In the 1990s, hip hop was the punk rock of music. No older people attempted to respect the genre, both for its explicit lyrics and violent images. However, as the scene began to grow, more and more record labels began to take notice, and teams like Interscope and Cash Money began to form. What these labels gave to hip hop artists was an outlet to continue to produce their content at the highest level. However, there was a catch: the labels were the filter. They were the ones who decided what would be pushed to the public and what would remain unknown.
But, something changed in the mid 2010s. A music streaming site called SoundCloud enabled artists to upload their music for free to a distribution channel of millions of users. With a simple mic and Fruity Loops, even GarageBand, anyone could become the next big up and coming rapper. And with this platform, hip hop developed into a pure competition market. Now, the consumers would have the power to drive what's considered hot and what's considered trash. They could determine whether rapper A could be better than rapper B, and began discussions as to how much someone could truly thrive in this new hip hop economy.
The most successful SoundCloud rapper, who took off while he was in jail, was the late Janseh Onfroy, better known as "XXXTentacion." Through the platform, he was able to take his song "Look at Me" and turn it into a multiplatinum-selling record. Other rappers also took the industry by storm, like Lil Pump and the late Lil Peep. Artists that have been perceived as so-called "introverts" that could not make it into the industry because they were not tough enough were able to thrive in this new age of hip hop because consumers appreciated their music for what it was, and appreciated the artists for who they were.
But just like in any pure competition market, there are always standouts and there are always people who never made it as far. For every Lil Pump, there are thousands of other rappers attempting to make it. That's just a natural behavior of a pure competition market. Those who rise to the top are doing so as a result of consumer demand. And especially in today's music economy, it isn't just about being talented; you must bring the persona, the character that people want to ensure engagement with your audience. That's how someone succeeds in the rap game today.
Just like in the past, there are still culture and content curators just like in the 2000s that help dictate what is cool in the market. But ultimately, it is up to the consumers, the people purchasing and streaming the music, in many cases for little to no cost. This has made hip hop, and music overall, more competitive in the age of streaming. With consumers making the ultimate decision on what's cool, artists can now focus on themselves and becoming greater creators.
Sources:
https://www.complex.com/music/2018/09/soundcloud-rappers-you-should-know/
https://www.afr.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/music/soundcloud-rappers-this-is-who-your-teens-are-listening-to-20180809-h13r3p
This post was very interesting as it was something I feel many of us can relate to, due to the popularity of these up and coming SoundCloud rappers, especially to high school students. It's interesting how you talked about the different aspects of a pure competition market and related it to the current music industry, and used that to explain how different SoundCloud rappers made their come-up. It is really up to the consumers to listen to what they want and choose what they think is good music or not, and that decides which rappers, or sellers, make the big bucks and who doesn't.
ReplyDeleteI found this post intriguing because I use SoundCloud to stream music but never considered how it is a form of pure competition. An example of how SoundCloud demonstrates easy entry and exit into the music market on this platform is that I have multiple classmates who do produce music on SoundCloud without being signed to a record label. I think this platform gives up and coming rappers a chance to make a name for themselves and be their gateway into the music business, like XXXTentacion did.
ReplyDeleteCreators on SoundCloud is a great example of pure competition. With the creation of this website, there is free and exit for anyone in the business. Instead of the past where to be successful you had to be signed by a record label to produce music, SoundCloud allows anyone to be successful. Your example about XXXTentacion is a great way to support this theory. This rapper started from posting his music on the platform, and through his spread of music, became one of the most well known artists of our generation. Without this form of pure competition, this may have never happened.
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