***How To Get A Placement***

[Dante Lewis.Esq]

don't know if anyone said this.

but just get an artist and make your own way in the game. I did it with "Outasight" he got a deal and I'm starting to get placements. this way is easier because A&R's and managers will come to you. then you'll be able to negotiate a price for your work from a position of power.

hope this help.

-te

 

[beauli20]

this should be the top thread in this and the getting started forum, and all nonsense should just get deleted from it.

 

[Jackpot ProductionZ]

Sacrifice pays off sometimes.......

 

[MyPersonalProducer.c]

Good stuff

 

[MysterE]

those green shoes are dope as hell! congrats jackpot...even tho i am still confused on you and your team and everything...but im sure ill figure it all out in the history books!

 

[PRPS]

Wow @ struggling making 60k a year. I'd be comfy making half of that and success to me is being able live a normal life just off beats makin 1.5 to 2k a month and I'm happy.

it's all relative on your lifestyle and where you live bro.


60k will allow you to live comfortable in some places...but not all

 

[Steve Hitta]

^^ again...real talk.
1 bedroom apartments around here (S.F.) average @ $1800 a month.

 

[PRPS]

You plan on paying taxes?

You plan on having a house? A car? Nice furniture, nice big screen TV? Nice studio space and nice equipment in the house?

AND money to put away for savings/entertainment, etc?

Not on 1.5 to 2k per month.

When I was working my job, I was taking home about $1700 twice a month (no utilities or parking).

And it was hard.

troup, i remember you said something about you taking off from work to do music full time....what happened again. I'm going through a sh*tty situation now with work and was wondering what u were doing to cope

^^ again...real talk.
1 bedroom apartments around here (S.F.) average @ $1800 a month.

thats what im saying bro... i have a couple friends out in san diego and they paying outta their ass..granted they are doing extremely well for themselves but still...it's steep


even in PHILLY (not to knock it bc i was born, raised, live here) places are like at least like a grand a month. The apt im looking at right now is 2bedroom 1 bathroom for $1700/month

it's all relative my dudes

 

[dmensah1]

You plan on paying taxes?



You plan on having a house? A car? Nice furniture, nice big screen TV? Nice studio space and nice equipment in the house?


AND money to put away for savings/entertainment, etc?



Not on 1.5 to 2k per month.



When I was working my job, I was taking home about $1700 twice a month.



And it was hard.

exactly, and to make matters even worse, 401Ks took a BEATING the past two years, i lost a pretty good chunk but im young, i can get it back...I know folks my parents age that lost half a million or more, they basically gotta work till they die.

To chime in, multiple revenue streams are a necessity unless you are a trendsetter/tastemaker and heavily in demand and even they got a few hustles. My friend writes music industry/help books, indie films, promotes singles to the radio for the label, promotes concerts, AND consults/manages artists, dude stays busy!

 

[D-ZEE]

I'ma start saying that.

Hope you dont mind if I steal your saying and use it as my own...

in riley's voice : why nigga's riding of my shine, why cant niggas do them, why niggas gotta do me

 

[Kaminota]

The Performance Rights Act.

Up until this point commercial radio was exempt from paying a performance royalty to the artists they played on their station (writers only - ASCAP/BMI) despite other formats such as satellite and internet radio are forced to. The common notion was that commercial radio was a free promotional tool vital to the success of a record but that was all good until people stopped purchasing albums so the labels want a piece of that ass just like they're taking a piece from the artists in the form of the 360 deal. Radio on the other hand is also suffering from the downturn in advertisement dollars (WHERE YOUR PERFORMANCE PUBLISHING MONEY COMES FROM!!!!!) and they claim the royalty tax is the blow that might push them over the financial edge.

Label/Artist side - http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=1184220
Radio side - http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=1208152

This is the battle to keep track of because if the act goes through you might witness a real paradigm change in the commercial radio side because the radio stations may start to look to support more LOCAL INDEPENDENT acts and accelerate the de-centralization of the music industry.

Since producers/writers can't go on the road and make tour money (unless they are the artist as well) and the mechanical royalties are drying up because album sales are tanking the final frontier is commerical radio. Pay attention, keep up with the latest and stay tuned

An obvious scenario would be that the production and writers up front fees go through the roof as the effect of low album sells continue .... no longer will there be a back end substantial enough to be paid out to producers and song writters. Or we take a step back to the 40's, 50 's and 60's and the market for producers becomes all about making a hit single.

"Spector also greatly preferred singles to albums, describing LPs as, "two hits and ten pieces of junk".

Phil Spector said that......... and theres is also talk about there being .... SINGLE BASED RECORD LABELS back in the 60's

So that's what I see happening... if 40 years ago a highly respected record producer said what we are saying now, then we might go back to one hit wonders....based off of singles.

Be aware that the Phil Spector was accused of murder and he's got a white boy fro..... and back in his day he was opposed to records recorded in stereo.

I just found it interesting after I read about the WALL of Sound.

this should be the top thread in this and the getting started forum, and all nonsense should just get deleted from it.

when are they gonna make this a sticky?

don't know if anyone said this.

but just get an artist and make your own way in the game. I did it with "Outasight" he got a deal and I'm starting to get placements. this way is easier because A&R's and managers will come to you. then you'll be able to negotiate a price for your work from a position of power.

hope this help.

-te

Back to the subject of how to get placement.

I agree with Dante.... get an artist.... and work with them. That is the best way to get on. And if you do the research you'll see that an MC always had a go to Dj or Producer....

If you pair up with a cat with nice flow ...and you making crazy joints together then .... all you got to do is follow my 3 P's
Progresion, Production, Promotion, & Sacrifice

Progression - that means what ever you do make sure that it is critical to the growth of your business and or talent in some shape or form. Like reading your manuals, studying music business, or marketing, learning to play an instrument ...etc.
Those things will help you grow and give you better understand of things ...and ultimately contribute to the success of your venture.

Production- making music.... you need to have material. Not only to showcase your talent ...but to gage growth. Prince's first album did not do big numbers and the record label had sunk a lot money in to it .... second album did do numbers .....I don't know what that has to do with this part... I got ADD sorry.

Anyway you need material to sell to a client ....so Produce


Then Promotion.... You mouth ( no homo ) and the Internet are your biggest promotional tools.

Close mouth don't get fed .... get out there ... put your music out there .... Network... TALK.... if you don't do that ... let me tell you... you could well be the next QUINCEY JONES and no one will ever know if they don't hear you or your work.

And like JACKPOT said sacrifice... I've been there.... when I was sleeping in my car after Katrina hit ... I was still making beats and writing songs... in my car ....I did that for 3 months.... I got a ton of sacrifice stories... but you can't be lazy in this game... and you got to make due with what you have.

There are no excuses.... the reason why you are not in the industry ...will 9 times out of 10 be because of you lacking in some of theses areas......

Don't got to take my word for it .... I'm just a dude on the come up just like most of you.... And I don't really hope for much... but if you do ... I think this can help you out.

Heres the article...... http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/wealth/Jay-Z-Personal-Success.php

 

[G.N.O]

Seriously this is a good read. Myself, I've always related placement to selling fine works of art.

Most artists struggle in the beginning of their careers. They spend years doing work for free or for pennies, till the day comes where they create a buzz that generates money.

A scenario would be:

You are an up and coming producer who is unknown in your local area. You've made many beats and remixes and your friends say that you are truly good. After a while of creating good material, you decided to post the work on a new myspace page. You also make a beat disc and start to go to clubs with open Mic nights where local rappers hang out. You meet some rappers that are equally talented and decide to give them your demo. You tell them what you do and how it would be nice to work with them. After about 3 hours you have passed out 5 CDs and you are feeling good. For weeks you get no phone calls nor has anyone from the clubs added you to their myspace network. So you get a bit self concience and start to work harder on your beats. Till one day you get a call from one of the dudes at the club. He says he would like to get one of those beats for a mixtape, but he does not have any money to pay for anything. All he can promise is promotion of your name on the song and in the credits. Soon after you get more people through myspace and from the local area coming at you for work. You figure you starting out and you want to grind so you don't charge anyone anything. Well you become real popular after a few mixtapes. Soon after you start to get so much work, that you turn down work and for that reason people start to ask how much to get you to do a beat within a certain time. You now have buzz and a line of people looking forword to getting on your beats. So you set a low low price for your work and go on. One year later a beat that you gave to an unknown rapper pops up on a mixtape. You hear it and you think to yourself , this could be a hit single. Well that rapper has been grinding and that mixtape ends up in the hands of a local Dj who happens to know Young Jeezy's tour Dj. They like it so much they get in contact with that rapper to do a new mixtape that they would co sign. The rapper then calls you up and says that the Djs want to have make a new mixtape with the sound centered around that one beat you did on the last mixtape. So he needs 5 beats like the last beat. You give him the beats he picks out for free and he promises to promote you and give you credit on the tape and he does. Not only that but the tour Dj introduces the rapper to Jeezy so he could get on the a track with the rapper. And that track just happens to be yours. The mix tape is a hit ... co signed by every Dj in the city and Jezzy. You post the songs on your myspace and start to get a bigger buzz between yourself and your association with the rapper. Local business starts to pick up even more. But the kicker is Young Jeezy needs one more song for his next album, but his budget is low and he can't go get his usual producers for the last track... so he contacts the rapper about a beat from you and it's on. You get a direct call from Jeezy and he is telling you to send in some beats. You send them in and he picks 2 of them for a low but fair price. One of the beats ends up on another mixtape and the other makes the album cut. It's not used as a single , but the track is considered a classic. After a while that other rapper gets a deal and he comes to you for 4 tracks out of loyality and respect... {not to mention anytime he jumps on your tracks , y'all make nice records}. You are now on the real come up and start to get more calls for beats. About a year or so later you get called by another rapper who you dealt with closely to produce a good portion of his album. The key word is produce. And the cycle continues till you become a well known producer ...up to when you become a go to producer.

All the meanwhile you have been educated on the music business and have invested in your craft to you fullest ablity.

In a perfect world, right?

 

[MysterE]

bump bump bump

 

[Kaminota]

Snap! That's a good scenario. It don't get no more realistic than that. That goes into what I was saying above it.
Produce a product, Promote that product, Progress with the product, and Sacrifice for the product. If you can't do at least all 3 out of the 4.... then sit down please.

Also here's a video from Mev the producer..... He brings up a lot of good points.




I'm adding a 4th P to my 3P'S thanks to Mev ..... {4P'S'}

Presentation - You have to present yourself and product in a professional manner. Remember that consumers love a nice looking package. That's how you draw attention to your product and or brand.

So let me beat it in your minds ....Production, Progression, Presentation, Promotion, and Sacrifice.

I hope more folks add to this tread.... Cause even with this information, statistic show that due to laziness and personal circumstances many of us won't make it in our local music scene... let alone break out into a national market. I only say that only to keep it real. But you know... God Bless y'all and your efforts.

 

[TektonicTK]

Snap! That's a good scenario. It don't get no more realistic than that. That goes into what I was saying above it.
Produce a product, Promote that product, Progress with the product, and Sacrifice for the product. If you can't do at least all 3 out of the 4.... then sit down please.

Also here's a video from Mev the producer..... He brings up a lot of good points.




I'm adding a 4th P to my 3P'S thanks to Mev ..... {4P'S'}

Presentation - You have to present yourself and product in a professional manner. Remember that consumers love a nice looking package. That's how you draw attention to your product and or brand.

So let me beat it in your minds ....Production, Progression, Presentation, Promotion, and Sacrifice.

I hope more folks add to this tread.... Cause even with this information, statistic show that due to laziness and personal circumstances many of us won't make it in our local music scene... let alone break out into a national market. I only say that only to keep it real. But you know... God Bless y'all and your efforts.

No homo.

But seriously props for the vid and the knowledge

 

[Kaminota]

If everyone wants help.... it's here. A lot of us are open books. I tell you one thing ... everything I wrote is common knowledge on selling a product..... You can get the same info from a 20 buck book or a classroom at the community college. But it does not matter how you get the knowledge ...if you don't utilize it. Placement is the easy part anyway. The hard part is coming with a product that is gonna be hot in the market for a long time. Beat making is a commodity. New today old tomorrow. It's easy to get in the game and get spit right back out.... like you never had your foot in the door.

 

[mistaox]

This has to be one of the best threads in FP history.

 

[G.N.O]

Yes in deed.... I just got hip to this site and I manage to be apart of a historic tread.

LMAO @ TektonicTK

Consumers do love a nice looking package. People are funny that way. You got to attract their attention with something different now a days. Once you pull them in .... you can drop those beats on them like nothing.

Say Kam,

On the real no disrespect... but the way you putting out all this knowledge .. I was expecting you to have your page and music on point.... It's kind of hard to take your advice when it seems you not following it. Well, hard for others anyway. Why help everyone else when you look like you need help yourself? Not dissing you... just wondering.

 

[SIDETRACK]

wow im very impressed this is the the best thread ive read and it really made my day i will tell everyone i see today that makes music to go onto this site and read this thread... this is what future producer should be about...props to the OP you are the man of the day... everyone do me a favor and go and listen to the OP's music favor for a favor and everone else who insighted useful knowledge

 

[Kaminota]

Say Kam,

On the real no disrespect... but the way you putting out all this knowledge .. I was expecting you to have your page and music on point.... It's kind of hard to take your advice when it seems you not following it. Well, hard for others anyway. Why help everyone else when you look like you need help yourself? Not dissing you... just wondering.

You know .... I almost wasn't gonna entertain this question. But it's not the worst thing that has been asked on FP.

I'm in transition... and we're in a recession and I can't get any overtime to pay for that part of my progression.... so my presentation is lacking. Due this fact I refuse to post any new product ...but I decided continue on with my production,promotion, and sacrifice even though it's not much.... I've been doing this for almost 7 years ...I know my time will come. One thing I've learned is that everything is a process. And also I'm not a hater, I know a lot of cats miss out due to the smallest things. If I can help someone with real talent, discipline and determination .... why not? I hate this mentality that a lot of people have where they want to take the secrets to the game with them to the grave. That does not make sense in todays world. Plus all the stuff I'm saying is written in a book somewhere.


Plus I'm not gonna lie ... I'm a victim of circumstances .... plus what are the chances that I'll overcome my situation or circumstances. Cats need to learn how to make due..... You'll be a better person for it.