs of youtube brag on these artists tell your friends and friends will tell more friends hell write letters to strange music for travis and tech to read to let them both know these artist deserve more exposure but the reality of why alot of these artists are not known by everyone is because alot of people just play whatever is on the radio or what sounds good the artist could be whack as fuck lyrically and have a catchy hook and people with eat it up like idiots.I tell everyone i know about these artists and the affiliates of strange because they are worth talkin about they are real artists not a one hit wonder on every cd by that i mean you hear their single and its great and the rest of their album sucks.So in conclusion spread the word about these artists as well as your local artist cuz they deserve it by providing you with good much  not garbage music and in time every artist on the strange music label will be who everyone is talking about but i do agree in general they deserve more tech has a plan and when he prolly takes a break there will be enough material by these artist to make them known abudubobbi :)

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Permalink Reply by Hecktik888 on February 3, 2012 at 6:49am

I disagree and agree. I disagree because the majority of the world are stuck on only mainstream shit Tech N9ne just barely got recognized by mainstream so of course its going to be harder on all the other talented artist on strange to rise. But you gotta remember that people are ignorant and close minded about underground rappers even if its the #1 indie label.

But I do agree on somethings like kutt calhoun not having released an album in almost 2yrs same with krizz kaliko and I would of like to see BLH's EP but Scoob is releasing an album a year so far plus an EP which is wat I expect from kutt and krizz and all artist on strange. Touring is great but new music need to come more often by them, Tech N9ne is going hard with releasing new music and videos. THATS WHAT I EXPECT FROM THE REST ON STRANGE TO WORK HARD ON MUSIC LIKE TECH AND LET THEM BE KNOWN!

 

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Permalink Reply by Dom Guzzman on February 3, 2012 at 9:01am

Scoob's putting out an album a year? Oh that's funny I must of missed the one he put out in 2010 what was that called?

Hecktik888 said:

I disagree and agree. I disagree because the majority of the world are stuck on only mainstream shit Tech N9ne just barely got recognized by mainstream so of course its going to be harder on all the other talented artist on strange to rise. But you gotta remember that people are ignorant and close minded about underground rappers even if its the #1 indie label.

But I do agree on somethings like kutt calhoun not having released an album in almost 2yrs same with krizz kaliko and I would of like to see BLH's EP but Scoob is releasing an album a year so far plus an EP which is wat I expect from kutt and krizz and all artist on strange. Touring is great but new music need to come more often by them, Tech N9ne is going hard with releasing new music and videos. THATS WHAT I EXPECT FROM THE REST ON STRANGE TO WORK HARD ON MUSIC LIKE TECH AND LET THEM BE KNOWN!

 

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