I’ve been within the Indie/Underground Hip Hop neighborhood since I started my profession in 2003, and I can inform you wholeheartedly that is not simply LA and the Whisky that run their enterprise this fashion. Nearly ANY and EVERY venue I carried out at, earlier than I had a following, it was like this. And I noticed SO MANY aspiring artists fall prey to the pay-to-play phenomenon/rip-off. SO MANY “artist showcases”, “A&R showcases”, “showcases with a assured file deal”. I by no means as soon as have seen an artist get signed or blow up from a type of. The way in which to get recognized is to construct up one of the best following you possibly can on-line, do constant reveals/bookings, get on as many excursions as you possibly can, till you lastly hyperlink with some larger names or a very good promoter that is prepared to e book you, and go that route. It additionally helps to make connections with established artists and search out their assist, their connections, the individuals behind them. Collaborations assist out a ton with constructing a fanbase.
However yeah, principally, should you’ve bought cash and you are not a ravenous artist, you possibly can pay to lease out any venue and reside out your Rock/Rap God desires lol. Ultimately, we simply began reserving the largest artists we might as they got here via our space after which booked ourselves/our personal acts as co-headliners and that labored tremendously. It took YEARS to search out stable promoters/stable venues that truly gave a rattling in regards to the artists. Particularly down right here within the Southeast. SO MANY CLUBS spring up each summer season and are gone inside the yr, as a result of they’re all fronts for drug organizations and find yourself getting shut down. I’ve seen it numerous instances. The music trade is the shadiest of all of the leisure enterprise endeavors. It sucks for the artists, except you are within the high 1%. You have to actually LOVE the music and your followers to maintain a degree head, doing these items.
