![]() Wale, whose second set “Ambition” (Maybach Music Group/Warner Music Group) is scheduled for release Nov. He dropped freebie “Sorry 4 the Wait” through six weeks before “Tha Carter IV” as an apology for the latter’s delay. Some established acts lean on mixtapes as marketing tools for pending retail albums. on ‘Return of 4eva’ and Dream Collaborators (real name: Justin Scott) says, noting also the pleasures of working within the system “Drawing deep in myself and coming up with content and subject matter-and as far as writing lyrics, really taking out more time to piece together a story, making hooks more melodic. And it causes you to get more creative,” the Meridian, Miss.-born K.R.I.T. “When you’re talking about an album, some samples you can’t clear. All of the self-produced tapes employ samples and audioclips from films-two major hoops to jump through, as far as clearances, with a retail release. Wuz Here” (2010), “Return of 4eva” and “Last King 2 (God’s Machine),” the latter two released this year. 27 (it’s now due early 2012), built his career with free mixtapes including “K.R.I.T. Big K.R.I.T., who was scheduled to release studio debut “Live From the Underground” (Def Jam) on Sept. But the benefits of building the reputation of the artists are pretty amazing.”įrom many artists’ standpoint, the freedom of creating an original mixtape is limitless. “The difference, is that you don’t make any direct money off of it. ![]() What exactly distinguishes an album from a mixtape? “These days, mixtapes are really albums,” Rostrum Records founder/president Benjy Grinberg says. “The active consumer is very reactionary, and you can get that consumer to respond quite quickly.” ![]() The passive consumer will download it for free, talk about it and that’s it,” says Al Branch, GM of Hip-Hop Since 1978, which manages Drake, Nicki Minaj and others. “Active consumers will support and go out and buy your album, buy your concert tickets and your merch. The result is a give-and-take relationship that keeps rappers in control of their brand and marketing, and iTunes playlists full of free albums disguised as “mixtapes.” The payoff is an active fan base, which labels and management hope stimulates retail purchases. The philosophy is often described this way: As a reward for artists remaining loyal to them (by giving away original music), fans return the favor by buying concert tickets, merchandise and “real” albums from record labels. Cole, Big Sean, Dom Kennedy, Mac Miller and Smoke DZA –– has adapted to the consumer demand for free, original rap music. ![]() His signee, Wiz Khalifa, leveraged free, original mixtapes like 2010’s “Kush & OJ” and 2011’s “Cabin Fever” into the building of a dedicated fan base that helped, along with an intensive touring strategy, make his Atlantic/Rostrum Records debut, “Rolling Papers,” one of the few hip-hop debuts to sell more than 500,000 copies (it’s now at 570,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan) in 2011.Ī batch of newcomers - such as J. “The game favors people that can produce quality music and then turn right around and produce more quality music-which is not a given,” Atlantic Records VP of A&R Zvi Edelman says. ![]() The-Dream Talks ‘1977,’ Public Heartbreak and His Def Jam Future JoJo, whose label disputes have been made public over the past few years, dropped her debut mixtape “Can’t Take That Away From Me” in September 2010, while dance diva La Roux teamed with Major Lazer for May 2010’s “Lazerproof,” a collection of artist-approved original remixes. Artists in the R&B realm have likewise adopted the format, most recently The Weeknd and The-Dream with “Thursday” and “1977,” presented as a “free album.” Pop singers have even dabbled in mixtape releases. The original mixtape approach has also crossed genre lines. 24.) Far from its adolescent iteration, the mixtape-a compilation of music generally distributed outside of label purview-had evolved from a mere display of DJ skills to a promotional tool packed with exclusive freestyles to an actual album-before-the-album, one that could spawn chart-topping singles like “Best I Ever Had,” without labels at the helm. (He released three free songs through October’s Very Own as recently as last week, with second album “Take Care” due Oct. Reportedly, to date, there have been millions of downloads.ĭrake - whose platinum debut, “Thank Me Later” (Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Republic), bowed atop the Billboard 200 the following year (July 3, 2010) - had redefined the mixtape model for the digital era. 13, 2009, the mixtape paradigm shifted.Īligned with Lil Wayne, the then-unsigned Drake, who’d spent the few years before releasing buzzy mixtapes (rapping over hits), unleashed his almost entirely original mixtape “So Far Gone.” He did so on his website, October’s Very Own, which quickly went into bandwidth overdrive. ![]()
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