I’ve been working on a case study about emerging music industry business models, and how they affect the relationship between artist and fan. I came across a fascinating article on The Technium that argues a rapper only needs 1000 true fans to make a comfortable living. Soak up the knowledge and share it with a friend (assuming they are pursuing a career in music). -Hiptics.com Editor

A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

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Buy Wiz Khalifa’s New Album (”Deal Or No Deal”) on iTunes Today!

Wiz Khalifa’s debut album Deal Or No Deal is available starting today (11/24). Khalifa’s album is currently the #2 rap album on iTunes without the help of a major label. The music industry is changing before our eyes!

Watch what Wiz Khalifa told Hiptics about rapping without a major label behind him. Industry insight? You betcha.

50 Cent is part of a lot of groundbreaking business deals related to the music industry. This is one of them. SOHH brought the following to our attention about iTunes and 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct:

Like an NFL coaching staff making in-game adjustments on the fly, Interscope’s Jimmy Iovine and Steve Berman did some last-minute maneuvering around the release of 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct following worldwide Internet leaks weeks prior to the original street date. In rapid succession, they pushed forward the physical release date from Nov. 23 to Nov. 17 — the soonest the CD could be manufactured and shipped — while also working out a one-week exclusive with iTunes for the digital album, to take effect Nov. 10. In return, iTunes agreed to go against its standard policy and “locked” the album, with only the single available a la carte, selling Read the rest of this entry »

MP3 DOWNLOAD: Dirty Money ft. Drake – “Hurt”

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Diddy and Dirty Money team up with Drake for their latest hit, “Hurt.” Diddy is the star of “Hurt,” showing off his singing voice, which is tastefully enhanced by auto-tune. However, the ladies of Dirty Money add a soulful flavor to the song that Diddy nor Drake can duplicate. Speaking of the Canadian MC, Drake pops up for a quality cameo verse.

And there’s pieces of your hair that’s still sitting in my sink
And you still got underwear that’s sitting in the dryer
How come every time you’re suspicious I’m a liar
You stand out, I can hear your whistling in choir
And that’s the main reason you’re the misses I admire
©Drake “Hurt”

With “Angels,” “Love Come Down,” and now “Hurt,” available for download, what’s Diddy’s business strategy?

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50 Cent recently appeared on DJ Greg Street’s popular Atlanta radio show on V-103 to discuss his new album, Before I Self Destruct. If you’re in to industry insight, then you’ll dig the interview. We transcribed some key talking points, but you can also watch the full video is below. -Hiptics Staff

On finding out that Before I Self Destruct leaked online: “I was upset the first ten minutes that the record was out, but then it blew over because I realized that they got the record in it’s entirety, so they understand artistically what the record was about.”

On Interscope Records transition-period: “If you put the first record out the right way, you’re good from there. To clarify to the public what’s going on behind the scenes, I reached a point where I was making up 70% of the successful black music at Interscope Records. When I complained about the growth of the records, they offered me more money. They gave me more money and I said ‘thank you,’ and I went home smiling.Then I realized [I had to pay the money back to Interscope]. So, you didn’t give me anything. Pretty much you just told me to go learn how to ‘do’ the radio. Now I take the money. I get the radio staff. I put my records out. I get them to 500 spins before the [Interscope] kicks in and takes me where I need to go to sell the [album]. So when I drop “Get Up,” I get to 400-500 spins, and this is at the point where the major record companies are letting go 60% of their staff. That’s a huge transition on the mothership. I got ["Get Up"] to where it needed to go with the first 400-500 spins, but then they were out of whack because they just fired half of their staff. The person [at Interscope] that [handled my] new media is now my product manager. She’s doing the job that three people used to do.”

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Beanie Sigel surprises Power 99 staff when he joins 50 Cent during an on-air interview on the Philidelphia radio station. In the two videos (below), 50 Cent and Beanie Sigel expose Jay-Z’s business practices. As 50 Cent points out, Jay-Z “has good intentions, but [uses] the traditional corporate business model.” 50 Cent goes on to say that he thinks “the only place [Jay-Z] really went wrong is saying La Familia” when referring to his old Roc-A-Fella crew, but not backing up his words with actions. For example, Beanie Sigel had a deal on the table from G-Unit Records worth 800,000+, but Jay-Z blocked Sigel from making the move. Beanie Sigel goes on to detail why Jay-Z’s response to Sigel at a Canadian press conference didn’t tell the whole story, and details the lead-up to the Roc-A-Fella break-up. If this isn’t hip hop politics, then what is?

Part 2 of 50 Cent and Beanie Sigel’s interview is after the jump!

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Beanie Sigel’s latest MP3, “What You Talkin Bout (I Ain’t Your Average Cat),” addresses Jay-Z the businessman. One of the allegations Sigel makes throughout the song was recently confirmed by G-Unit General, 50 Cent. According to 50 Cent, he made Beanie Sigel an offer to bring him from Roc-A-Fella to G-Unit. The deal was reportedly worth $800,000. However, Jay-Z did not want to see Sigel leave the Roc-A-Fella label and join up with the competition. This whole story is ironic considering Jay-Z’s declared that “nobody is afraid of 50 Cent.” Also, notice how the Beanie Sigel vs Jay-Z controversy is occuring during the lead-up to 50 Cent’s album release for Before I Self Destruct? Suddenly 50 Cent, hip hop’s favorite bad guy, is the good-guy in the situation based on the now-public details of how well 50 Cent treats his G-Unit family.

“I love the way 50 [Cent] did with his dawgs,” he said. “If you look at it, them dudes got more money and more bread than anybody in State Property ’cause 50 made sure of that. 50 went on tour and paid them, not [telling] them ‘it was a good look for them to be on the tour’ and things like that. True story, I’m sitting on house arrest and the Young Gunz call my phone ’cause Jay-Z is only paying them $1200 a show and they had to split it.” ©Beanie Sigel [Source: MTV]

50 Cent confirmed Sigel’s allegations on “Average Cat” that he almost signed the Philadelphia-bred rapper to his G-Unit Records, which at one point, was to jointly market a project by former Roc-A-Fella artist Freeway. “He [Beanie Sigel] would have got at least $800,000 at that point to come over,” 50 Cent told Miss Jones. “Jay was telling him that he didn’t want to lose him. I think Jay and Puffy had these feelings toward me at one point I believe.” During an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, Beanie Sigel revealed that he was close to signing a deal with G-Unit, but the deal was blocked by Jay-Z. 50 Cent confirmed this and also stated that he ran into the same issues when he attempted to bring estranged Bad Boy artist Mase into the G-Unit fold. “They didn’t want to lose anything to me, while their energy was going on. Puff didn’t want to sign the Mase deal and Jay didn’t want to do that,” 50 Cent told Miss Jones today (November 3). [Source: AllHipHop]

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been involved with Ciroc Vodka since 2007. As a 50% owner of the Ciroc brand, Diddy and his Sean Combs Enterprises are primarily responsible for brand management. What does that entail? For starters, Diddy and his staff oversee the marketing, product placement, public relations, and marketing related to Ciroc Vodka. Thus far, Diddy has helped Ciroc become one of the premiere brands of Vodka on the market.

The partnership with Combs is extremely lucrative, helping Diageo earn over $2 billion in liquor sales in 2008. Combs began promoting the brand in a deal announced in October of 2007. Since then, sales have climbed from 60,000 cases in the first half of 2007 to a whopping 400,000 cases for 2008-2009. According to Strachan, Combs is a true partner in the venture and receives half of Ciroc’s profits. [Source: AllHipHop]

Brand extensions can earn an artist more revenue than his/her music sales. Don’t believe us? Ask 50 Cent.

COMMUNITY QUESTION: At what point does capitalizing off brand extensions become ’selling out?’

Viewers of the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards were caught off guard when immediately following Gucci Mane and Plies’ performance of their hit single “Wasted,” a short public service announcement from Gucci Mane himself was played over the TV screen.

Yo, it’s your boy Gucci. I want y’all to know that I do make party records and it’s all fun, but on a serious note, I’m taking my own sobriety very seriously. And it’s for real, it’s coming from your boy Gucci. Be safe. ©Gucci Mane (See video below)

Gucci Mane nearly landed back in prison this past summer. While details are hard to come by, word on the street is that Gucci Mane failed a court ordered drug test. Luckily, Gucci Mane was able to avoid more hard time by agreeing to enter into a drug rehabilitation program. As evident by the Gucci Mane PSA played during the 2009 BET Hip Hop Awards, the 12-steps are playing an important role in Gucci’s life as a bubbling rap superstar.

However, Gucci’s time in rehab was not his only punishment for failing a drug test this past summer. An industry insider revealed to Hiptics that Gucci Mane is currently unable to perform anywhere outside the Georgia border, and cannot legally partake in any kind of interview, despite the fact that Gucci’s upcoming album (“The State Vs Radric Davis”) is due December 8th.

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Amazon.com: Best Deals on 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct Album

Although 50 Cent’s highly-anticipated Before I Self Destruct leaked three weeks before the November 17th release date, 50 Cent should still expect to do big first week numbers. For the record, Hiptics predicts Before I Self Destruct will sell over 500,000 physical copies within it’s first week in stores. Here’s why:

Reason #1 – Quality Product: Whether it’s the universally-appealing single “Baby By Me feat. Ne-Yo” or the hardcore 50 Cent rhymes that the rappers core fan base craves, Before I Self Destruct features content that will motivate 50 Cent fans of all different backgrounds to support the product. Maybe 50 Cent will even tap into a new generation of young teens that were previously unaware of his music?

Reason #2 – More Bang For Your Buck: Before I Self Destruct will come with not one, but two original DVDs. The first, a 50 Cent-directed film inspired by the music , looks epic based on the preview. The second will be a documentary focusing on the man that first gave 50 Cent a chance at career in music, the late Jam Master Jay.

Reason #3 – Grassroots Gangsta: With two mixtape releases this summer, which included the classic War Angel LP , 50 Cent began a grassroots effort to re-engage his core audience. For example, 50 Cent hosted an event for the children of Southside Jamaica, Queens called Family Day .

Reason #4 – Internet Takeover: 50 Cent hardly needs promotion via Hiptics. After all, he has his own Ning Community that also happens to be the #1 most visited hip hop news/multimedia website on the Internet.

Alexa Traffic Ranking (10/29/09):
ThisIs50.com – 3,242
AllHipHop.com – 3,328
NahRight.com – 9,165

Reason #5 – Interscope Grind: Interscope Records, the parent company of Shady/Aftermath, appears on-the-ball this go-around. 50 Cent’s last album, Curtis, suffered from unexpected music video leaks and other promotional failures that undoubtedly affected the impact of the project. With Before I Self Destruct, the chess pieces appear to be lined up. Will 50 Cent be able to knock Jay-Z from the King of NY thrown? We’ll find out soon enough.

Roll with the punches, rappers. Warren G’s latest album, The G-Files, is available everywhere.

BONUS: Death Row CEO on Making Money Selling Music in Digital Age

5o asserts that Jay-Z makes people feel comfortable enough to step on his toes (or run on stage while he performs) because he does not stifle other MC’s aggression.

50 Cent’s new album, Before I Self Destruct, is available November 23rd.

Rewind: 50 Cent Mocks Jay-Z’s Street Credibility

50 Cent delivers some memorable quotables in his latest interview with Complex . For example, he says that Def Jam spent so many marketing dollars on Rick Ross’s ‘battle’ with 50 Cent that it made no financial sense. 50 predicts that Rick Ross’s upcoming album with his group Triple C’s, and Ross’s follow-up solo album will flop because this time around The Bawse will get his “fair share” of money from the label, instead of an inflated marketing budget to combat someone like 50.

Here’s some industry insight from 50 Cent’s interview with Complex.

Complex: Okay, as far as the the new album, we’ve heard a radio-friendly single with Ne-Yo, but you also have gritty tracks like “Flight 187″….

50 Cent: “Flight 187″ is a bonus track, it’s not on the album. I started the project, and I wrote exactly what I wanted on it, and then I thought out the actual singles at the very end. The album changed, because there was a time period around December of last year, that I was ready to put my record out and I was a little anxious. I usually release on schedule; it’s usually a two-year cycle for me before I release a record. In December, I put out the “Get Up” record, and then Interscope had a transition, like the entire music business did. So the majority of the delays of this project have been readjustments to what’s actually going on, not [because] the material wasn’t up to par or completed. There’s been a transition that we experience in technology—for instance, right now we’re talking to Complex.com instead of Complex magazine. That right there shows you that things are totally changing around. Instead of fighting things, I embrace them. [Full Interview]

VIDEO: 50 Cent “Behind The Music” (Full Episode)
READING MATERIAL: The 48 Laws of 50 Cent
MIXTAPE DOWNLOADS: 50 Cent – War Angel LP | 50 Cent – Forever King

According to Fif’s thisis50.com website, the rapper’s show scored the highest premiere ratings since 2000’s Faith Hill program. 2.2 million viewers tuned in on on Tuesday (October 13), making VH1 the most watched cable channel during that time period. 50’s show beat out other BTM episodes on Lil Wayne and T.I. (XXL)

Listen carefully because Lara Lavi, CEO of Death Row Records, drops some gems about selling music in the digital age. More specifically, Ms. Lavi details how she will generate income via the thousands of unreleased G-Funk songs in the Death Row Records vault.

A lot of this music speaks of a very hard a life, a very disenfranchised, male, black youth, and the lifestyle that went with it, and that was a reflection of what was going on in the period when this music was developed in southern California.

FUN FACT: Online sales are 50% of the Death Row catalogues annual income

This is the authentic G-Funk…The original work that erupted from the brains of Dre, and Snoop, and Daz, all these guys, is sitting, thousands and thousands of songs, in our vault.

Did you hear the clips from my conversation with West Coast legend Warren G?

More Interviews