Yes.
Explanation:
What Does “It” Mean?
Rapping has never been more popular than it is today. With new aspiring rappers popping up every day you may wonder how come most rappers
never make it? But first, let’s establish what does “make it” mean to you? Maybe you think “making it” means getting a record deal or being famous. But honestly, neither of those equate to financial stability and here’s why.
Anyone can sign you to a record deal. Basically, a record deal is an agreement between two parties of what they expect from each other. It’s very similar to the contracts you sign when you start a new job. However, most record labels may give you some money upfront but in most cases, this is simply a loan that you have to pay back before you ever make one red cent. Every expense the label incurs for it’s signed artist the artist actually pays for. For example in 2002 The popular rap group “Dirty” was signed to universal records but was dead broke and couldn’t even pay their monthly bills. The second most popular female rap group “TLC” sold over 65 million records worldwide but only brought home an estimated $15,000 per year and eventually had to file bankruptcy.
Talent isn’t enough: A lot of rappers think that if they can rap good then everything will fall into their lap. This causes them to be very prideful which gives them a false sense of entitlement. They feel like they are owed success because they are skilled. This is often the foreshadowing of bitterness once they realize things aren’t panning out like they think they should. These type of rappers are often lazy because they feel like they don’t have to work hard in order to be successful.
Only are artists: If you are wanting to be a successful rapper you can’t only be an artist. You also need to be business-minded and financially literate “the ability to read numbers”. You need to understand investing and R.O.I “Return On Investment” AKA profit. Think of other ways that you can monetize off your craft such as merchandise, shows, features, ghostwriting, artist development, publishing, motivational speaking, licensing/royalties with patented inventions, etc.. Dr. Dre started off as a member of N.W.A, then started his own record company “Aftermath”, and later created Beats Headphones. Dre was reported in Forbes 2014 Hip-Hop Cash Kings making $620 million in one year. That’s more than every rapper on the list combined!
