Has The Internet Killed The HipHop Industry?

[King Lance]

What if the internet didn't exist ?
People keep saying that it killed the hip hop industry because the internet has such a big effect on the marketing and sales of music (leaks) but I don't agree with that.
Rappers lived and survived before the internet but I don't think the Hip Hop community would be the same without some form of internet.
TV & Radio stations would push the worst artists and it would be impossible to find newcomers... I'm pretty sure that 50 cent would still be selling millions of copies.

It is amazing to see how the internet has created a way for artists like Macklemore, Ab-soul, Kendrick, J. Cole, A$AP Rocky to get popular.
You can listen to whoever you want and decide to buy the albums you really like so... Doesn't it keep hip hop relevant ?

[Trimss]

There were up&comers even back then without the internet though. It was just harder for independant artists.

[Solace]

I think the internet has made listening to all genres of music much easier and better.

[AbramIsaac]

I think the positive most definitely outweighs the negative.

It's up to fans to decide what they want to hear now, and when they do, they are generally more satisfied with the decision. Good music cuts through the bullshit, regardless of how saturated the internet is with mediocrity. At the end of the day, touring and doing live shows is what will separate an internet rapper from a marketable artist anyway.

Now, if you're good, you don't need a label for distribution. You can hit all of the online retailers they would get you into, and even some of the physical brick and mortar locations as well. You may not get on MTV, but you can have 1,000,000 YouTube views from people that actually want to hear your music, as opposed to some empty headed idiot just looking for background noise between reality TV shows.

It's made the major record labels more cautious, and less likely to take risks, but fuck the major record labels. For the most part, they haven't been putting out good music for a long time, and they've been fucking the few good artists they had in the first place with their bullshit contracts that were bad before the internet even became the new normal. They can all fucking fall to shit, and it wouldn't bother me at all.

Most of the interesting stuff is coming from independent artists now anyway.

[classthe_king]

^^^I agree with what you are saying....but....

What are the chances that more people will get into those independent artists?

Example: 2pac, Eminem, Nas, and Jay-Z got me into hip hop when I was between 8 and 10 years of age.

You know what the introduction to hip-hop is for those kids now? Lil Wayne, Drake, 2 Chainz, etc. etc.

Who is to say they will grow an appreciation for complex lyricism and stripped down beats?

It has hurt the quality of music....especially hip-hop...there is no denying that. Even the underground rappers were better in the late 90's and early 2000's.

This is a terrible argument. Anyone who actually likes rap will find other artists than Lil Wayne, Drake & 2 Chainz.

[Trimss]

^ That's exactly his point. "introduction to hip hop" which means they don't particularly like rap but see them representing it. Of course he would be dumb to stop himself at that and not check other artists but that's often what happens.

[Blu]

It's only damaged sales, lol. With the Internet we're free to listen to music without the CD which is great.

Basically what Abram said.

[classthe_king]

^ That's exactly his point. "introduction to hip hop" which means they don't particularly like rap but see them representing it. Of course he would be dumb to stop himself at that and not check other artists but that's often what happens.

I don't agree at all. If someone is only going to be Young Money fans and never dig into anything else then not having an internet wouldn't change anything and they wouldn't have been fans of Pac or Big or early Jay either. You guys act like if there was no internet then Kendrick and Mf Doom and Mos Def would be multi-platinum artists and have all the Young Money fans. They enjoy that music because it's dumb and easy to comprehend, their not going to become smarter because of a lack of intern.t

[Trimss]

^ That's exactly his point. "introduction to hip hop" which means they don't particularly like rap but see them representing it. Of course he would be dumb to stop himself at that and not check other artists but that's often what happens.

I don't agree at all. If someone is only going to be Young Money fans and never dig into anything else then not having an internet wouldn't change anything and they wouldn't have been fans of Pac or Big or early Jay either. You guys act like if there was no internet then Kendrick and Mf Doom and Mos Def would be multi-platinum artists and have all the Young Money fans. They enjoy that music because it's dumb and easy to comprehend, their not going to become smarter because of a lack of intern.t

But nobody said he would be a Young Money fan, that's the point. If the guy doesn't like the rap hears on radio and tv, he won't really be interested to check out other stuff on the internet. That's true, whether you like it or not. They'd have a wrong first opinion about rap, thinking it's all about what he hears on a daily basis.

I know what you mean, and I agree with most of what you say. He's just saying that somebody who isn't interested in hip hop will hear that bullshit on tv and not like it, so he won't even want to check further.

[classthe_king]

It's still a terrible argument.

[Trimss]

Word, because "mainstream" rap always existed. It's not something Lil Wayne and YM invented.

[Kill You]

Yes and no. Yes because of leaks and it makes artists not sell as much when they drop their albums. On the other hand the internet can help get an artist out there. Kendrick became popular by word of mouth from the internet so the internet has definitely benefitted some.

[Ticalrecords]

i think the internet put everyone on a level playing field. major labels do not have as much leverage as they used to. Mac Miller is a great example: he is completely independent and is still everywhere because he makes good music (good not great, but at least he knows the limits of his ability). There's obviously alot more bs, but i believe it made the real artists with actual talent work that much harder. you only need a major label because of the marketing money, but now you can do that yourself cuz anyone can set up a youtube account. I will say this though, it used to be when an artist released a really good album, he was given the spot light for that time and it was all his. now I don't really see that - everyone gives him his props and then moves on to the next rapper.
on a slightly related note, i think MTV officially dropping the whole music video thang has killed hip hop more so than the internet. I believe if MTV and BET focused on music like they used to, we'd all be in a better place. does anyone watch Rap City anymore? loll

[classthe_king]

Mac Miller makes absolutely terrible music.

[Spyder]

Its helped the genre
Hurt the sales

/thread