HIP HOP INDUSTRY STANDARD
Hip hop is the single most powerful musical genre and has been proven to be the world's single most effective method to communicate to the youth. Just look around you. Hip hop is being used to sell you everything from burgers and chips to beer and cars. Everything from sneakers and cologne to watches and banking products. Sometimes we don't realise the power we have as a hip hop community. We don't realise that we are actually a key element of the world's economy.
Since everybody else has realised the power we have, why is it that we fail to see this power? Why do we still get exploited? Why do we still get the smallest share of this multi-billion industry? How can we be broke when millions are being made from burgers sold in our name? To be honest, I don't know. What I do know is that we can do something about it. If we all follow these basic rules, we will all come out with a decent piece of the pie.
I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with this scenario... A promoter calls you up and tries to book you for a gig. He tells you there is no budget and that you will be doing the show for the exposure. If this ever happens to you again, give that promoter the finger, and tell em its from me. The reason you have been approached is because the promoter felt that you would add value to the event. You should be paid for that value. If the gig is making money at the door, you own a piece of that money. If you are being denied this, don't be shook to walk away.
An emerging MC should be charging anything between R 500 and R 1 500 for a gig. Established cats should be at the R 5k mark and major artists between R 10 000 and R 25 000 per show. Dance crews are becoming increasingly popular. Start-outs should be charging a minimum of R 1500 and established crews should not appear for anything less than R 7000. Our top 3 crews should be appearing for R 15 000 and up. On the beats side of things... If an unsigned MC needs beats, start negotiating at a grand per beat. At least R 4 000 for indy labels and no less than R 10 000 for major labels. If you currently have a hit single, push your value up to R 15 000 and up based on the strength of that single. If you are approached to produce for an advert, send a quote for no less than R 40 000. Trust me, that burger company has that in their budget. If they try squeeze you too much, decline the offer. In fact, if any of the above mentioned conditions are not met, refuse to render your services. If you refuse it, they might try the next individual. If that individual refuses to be paid less, the person asking for your service will realise that an industry standard has been created.
If anybody breaks the industry standard, this creates a crack in the hip hop economy. It is through this crack that exploitation streams through. If we don't close this crack today, it will become too big to manage. If one established dance crew agrees to another R 200 pay day, the whole system will collapse. If we all stand together and work according to an official hip hop industry standard, we will all get paid what we need to get paid. If you need any help working out your value in the game, don't be shook to give me a call.
Remember!! Vote Smart
Mizi
Editor
mizi@hypemagazine.co.za
082-MIZI-FOR-PRESIDENT
