Hip-Pop Culture

Media Outlet for Hip-Hop and Pop Culture. Get the latest music industry news and tips. Stay tuned for our weekly prize giveaways...

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Music has always been therapeutic. Changing the world day by day. #HipPopCulture

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The Rise of Music Concert Merchandise

Let’s talk about culture. Today I was going down memory lane thinking about all the concerts I have attended in the past and all the collectibles I purchased during these events. When you enter a concert and see all the different venues and merchandise for sale, we don’t think twice about the price, just something to hold onto for the moment. These items are sold before the show, during and after, collecting over 6 to 7 digits a night alone. With exclusive print press and logo pattern T-Shirts on every corner, it is hard to ignore these items. The best products are the T-Shirt bundles that include a signed vinyl single or album:

Included T-shirt Bundle:

- New Single or Album

- A Cappella

- Instrumental

- Remix 

- Remix Instrumental 

- Remix A Cappella

Over the years I have collected Shirt, Albums, Stickers, Vinyl, Jewelry, Hats, poster, etc. that is well worth the price and the time. These types of items are not your everyday purchase, and one day can become worth millions of dollars. The memories will forever be with me and I can always look back in time to relive the moment. 

Written by Hip-Pop Culture

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International Culture: South Africa Hip-Pop Music Scene

South Africa is known for being one of the countries that are steadily progressing and on the rise for hip-hop and pop music. South Africa music scene is really at its peak, especially for hip-hop, EDM, and Pop genre. The entire country fits well in the genre and culture, with an amazing platform which supports the indie-pop artist. 

There has been a dramatic change in the music scene for this country since 2014 and they are steady on the incline. Known artists in the music industry have done tours, festivals, and charity work in the country within the last 5to 10 years. 

There is no denying that South Africa have any music festivals that are surrounded by fun and good music, booze, and support for local talent. Music festivals in South Africa are similar to any other, they are amazing because they cater to the fans and people. A few festivals I would love to attend are:

1. Ultra Festival (Cape Town)

2. Mielie Pop Festival

3. AfrikaBurn (Tankwa)

4. Back to the City Festival (Johannesburg)

These are great events for pop, hip-hop, and EDM artist and fans to have fun or maybe gain or break into a new market. The country is well considered one of my selected places to explore the music culture. 

Written by Hip-Pop Culture

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The Importance of Music Synchronization License & Placement

When we hear music and sounds in a commercial, movie, ad, TV show, video game, or sports; we think of soundtracks, memories, and emotions. In reality, it is a great thing for musicians. The terminology for this type of music is Sync Placement and licensing. 

Sync placements are very important if an artist wants to gain more exposure and awareness for their brand. It also allows the artist to gain more fans, possibly creates or add more to their target audience, incline in revenue, receive an upfront fee and performance royalties, improve sales on music, open more opportunities such as interviews, more song placements, magazine spreads, etc.

Choosing a project that matches perfectly with the artist's sound is the best because this gives the artist a chance to gain more fans on the show. In the long run, this has opened doors for a lot of indie artists which exposed them to a larger audience.

Written by Hip-Pop Culture

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Radio Formats to Pursue as a Musician/Artist

There are a lot of opinions when it comes to finding the right radio station for your music: satellite, online or app, and college radio. In today’s radio businesses it is hard to get any song in the rotation.

The satellite radio can be a great choice because it is one of the most popular platforms for indie musicians. Most of us prefer to be in regular rotation but like all artists, you have to start from the bottom. Online radio is the next option.

Online radio app and stations such as Pandora, LastFM, iHeart Radio, and Radio Airplay have been platforms for an indie artist to get exposure by getting your record spins on similar artist playlist.

The last choice is college radio. Any college radio station would be a great place to build a solid fan base and be heard by thousands of middle-aged adults. The right time to pursue these options is when the artist has established a buzz and following, release a couple of singles and albums, and starting a campaign or movement.

Written by Hip-Pop Culture

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Fun Facts about the Hip-Hop Culture!! Did you know this. #HipPopCulture

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Everyone has a favorite musician! Music touches us all in a different way, positive and negative. What musicians inspires you the most? #HipPopCulture


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The most influential musician of all time. #HipPopCulture

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Download Sales vs the Streaming Services Income

Personally, I think download sales shouldn’t be equivalent to streaming revenue but streaming revenue should be a little bit more. If an artist is receiving no downloads for their music but has a lot of streams that wouldn’t equal out to the amount of paid downloads. In the future, we all hope they will consider the revenue changes in streaming royalties. 

Slowly, music sales are decreasing just like CD’s and Vinyl sales but not disappearing. Once something comes along that better benefits the consumer such as streaming, all other outlets of music decrease or disappear. There are ways to offset a decline in sales. Artists can work on selling more merchandise, market, and promote their music streaming links, and find more paid shows and venues.

Time is currently changing as we know it, from the 70’s pop culture to the 90’s pop culture music purchasing and streaming has dramatically change.

Written By Hip-Pop Culture

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What You Should Expect When Hiring a PR For Your Campaign

When hiring a PR for your campaign, they’re not just offering press and media exposure. The PR is there to help the artist succeed to the next level as a musician. You should expect your new PR to send music and tour dates to the media, follow up on all the results and convince the media and news that you are worth the coverage. They are capable of making any media source cover an artist project and give a solid review of the music. PR companies and agencies are not guaranteed to get you a slot in the media or a journalist to cover your story. These are some of my realistic expectations from a PR campaign. 

 Major Website Post Ups

 Branding

 Media Training 

 Image Consulting

 Media Relations

 Corporate Communication

 Celebrity Wrangling 

 Press Release & Copy Writing 

 Crisis Management

 Blogger Relations

 Social Media Marketing 

What you should expect when hiring a PR for your campaign 

You can’t just expect things to happen overnight. You should plan for success with PR just like you would in any other part of life. It takes time to grow. To improve the results an artist: 

Approach a music PR a few months before you plan on releasing a record or project, not a few days

Try not to micro-manage everything the PR do, give them time to execute and do their job

Practice own interviewing to get prepared for what’s to come in the near future

Getting a daily report from the PR would also help improve results

Adjust from results as you go to make sure you are having a successful campaign 

Make sure the PR doesn’t have a lot of clients and they are focus on your campaign 

Measure your success by checking the analytics weekly or bi-weekly 

Written By Hip-Pop Culture

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Is Nonterrestrial Radio as a Valid Marketing Option for Artists

Nonterrestrial radio is a valid marketing option for all artists, and satellite radio would be a good choice. This platform would help to get exposure from people that are looking for new music and artist. With the high percentage of listeners, this would benefit the artists. I still prefer that the artist of the band has a fanbase with solid content to share with the world besides music. It is a lot of things to look into before accepting the option. 

Written By Anthony L. Pierce

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Five Pros and Cons of Physical Distribution as Compared to Online Distribution

Pros:

- Having a physical copy to sell at shows gives your fans a tangible way of connecting to your music.

- You can place your CDs and Vinyl in cities that is heavy populated with fans of a musician.

- Get a chance to build a relationship with the retailers to get them stoked enough to recommend your CD to walk-ins.

- It shows the band present in the physical market. itis hard to find some physical copies of indie bands and artists so putting your music on the shelf can be very beneficial.

- It gives people a chance to read the credits and contributors of the album of single. Most online stores offer the cover front cover art. By selling physical copies, you are giving your fans an insight into who produced, wrote, engineered, and recorded the project. 

Cons:

- A smaller percentage of revenue.

- It could be hard to find a retail store that supports independent artist music.

- Your music might reach a smaller audience compared to an online distribution which can reach a bigger audience. 

- People have less access to your music.

- Digital distribution costs nothing when compared to physical because you don’t have to press CDs and package them.

- It cannot have infinite copies of your music, but online you can literally have infinite copies of your catalog anywhere there is a mobile device and internet.

Written By Hip-Pop Culture

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The Dying Reign of Physical Distribution (CD, Vinyl)

Let’s be honest, physical distribution will still be viable in 5 years. It all depends on your audience. If you have a target market of older people maybe physical copies are necessary for the artist campaign, along with digital. Also, if a band or artist is traveling, they will have access to sell physical copies to fans that don’t have access to their music. 

In ten years, there will be Vinyl and CD’s will still be at large because of the fan preference, and the artist audience and target market. For example, I’m a big fan of vinyl, not because I’m a DJ, it’s the area I grew up in, which is my preference. The artist who benefits the most from physical distribution is an artist with an older following, independent regional bands or a touring artist. 

Physical distribution is not going away because they provide fans with a few experiences you just can’t get online through digital platforms. Like conversations about music and musicians with passionate store clerks, or finding CD’s/LP you never knew the artist had on the shelf.   

Written by Hip-Pop Culture

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The Hip-Pop Culture

When the culture seems to be at a standstill, we are here to bring you the latest information and news on the hip-hop and pop culture. My mission is to create content for the people who love to engage in music, and those who want to stay updated on current situations in the pop and hip hop culture. 

I will provide this by creating organic work that stands out from most blogs, and create discussions that helps you as a reader to engage.