How Much Does That...?!

I have had the privilege to be at music conferences, open mics, and shows with the major

acts and the two common denominators are DJs & Artists music. But as I...yes me, was a fly on the wall at a conference, I saw the 'beef' escalate between the DJ and the artist. My account of this 'beef' doesn't make me take a side but it compels me to put the situation “out on front street” (Eclipse flow). So... 

As we know, or some of us may know...Hip Hop started as a DJ based phenomenon on the streets of the 70's run down New York. It spread nationwide, and later into a world wide culture that put the MC, the Rapper, on stage. By the end of the 20th century, Hip Hop was and still is the most influential music genre, changing the face of Pop culture forever, and spawning subsequent changes to R&B, dance music & Jazz.   

Lets address some age old questions:  What is a DJ if he can’t scratch?...What is an MC if he can’t rap? -The Egyptian Lover. These bars are for the new era of hip hop.   

The answer to these questions are a no brainer.  As music has evolved into this digital era access and tools to create projects ie: songs, EPs, mixtapes, and albums have become more accessible.  With that being said…divided we fail. This coins the old phrase, which came first the chicken or the egg?  In the case of music, the song before the DJ.  But, where would the DJ be without the tracks?    

I'm looking at Facebook live. DJs/Promoters asking artists to perform for 8 minutes or 1 song sets. Now I know this is an old practice but it is now commonplace for artists to pay to be seen and heard at the club. Let's examine this a little more in depth. "Paying to play" is defined as bands paying to play live at a bar or club. The payments are typically made to the owners of the club; sometimes this happens through a middleman i.e. DJ or Promoter. So far this seems to be fact of nature...Pay and you get to Play! How much? We’ll hit that concern in a paragraph or two.

So what was supposed to be a friendly Q & A went south, real fast when out of the back of

the room came, “I play only out of towners music cause believe it or not when these ni**as come to my club they never come empty handed, they show appreciation for what I do for them. Local ni**as just want spins and think I have to do that shit for the home-team. Get real!” In a non illuminati setting this DJ told his secret. I'm sure this is the practice from one DJ to another but do it with tact. 

Uh-Oh! It was time to pull out the iPhone and get this shit on record. Nope, I will not put names or faces out there but this 6 foot tall BadAss (thick to death) female artist didn’t hold her tongue about the 'injustice'.  “Fuck all you terrible business conductin, shady ass, fake ass, downlow ass DJs, artists, and promoters!  Ya whole weak ass team and da sour face people who love you!  That’s my muthafuckin attitude right now!  Don’t call me no muthafuckin Diva, call me an Artist!"  There was a hush in the room either from how fine she was or how right she sounded to the other artists in the room.  Now, I'm sitting here thinking what's next...someone from the panel stood and politely asked the artist "to sit down" and wanted this topic to be addressed.

He goes on and says, "Let's cut past all the history and facts and look at what the new deal is. If you’re not signed to a major, then this is what you need to think about." His pricelist read like a government spending allowance. 

Tour support: $3,300

Mastering costs: $1,000

Marketing: $14,000

*Advertising: $2,000

CDs/Artwork : $4,200

Promotional Items: 

Total: $24,500

(For one project)

*Advertising – Advertising expenses can include any print, radio and online advertising the record label incurs to promote a new release 

So clearly, an artist has great out of pocket expenses. 

Then he begins with the expenses of the DJ:

Equipment: $8,600 for the new Digital DJs

Equipment: $10,300 for Vinyl DJs

Promotion: $1,500

Total: $20,400

*Promotion - Includes radio, mix tapes, and flyers

So the breakdown was to show the amount of money each party is out of pocket.  Which went back to the good ol' paying to play statement. 

"Let's look at the real picture here. You (DJ) are paid to play at multiple events (weddings, after-hours, receptions, parties, hell, you will even play other artists music at a showcase)..but the indie artist that you invite to perform doesn't receive a dime of what's brought in.” Of course the whispering and mumbling spread through the room. So what I was witnessing was a uprising and boycott in the making. Our brave speaker continued to bring awareness to the differences of the two entities.  

DJs like presentations and artists like representation. At that moment lightbulbs started going on over everyone head. Networking went into action. Now I don't expect DJs/promoters to pay the artist anytime soon, but it seems like someone or some bodies began to agree to disagree. The two pink elephants in the room sat down in their neutral corners and hushed till the next Artist says, “He needs to pay me to perform,” and the DJ says, “He needs to pay to perform."

The music industry is and has been a networking game from the first beat of the signal drum!  Greed is out there whether you're the artist or DJ.  You both want to get paid for your talent and hard work, hell the owner should step in and pay you both!  Was the bar ever empty?  NO!  Club owners want to see bar business, DJs want to see a crowd, and artists want to grow their fan base.  The goal is the same...PEOPLE!  If the DJS, artists, and promoters have an alliance they could truly all make money. 

#LeslieMac