PAIN OF ADDICTION
Current mood: ashamed
Category: Life

I HAD THE FORTUNE OF RUNNING INTO A CHILDHOOD FRIEND, BUT THIS WAS MORE THAN JUST A REGULAR FRIEND, HE WAS LIKE A BROTHER TO ME.

I WAS THE BEST MAN AT HIS WEDDING, ETC. WELL NEEDLESS TO SAY, MY FRIEND IS A JUNKIE NOW. I WENT TO VISIT HIM IN THE BRONX THIS WEEKEND & WAS JUST SADDENED TO SEE HIM IN THIS STATE. NOT ONLY IS HE ADDICTED TO PILLS & BLOW, HE'S ALSO AN ALCOHOLIC.

WELL HERE LIES THE PROBLEM.......MY FRIEND ASKED ME TO TAKE HIM AWAY WITH ME, SO THAT HE CAN GET AWAY FROM HIS ENVIRONMENT. MY RESPONSE......"NO, I CAN'T". I FEEL SO ILL FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO HELP, BUT HOW DO YOU HELP A PERSON WHO REALLY DOESN'T WANT TO LIVE??????

OH, I FORGOT TO MENTION.....MY FRIEND'S WIFE ( REMEMBER I WAS HIS BEST MAN), WELL HIS WIFE GOT MURDERED LAST YEAR, SO HE'S REALLY MESSED UP NOW. HE WAS ALREADY ADDICTED BEFORE SHE WAS MURDERED, BUT NOW HE'S EVEN WORSE....SO WHAT DO I DO?

HOW CAN YOU HELP A PERSON LIKE THIS????

7:25 AM - 4 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

YOUR FAVORITE D.J.

PLEASE GO TO WWW.DJMAG.COM & VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE D.J.'S..........HOPEFULLY, THAT'S ME,LOL. VOTE!!!!

3:19 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

MUSIC INDUSTRY 101 PART 2
Category: Music

IF YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT BECOMING AN ARTIST, EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!!!!!!!!!

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BECOME AN ARTIST AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE INDUSTRY????

HERE'S A QUICK START FOR YOU.
1)GET AN INDUSTRY ATTORNEY FIRST. A GOOD INDUSTRY ATTORNEY CAN REPLACE YOUR MANAGER AND BOOKING AGENT.
2)EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF DEALS OUT HERE. FOR EXAMPLE: 360 DEALS, FRONT END DEALS, ETC.
3) THE COST BREAKDOWN: AN ATTORNEY USUALLY GETS 5-10%, MANAGER GETS 20%, AND BOOKING AGENT GETS 10%. SO ALREADY, OFF TOP 35-40% OF YOUR MONEY IS GONE.
4) NOTHING IS FREE. YOU GET A SIGNING BONUS OR ADVANCE....YOU OWE. EVERYTHING HAS TO BE RECOUPED. IF YOU GET SIGNED, BE HANDS ON ON WHERE YOUR BUDGET MONEY IS GOING. IF YOU DON'T, THEN YOUR BUDGET WILL BE GETTING NICKELED AND DIMED BY EVERYONE. KNOW WHERE EVERY DIME IS GOING!!
5) THE AVERAGE ARTIST IS GETTING SIGNED TO 5 ALBULM DEALS. THIS LITERALLY MEANS THAT IF YOUR FIRST ALBULM ( IF IT GETS OUT) DOESN'T SELL, YOUR CAREER IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS OVER. YOU'VE SIGNED A 5 ALBULM DEAL AND THERE'S NO WAY THE LABELS ARE GOING TO INVEST ANYMORE MONEY IN YOU......SO HOPEFULLY YOU GET DROPPED FROM THE LABEL.
6) THE AVERAGE ARTIST USED TO MAKE $.60-$.75/ UNIT SOLD. THOSE NUMBERS NOW HAVE DROPPED DOWN TO $.18 - $.30/ UNIT SOLD. SCENERIO: YOU GET A $10,000 SIGNING BONUS, PLUS A $50,000 BUDGET AND YOU SELL 100,000 ALBULMS????? WHAT HAPPENS? YOU'RE BROKE, YOU STILL OWE MONEY. YOU HAVEN'T MADE ANY MONEY OFF YOUR RECORD SALES.
7) MOST ARTIST MAKE THEIR MONEY OFF SHOWS,ETC.....NOT THE RECORD SALES, SO NOW LABELS ARE GETTING 25-35% OF ARTIST SHOW MONEY OR ANY OTHER OUTSIDE ADVENTURE YOU PARTAKE IN. THE MAGIC WORD IS RECOUP....NOTHING IS FREE.
8) IF YOU SIGN A "SINGLES" DEAL WITH A DIGITAL LABEL FOR A RINGTONE.....THE PHONE CARRIER MAKES THE BULK OF THE MONEY OFF TOP. THE ARTIST IS USUALLY LEFT WITH $.40 FROM THE SALES OF A RINGTONE AND YOU SPLIT THAT $.40 WITH YOUR ATTORNEY, MANAGER, ETC.
9) FINALLY......IF AN ARTIST CLAIMS HE/ SHE HAS GONE PLATINUM....SOMETIMES, THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE FULL TRUTH. MOST DISTRIBUTING DEALS HAVE A BACKEND CLAUSE TO THEM. IF A MAJOR STORE, LIKE WALMART HAS PURCHASED YOUR ALBULM FOR SALE, THEN AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, IF YOUR ALBULM IS STILL SITTING ON THE SHELF.....THE LABEL HAS TO BUY THE ALBULM BACK! THUS, THOSE INITIAL UNITS THAT WERE SHIPPED, ARE BOUGHT BACK BY THE LABEL AND CHARGED BACK TO THE ARTIST........SO IN REALITY, THE ARTIST MIGHT NOT HAVE GONE PLATINUM OR GOLD.

-------------HOPE THIS HAS BEEN HELPFUL. THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR EVERY ARTIST. WHAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU IS THE AVERAGE OR TYPICAL CASE. I HAVE BEEN LAZY WITH UPDATING THE MIXTAPES AND BEATS. WHEN I GET A CHANCE, I'LL UPDATE THE MUSIC/ VIDEOS. ONE

11:49 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

MUSIC INDUSTRY 101 PART 1
Category: Music

FOR THE UNSIGNED INDIE ARTIST/ UP & COMING ARTIST:

HOW TO GET SIGNED:

A) IT TAKES MONEY OR SOME TYPE OF EFFORT ON YOUR PART.
1. LABELS ARE NOT WILLING TO PUT FORTH THE EFFORT NOWADAYS UNLESS YOU'VE ALREADY DONE THE FOOT WORK AND GOT SOME NUMBERS TO BACK YOURSELF UP WITH. YOU MOST LIKELY WILL GET SIGNED WHEN "YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO BE SIGNED". ARTIST USUALLY GET SIGNED WHEN THEY GOT A CRAZY FOLLOWING AND THEY'RE MAKING MONEY ALREADY AS AN INDIE ARTIST.
2. DON'T SEND YOUR MIXTAPE, DEMO, ETC. INTO A LABEL. TRUST ME!!!! I DO A&R WORK AND I'VE DONE A&R WORK FOR 3 LABELS.....YOUR SHIT IS GOING STRAIGHT TO THE TRASH. SIMPLE.
3. NETWORK!!!!! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO. GET TO KNOW THE LITTLE PEOPLE. THAT'S HOW YOU GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR AND GET YOUR SHIT HEARD OR MENTIONED.
4. ON YOUR DEMOS........SPEND SOME FUCKING MONEY ON THE ARTWORK!!!!! THIS IS VERY, VERY, VERRRRRY IMPORTANT. IF YOUR DEMO HAS WORDS WRITTEN IN MAGIC MARKER, IT'S GOING TO THE TRASH. AS AN A&R, GET MY ATTENTION WITH YOUR ARTWORK ON YOUR DEMO C.D. ( NOTICE I SAID C.D.......NO ONE DOES TAPES ANYMORE!)
5. ALSO, PUT YOUR CONTACT INFO ON THE DEMO COVER AND THE ACTUAL C.D.
6. COPYRIGHT YOUR SHIT! TRUST ME, IF IT'S HOT AND IT'S NOT COPYRIGHTED, IT WILL GET TAKEN.
7. FOR THE LAST TIME, SENDING ME COUNTLESS EMAILS AND COMMENTS DOESN'T GET YOU NOTICED. IT BECOMES IRRITATING AND MAKES SURE THAT YOUR STUFF IS NOT HEARD. IF YOU SEND ME YOUR DEMOS, I DON'T LISTEN TO THEM. I DON'T EVEN READ MY OWN EMAILS OK. YOUR STUFF IS HEARD BY A STAFF FOR THE LABEL. IF THEY THINK IT'S HOT, THEN IT GETS FORWARDED TO ME. IF I THINK IT'S HOT, THEN I FORWARD IT FURTHER. SO WHEN I DON'T RESPOND TO YOU, SAVE YOUR HATE EMAIL & COMMENTS BECAUSE I HAVE NO CONTROL OVER IT. PLEASE CONTINUE TO SEND YOUR STUFF TO TWENTY2_TWOS@HOTMAIL.COM. ONE

11:29 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

New York Tour Guide

Look fam, don't ask me to show u around the city, I'm not a tour guide.  Don't ask where this place is or how to get to that place, buy a map! I'm not here to give tours or give directions. 

7:42 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment