Is HipHop Dead?

There is currently a lot of talk about if Hip-Hop is dead. From NAS singing about it, to legends speaking on how hip-hop has changed drastically over the past 10 years, is this really true? Is the music out there now superficial and lyrically hollow? Or is it what we want to hear? Is the music today, speaking about primarily hip-hop, music that we have accepted because marketing departments of fortune 500 companies, and the media have forced us to accept it as "good" entertaining music?

Some may argue that mainstream hip-hop is causing the real hi-hop to decay. With songs like "This Is Why I'm Hot" by Mims, some may argue that artists today don't have much to offer through their lyrical content. Some may say that because radio doesn't push underground hip-hop and they force us to hear only mainstream hip-hop, we have been trained to accept non lyrically challenging music.

Also one may argue that underground lyricists that want to have a voice in the music industry can't because they are the one's that never get marketed properly because it's not mainstream enough, or what it boils down to is it doesn't sell records. Today we hear very catchy, trend setting music, that is here today and most of the time gone tomorrow. Hip-hop artists with positive messages and something to really say continue to strive to get a place in the industry and up the standards of what real hip-hop is.

Marketing of the right artist can help in changing the mentality of how people perceive underground hip-hop that is not music that you can only play in the club. By Marketing an artist with an edge, that stands out from the rest and letting people know that music that is thoughtful, mind stimulating, and fun to listen to works too..

For more information on how we can help you market yourself as an artist and your music, please visit us at http://www.swan-marketing.com/

Women Who Jam Music Showcase

Bringing Music and Marketing Together in one Night!

Yesterday on April 19, 2007 I attended Women Who Jam, a monthly music showcase hosted by NABFEME, which brings talented artists and music industry legends to one place, the Sugar Bar, to enjoy an evening of great music, great food, and critiques to each individual artist's performance.

The night was filled with live performances which included a line up of New York's own Abby Dobson along with the soulful singer Omar. This event is great if you are an artist looking to perform in front of people who love "good" music and want to be heard by music legends like Donald Harper, and some of 105.1's music personalities and Djs.

For more information about attending or performing, visit http://www.nabfeme.org/

Swan Marketing is a proud member of NABFEME. Artists looking to advance in their career and get in the forefront with their music, visit Swan Marketing http://wwww.swan-marketing.com/, the premier Marketing and PR company for entertainers in the music industry.

Paid Content

So what is this whispering going on, or should I say yelling, about paying people to post blogs on topics they enjoy talking about?

Well it's a conversation about taking away how traditional blogging was started, which basically allows someone t0 write about something they like, for example their favorite dish or their major issue on a political topic and get paid for it. So the questions that have raised in my mind are, because someone now gets paid to post their comments, does it make the content less valuable or objective? Or will people begin to write non important topics because they are now getting paid and it doesn't come as second nature?

I believe that it depends on the topic you are writing about. Meaning if it's music, someone can still write an objective opinion about it, because music is apart of almost everyone's life and each person has their own personal view. Where as on the other hand if someone is getting paid to write about a biochemical nuclear chip that is being studied, but has no interest or knowledge on that topic, you can guess, that the blog won't be that compelling or objective. I think paid content, is definitely a direction that we are moving into, we just have to see how it plays out, and if it grows to a new level, as some are already doing it.

Stay Tuned...