Should Radio Support Local Artists? Hot 97 Explains Why NY Underground Artists Aren't Played

[R.D.]

My whole thing with the radio argument is, I COULD UNDERSTAND IF THERE WASN'T ANY OTHER OPTION.

There is though, the internet is much stronger than radio. Most radio is regional based, the internet is world wide. What's Hot 97 gonna do for a rapper than the World Wide Web can't do on a mass scale and quicker time. Between Twitter, Youtube, and these music sites, there ain't no excuse.

cause contrary to what you think,those regional stations reach millions and through word of mouth, millions more

im not just going randomly find some underground nigga from chicago on the internet

 

[S2J]

Lol @ break a artist

Heard of Youtube??

 

[usmarin3]

My whole thing with the radio argument is, I COULD UNDERSTAND IF THERE WASN'T ANY OTHER OPTION.

There is though, the internet is much stronger than radio. Most radio is regional based, the internet is world wide. What's Hot 97 gonna do for a rapper than the World Wide Web can't do on a mass scale and quicker time. Between Twitter, Youtube, and these music sites, there ain't no excuse.

cause contrary to what you think,those regional stations reach millions and through word of mouth, millions more

im not just going randomly find some underground nigga from chicago on the internet

My whole thing with the radio argument is, I COULD UNDERSTAND IF THERE WASN'T ANY OTHER OPTION.

There is though, the internet is much stronger than radio. Most radio is regional based, the internet is world wide. What's Hot 97 gonna do for a rapper than the World Wide Web can't do on a mass scale and quicker time. Between Twitter, Youtube, and these music sites, there ain't no excuse.

cause contrary to what you think,those regional stations reach millions and through word of mouth, millions more



im not just going randomly find some underground nigga from chicago on the internet

but you will because of Hot 97? lmfao

Most people out west, down south, and in the midwest don't know what the fuck Hot 97 is. Twitter spreads word of mouth quicker than any radio station ever could.

 

[antarticp]

I don't agree with it but niggas are not using common sense when it comes to radio. Radio, TV & blogs are all about ratings/views. That's how they survive thanx to all the commercials & sponsors. If an artist like Sean Price, who am i a fan of, doesn't track well with people out there (get people talking, record sales, solid-big fanbase already etc) that's gonna gurantee more ratings for the station then why should they play it?

If they played nothing but Immortal Technique music we wouldn't have these radio station at all. Maybe you dumb niggas should stop giving radio/tv/blogs so much attention and relevance by caring so much and clicking/watching/listening to them give more attention to WHAT YOU LIKE and we'll get somewhere.

i wished it worked that way homey but like someone said ... its all about "perks or payola" ... You trying to tell me that a Immortal Technique song cant generate just as much talk and traffic as a Future song ?????? via radio play ????? how much did future SELL !!!!!! lol yeah he earned his spot ... HYPE doesnt always = Success .... In kendrick lamars case it did #THINK ABOUT IT ..... for FUTURE it didnt work ... but for KENDRICK it did ....... just looking @ that tells me an immortal technique has a place on radio if all they are worrying about is ratings and viewers and talk in the streets ....

imo the reason why a guy like immortal wont get play is because hes anti commercial ... you cant have a guys rapping about saving your money and rebeling against the system ... then have a commercial basically telling you the exact opposite ... SPEND YOUR MONEY !!!!!!! DONT WORRY ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT THE LOCAL STRIP JOINT IS OPEN AND TODAY IS $2 TUESDAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!! once again THINK ABOUT IT ....... the rappers you hear on the radio today are PRO COMMERCIAL .... all they talk about is SPENDING $$$$$ !!!!!!! GOING TO THE CLUB/BAR AND GETTING DRUNK !!!!!!! GETTTING HIGH ON MOLLYS !!!!!!!!! SLEEP STATE !!!!!!! ETC...........

i like diggy as an artist ... but did he earn his spot ?? or did he get the play because hes signed with Warner/Atlantic ??????? things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmm

The fuck sales got to do with what i said tho? Listen, radio plays whatever will get them ratings. Yeah Kendrick sold but prior to him releasing his album he didn't have a audience that would guarantee a radio station higher ratings. An artist like Future prolly didn't sell well however he had a hot song and he is an artist that makes music for the radio stations key demographic. Of course Immortal Tech would not bring as much traffic as Future, you seriously even questioning that? The main consumers and controllers of the rap game are mostly teenagers and they don't even wanna hear all that shit. You even see this on the internet how people hate "rapping ass niggas". You think Immortal Tech fans listens to radio as much as say Future fans or fans in the same category?

Alot of people wanna hear dance music and strip club music so of course they wouldn't wanna listen to IT (Immortal Tech) spit some knowledge or whatever, and since it doesn't dollars it doesn't sense.

Diggy? Who is Diggy marketed for? Young kids. Who listens, calls in and makes these radio stations survive? Young kids. Now, Diggy also comes from a background of a reality show so he already had somewhat of a following or ppl who were aware of him. Another fact is him being Run's son, which makes ppl at least wanna hear him out before deciding if they like him or not. Also, dude opened up and was on tour with alot of boyband groups and shit early on so once again he was already out there.

I'm not saying payola doesn't exist, but it that's the case why didn't we hear more of Kendrick or whoever on the radio then? That's bullshit homie and you know it. Like i said it's about ratings. That's how radio stations exists and survives. More listeners brings more sponsors which brings a higher revenue. Same way an award for example gives an artist a higher rate for performances/tours.

when i was talking sales that was more in response to what EBRO was saying as far as getting hot ... so i brought up a few guys who get alot of play on the radio and imo didnt really EARN IT and the sales were that proof ..... becsause they got all that radio play and barely sold ... for that fact why not play an Immortal who pretty much did the same #s without help from radio .... IJS ....

and do you think diggy got the phone lines blowing up like that ?????? the only time someone is calling to request diggy is when they are trying to guess the next song in thier countdowns lol ...... but im sure he gets calls to the station but it aint like that ......

 

[CirocObama]

Agree or not @Usmarin3 has a point. It's almost as if y'all want the music to be validated by radio before y'all fuck with it.

 

[bankrupt baller]

usmarine always comes off as being very emotional or "emo" as he would like to call it....its funny that he doesnt like emo rap...

Don't you got a Pac cd to listen to. LOL at me being emo, i'm just stating the obvious.

It's like asking fast food companies why they don't serve healthy food. I'm like why are ya'll upset at fast food restaurants when you know what makes them their money. There are other ways to get food out there, go look into those lanes and stop sitting around waiting for them to change.

Clearly the millions ofpeople supporting fast food chains like what they serve, despite how the minority feels about it.

your stance on this topic has nothing to do with what i said...

 

[antarticp]

My whole thing with the radio argument is, I COULD UNDERSTAND IF THERE WASN'T ANY OTHER OPTION.

There is though, the internet is much stronger than radio. Most radio is regional based, the internet is world wide. What's Hot 97 gonna do for a rapper than the World Wide Web can't do on a mass scale and quicker time. Between Twitter, Youtube, and these music sites, there ain't no excuse.

nothing beats forced distribution ... on the internet you have an option to even hear it for the first time ... when your listening to the radio if you dont want to hear a certain record your only option is to turn the radio off .... and if your turning off the radio to not hear a certain record then its too late LOL

the internet however is great ... if you really got something that people will share ... but as we seen the internet is shakey cause anyone from Lil B to Macklmoore can catch a buzz on the internet ...........

 

[Kwan Dai]

Agree or not @Usmarin3 has a point. It's almost as if y'all want the music to be validated by radio before y'all fuck with it.

I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion.

 

[supersajinfo]

Hot 97 exist in houston barely plays local niggas

 

[a_list]

I believe that shyt should be given a shot, just see what the response is like.....Shyt flex should give cats a shot....but @ the same time these rappers know what hot 97 plays...maybe they should adjust their sound to that......unless you're an established rapper, you're not going to be able stick to what u do.....simple math party/trap beat, simple lyrics lead to radio play

Good point. But here's the rub. Anyone who says they ride for Hip Hop should never want to back artists into a corner where they are doing what everyone else is doing. Unfortunately that's where we are now.

I understand this but these cats are about ratings...You cant complain if your not on the same page as what these cats are doing....if sean price dumbed down and got on a beat that French Montana raps to and they still didnt try to break the record then he has every right to complain.... just using price as an example...the fans and the popularity of the music has dwindled and there seems to be only 1 popular sound.....remember when the fugees and Pac were able to do 6 mill plus both in the same year, totally different sounds but there was room in the mainstram for both....we know it aint like that no more, so these cats need to get on board if they want that radio support

While your reasoning is sound. This is what makes an artist a sell out. No they shouldn't just get on board and do what 99.9% of the game is doing to make money or get spins. Artists shouldn't complain. However, they should speak out about there being a Monopoly in place that is hurting their ability to maximize their earning potential. No artists should just accept the Blatant bullshit going in Hip Hop right now.

I'm wit you sun....I understand what you're saying.....My thing is, we all know what radio is about so if you want your shyt played maybe you can tweak ya sound to accomodate radio....Say what Jay-Z use to say basically{I did cant knock the hustle to introduce that audience to Can I Live}....Like Marine is saying there is an avenue where you can just be you and thats the internet.....Artist have every right to complain about this monopoly but its gonna take action...we're talking about Hot 97 lol....I knew shyt was shaky when The War Report moved like 300k in the city alone, but Mic Geronimo shyt sold 15k and was all over the radio... CNN was on Tommy boy and Geronimo was on a major we kno the rest

 

[Wild Self]

The way i look at it is, a radio station shouldn't have to give a artist buzz, a artist buzz has to be organic and then the radio should pick up on that buzz. As far as force feeding some of these boring ass underground artist to the mainstream, if you can't create a natural buzz (like Kendrick, Frank Ocean,etc), then what makes these dudes think radio can help them.

You don't need radio to blow up nowadays, radio is almost dead. You have examples of dudes making it out here without initial hits (Kendrick, J Cole, Mackelmore,Mac Miller, Frank Ocean) and selling 100's of thousands of records.

Radio stations shouldn't but they do. Back in the day artists would makes their rounds. There was a thread where Wu-tang was getting clowned for going to Texas for a show and being paid pennies. But that's how you built your buzz by actually rocking the crowd and being on the road. Now these cats sit behind a computer and think it's grinding. Not to mention it's easy to create a buzz for yourself online by fudging with number of views, downloads etc.

It works both ways though. The radio is force feeding whack ass, boring commercial artists so why not give all an equal shot at breaking a hit record?

I agree you don't need radio to blow but it's still a strong tool to make that happen. The guys you mentioned are either White or connected to some of the most commercially successful artists in Rap. So, I wouldn't think radio would be that big of a deal.

You can't compare radio now to radio back in the day, the paradigm has changed. Music isn't selling like how it use to and the music business is not the same.

Ya'll give the radio way too much power, NO AMOUNT OF FORCE FEEDING IS EVER GOING TO MAKE SEAN PRICE, CURRENSY, SKYZOO,ETC RELEVANT OR POPULAR. Ya'll over simplify the music business way too much imo, some artist just don't have that ''it factor'' to ever translate on a commercial level. I don't care if you give them a Timbaland beat and a mil promotion budget.

As for boring commercial artist, they clearly aren't boring to the mass public if they are selling millions. Who the fuck is really the boring one if you can't translate to nothing but a niche audience (undergound music fans)?

IMO most of these underground artist lack something. They either have no ''it'' factor or they just aren't good song makers, when i say song makers i mean write catchy hooks, choruses, and pick beats.

You look at the niggas who made it from the underground (Jay, Em, Nas, Big,etc), they all were great writers and knew how to make catchy tunes.

you forgot that boom bap no longer sells.

 

[poindexter2]

if yall want them cats on the air so bad why dont yall call up hot 97 all day everyday and request them niggas

 

[Gen. Stasia]

Niggas don't call the radio stations like that unless they trying to win something. Why would anybody call the radio station request a song then wait 2 songs and a commercial break to hear a song when YouTube exist?

These playlist are already made up the "DJs" just press play.

 

[CirocObama]

Niggas don't call the radio stations like that unless they trying to win something. Why would anybody call the radio station request a song then wait 2 songs and a commercial break to hear a song when YouTube exist?

These playlist are already made up the "DJs" just press play.

Who said that tho? I mentioned ppl calling in but i never said it was to request songs.

 

[usmarin3]

if yall want them cats on the air so bad why dont yall call up hot 97 all day everyday and request them niggas

Better yet, why don't all these millions of fans demanding underground rap be heard buy their music. Everyone screams they want better music, but none of that demand ain't transitioning into sales.

 

[Gen. Stasia]

Niggas don't call the radio stations like that unless they trying to win something. Why would anybody call the radio station request a song then wait 2 songs and a commercial break to hear a song when YouTube exist?

These playlist are already made up the "DJs" just press play.

Who said that tho? I mentioned ppl calling in but i never said it was to request songs.

I wasn't refering to you. I was combating the idea that these songs get play because ppl are calling in and requesting them. These lil kids don't have enough attention span to do so. And older ppl don't care enough to do so.

 

[blackrain]

LOL oversimplifying shit as usual. If it was that easy then why do most major label album release FLOP, do you know how many hundred of albums major labbels release every year and they fail commercially. In ya'll minds though ya'll seem to think it's just hit a platinum button in your office and wallah success.

You got artist like Christina Aquellera out here putting out two flop albums back to back and this bitch is on one of the biggest shows in the world right now.

Ya'll oversimplify shit way too much. There is no fomula of how to successfully break artist nowadays and radio play is no guarantee of anything.

That's something I don't think alot of people consider. Major labels release tons of albums per year and the majority don't do well. It's really a select few artists that keep labels alive

 

[LUClEN]

I stopped letting people choose what I listen to awhile back

 

[CirocObama]

Niggas don't call the radio stations like that unless they trying to win something. Why would anybody call the radio station request a song then wait 2 songs and a commercial break to hear a song when YouTube exist?

These playlist are already made up the "DJs" just press play.

Who said that tho? I mentioned ppl calling in but i never said it was to request songs.

I wasn't refering to you. I was combating the idea that these songs get play because ppl are calling in and requesting them. These lil kids don't have enough attention span to do so. And older ppl don't care enough to do so.

Ohh, ait gotchu.

Call me sometime tho yo. Come fuck with god body, ol' earth.

 

[Lab Baby]

if yall want them cats on the air so bad why dont yall call up hot 97 all day everyday and request them niggas

Better yet, why don't all these millions of fans demanding underground rap be heard buy their music. Everyone screams they want better music, but none of that demand ain't transitioning into sales.

Well...

Niggas don't call the radio stations like that unless they trying to win something. Why would anybody call the radio station request a song then wait 2 songs and a commercial break to hear a song when YouTube exist?

These playlist are already made up the "DJs" just press play.

Who said that tho? I mentioned ppl calling in but i never said it was to request songs.

I wasn't refering to you. I was combating the idea that these songs get play because ppl are calling in and requesting them. These lil kids don't have enough attention span to do so. And older ppl don't care enough to do so.

This. And to add on... a lot of these songs are played twice in an hour span. Even so, a lot of these artists don't sell anyway. We can chalk this up to a deeper conspiracy theory, but on to the topic at hand. What's wrong with giving Flatbush Zombies or Joey Badass one play within that hour, when they're probably guaranteed the same amount of sales, given their grind?