Q Dot

New show dates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 May 2016 14:28:00 +0000

Tell a friend. :-)

How I painted my vintage travel trailer to a new glossy look.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 21:41:00 +0000

So let me preface this by saying I do not consider myself to be a handy guy. Sure I've worked on my cars and nailed a few screws but nothing Bob Vila would be proud of.

We had been on the hunt for a motor home/trailer/pop up for over a year when just last weekend, this old 1983 24' Komfort Travel Trailer popped up on Craigslist.

Ugly right? Everything is pretty much original inside and out. So if it's gonna be on our street in front of our house I needed to paint it.

But how?

Remember I'm not a handy guy. So I took to Pinterest and YouTube and found hundreds of people have repainted their RVs using nothing more than their imagination, about $50 and some Rustoleum brand paint.

So that's what I did! And this...

Became this...

And eventually this...

We (obviously) went with a Seahawks color scheme and with about 18 cans of paint, primer and topcoat (altogether, not each) she came out like this!

I still need to do some caulking and of course the interior, and the lines aren't perfect (there are several runs in the paint and areas where the lines don't cover the old color scheme) but all in all were happy!

If ya wanna know exactly what I used here it is:

Along with the automotive grade topcoat also made by rustoleum. Any questions feel free to hit me up!

iamqdot@gmail.com

2 things musicians can do today to go from aspiring to full time musician

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 20:39:00 +0000

So what does it take to go from aspiring, part time musician to full time in today's music business?

You hate your dayjob huh?

There's no clear cut answer to this question because everyone's circumstances are different BUT even with that said, there are some things you can do today to get things moving in that direction.

So first things first...

1. F*ck your idea of "making it".

The first step to conquering an addiction is admitting you have a problem. Well in this case, you first have to admit that you know NOTHING about the music business. Yes, you're a great observer of things and you mean well in your observations of why certain artists make it or why they don't but the truth is, you're only pointing out the part of the story that was made public. That's perfectly okay because that's how our brains work, the problem is when you take those observations to heart and try to make them fit into your situation. It's not that simple. But on the other hand it's easier than you think when you pull back the bullshit.

If you want to be famous more than anything, skip the rest of this. If you want to make a living in the music business keep reading.

Touring is obviously the easiest way to start making money in music and it's really not rocket science - especially if you're a hip hop artist. If you can sell 200 tickets per night, you're the norm amongst your peers. I did some rough research in my last months of my Masters degree program that revealed Hip Hop tours do anywhere from 180-200 tickets per show when you take out the few top grossing hip hop tours.

So let's do some math here using less than average figures. Say you can swing 100 tickets a night and you play 40 shows a year. That equals out to 10 shows every 3 months which is fairly manageable at 10 bucks a pop (slightly less than the median ticket price). Well you've just made yourself $40K a year. That's before merch, that's before streaming royalties, that's before licensing or sponsorships.

I get it, you don't know how to book a tour or you THINK you should be getting a fat guarantee every show. Newsflash, countless bands learn how to use the tools and resources out there and they know that guarantees only come when you're proven in a market. Plus door deals are typically better than the guarantee for artists starting out so take it!

Read: 3 Tips to opening for big name artists

2. Build a system, culture and philosophy.

If there's one nugget you take from this article it's this. Every thing around you that works well does so because of an efficient system and clear philosophy. McDonalds franchises are wildly successful because they have a system that works. You know can buy a better burger at countless places, hell you can make a better burger than McDonalds can at home, but their tried and true system of fast, reliable, consistent service is unbeatable. It's unhealthy as f*ck and that's been documented countless times over but it fits the schedules of busy Americans and people keep going back.

Look at successful sports teams as another source of great systems, cultures and philosophies. Since Pete Carroll took over the Seattle Seahawks, he implemented a system and a philosophy that players buy into and the result is a culture of winning evidenced by multiple years of playoff appearances and 2 super bowl appearances including 1 one win. Surprise surprise, it was the same system Pete Carroll used when he coached USC.

I'm getting a PhD in I/O Psychology.
But you don't need to do that.

Phil Jackson is another successful coach who built a system that as long as he had the right players would work. It was called the triangle, a complex system that some players hated to play in and some could never catch on to but regardless Phil Jackson has won championships using the system coupled with his Zen philosophy. This bred a culture of winning no matter where he went.

You may be thinking - hey i'm an artist, I don't wanna do ANY of this shit. Well then you don't want to be in this business because the one thing harder than doing these things on your own is finding someone who can do them for you - and let's be real, you don't have the money to hire anyone. If it makes you feel any better, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were horrible bosses by a lot of accounts but they too were phenomenal creators who happened to lead a company.

Read: Guess what? The economics favor indie musicians

3. Conclusion

All in all, the first steps you gotta take to making music a career is to change your entire thought process about the music business because chances are your paradigm is warped. And even if it isn't, it's safe to assume that you've probably tried some of everything that you've seen someone else do in order to "make it" and it simply doesn't apply to you because the things you've observed were only part of the story.

Once you've cleared your mind of the bullshit and start to focus on the things that absolutely matter for your career to flourish, stick to it. It won't alway be perfect but that's the good thing, you're working out a system, building a culture around you and developing a philosophy for success. .

Watch: Black Gold a year later

Black Gold, a year later.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 02:10:00 +0000

Black Gold one year later
Hey friends, peep out the video. Black Gold, a year later. (turn on the sound!)

Camera operator and dancers needed!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 18:46:00 +0000

Hey friends. So i'm looking for a camera operator and a couple of dancers for two music videos i'm shooting next month.

Details:

Camera operator doesn't need to have their own camera but more than welcome to bring his/her own. Lighting may be needed so if you have that, that's a plus. I already have the editing handled so this is just a couple hours of shooting.

Dancers with choreography skills please. I have the overall idea of what I want to see but i'm no dancer. Also, be comfortable dancing outside, possibly in some beautiful liquid sunshine.

Locations are already set for the south sound area, so all the better if you're in the Tacoma/Fed way-ish side of things.

Target date to shoot is next month. Pass this along to someone you may think be a good fit for this!

Please email me iamqdot@gmail.com for information.

P.S. oh yea the songs are Soul Clap and Soul Clap Revival.

Is there racial bias between hip hop and live music?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 16:31:00 +0000

November 22, 2013 I did what countless people dream to do, I quit my day job to pursue my passion. I walked away from the security of an every two week paycheck to endure life as a touring musician playing venues and places I had never seen in hopes of building new fans. It’s pretty much worked out - for the most part. Sounds romantic enough right?

What I wasn’t prepared for was just how much of a challenge I was to face being a DIY artist booking my own tour dates. And by challenge, I don’t mean just the thousands of emails having to be sent out or the countless number of follow up phone calls, that was to be expected. What i’m talking about isn’t just hearing a ton of “no’s” but dealing with what accompanies the “no”.

To give a little perspective, part of the booking process for me is to research the venues thoroughly before I even contact them. If it’s a different venue in a market I have already played well that’s all good too I just need to know for sure this is a good fit and part of that good fit is seeing who has played and who is scheduled to play. If I spot a consistent showing of hip hop acts, they’re most likely a venue i’d like to deal with. I’ll say this, more times than not, and as evidenced by the amount of shows i’ve played since 2013, my dealings are with good people who wanna work but from time to time I get a reply that leaves more questions than answers. It generally is one of the following:

“We don’t book hip hop”, “We don’t want the crowd hip hop brings” or my favorite “Hip Hop doesn’t do well here”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
'WE'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU BUT THE ONLY WAY THIS WILL WORK IS IF WE PAIR YOU WITH SOMEONE WHO REFLECTS OUR AUDIENCE"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Or even the more brash response I got from a college in upstate NY:

“We’d love to have you but the only way this will work is if we pair you with someone who reflects our audience”

Remember, i’ve done my homework on these venues and might have even played their city before and this is where the question of racism and live music comes into play.

Q Dot

Admittedly, I want to play as many shows as I possibly can, so naturally, I make sure to follow the routes of hip hop artists who I see tour the most. For example, back in 2013 I tracked down Macklemore’s tour history of smaller venues around the country, i’ve done the same with just about anyone signed to indie hip hop powerhouse Rhymesayers as well as up and comers that are hitting the tour circuit. The common denominator is those are mostly all “safe” white hip hop artists with booking agents. Make no mistake, anyone who’s followed my music knows the “crowd” my music leans toward isn’t necessarily a rowdy bunch and isn’t skewed one color or another and to say that Hip Hop doesn’t do well there or they don’t book hip hop is an out an out lie because they’ve booked these guys in the past or they -and guys like them- are on the future calendar. And for sake of argument i’ve had plenty of venues and promoters plainly spell out that my lack of history in a market could alter what day they give me for a show but it doesn’t keep me from being able to book one.

So goes the question again, is there racial bias between hip hop and the live music industry?

Of all the venues i’ve played (well over 200) in all the markets (48 and counting) there has been 5 bookers/promoters who openly identified as specializing in hip hop (notice i didn’t say black or white, just hip hop). Not just a guy with a passive interest in the genre but hip hop is their number one thing they work in. I can’t help but wonder if that has something to do with it all. Here I am reaching out to a guy or gal who’s a booker at reputable venue in a certain city who also plays in some obscure indie folk rock band or a metal band or any other band but a hip hop band and who’s favorite experiences with hip hop go back to RUN DMC and KRS-1 or most recently hearing G-Eazy for the first time. No offense to the former but those guys are several generational shifts in hip hop ago.

My honest opinion is there is some racial bias between hip hop and live music. I don’t know to what degree but I believe my ability to work has been effected by it. Sure, in the case of the super star acts the money speaks louder than skin color, I get that. Still, I think there’s a ton of venues out there that will only book a “certain brand” of hip hop simply out of fear and lack of knowledge and while I realize that i’ve been fortunate enough to actually tour where a LOT of artists are not, I do know that i’ve been in a weird spot of only being able to play certain markets. There will always be those markets that Macklemore in his earlier days, Grieves, Brother Ali, Sam Lachow, G-Eazy and Lil Dicky will be able to play that until I hit some form of epic superstardom I will not be welcome in.

But regardless, the grind continues.

Truths

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 16:11:00 +0000

I know I'm not the most famous or most talked about artist out there. In fact, I know a lot of people probably ask how the hell do I do it BECAUSE I'm not famous or talked about artist out there. Hell, I barely post music on a consistent basis.

I know everything I'm not. I know all the blogs and trendy music websites don't post about me -maybe one day? I know I'm not going around and selling out every show I play.

But I know I'm working and when music is your only career/job and you have a family like I do you had better be working. I know that those that support me respect that. It's been a struggle for me to adjust to being a dad and a husband juggling a music career but it's the most beautiful struggle I could imagine.

Ever since I lost the record contract with Interscope over a decade ago (before it even got signed mind you) I've been committed to creating my own path and doing it in unconventional ways. Being completely independent, continually learning the craft and business, and always giving back no matter what level of success I have or don't have.

I know full well what I'm not as it pertains to people's narrow standards of success in the music business. I also know full well what I am: pretty damn successful in my own right and I've got a chip on my shoulder the size of Mt. Rainier. In other words, when I'm on my shit I'm tough to bring down.

The original Rebel, dreamer and overachiever.

#happyveteransday

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 19:54:00 +0000

Some people don't think Hip Hop artists should be patriotic but I am. I have the utmost respect for the men and women who serve in the military.

The man I talk about in the first verse of Black Gold is my grandfather who not only integrated schools in Kentucky but also served in both Army and Navy.

The friends I've made in music have mostly been veterans or the children of veterans (living 20 miles from base will do that). So happy Veterans Day to you all. May you enjoy your free meals today :-)

Back at Juice Radio!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 23:51:00 +0000

Hey my friends!

So after a couple years of deliberately stepping away from the internet radio station I had a hand in starting, gojuiceradio.com, i'm coming back.

It wasn't exactly planned, but i'm excited at what we can accomplish. Especially, seeing the original mission of being the type of platform that gives music a chance regardless of if it's signed, independent or mainstream come to life.

There's not much in this industry that bothers me more than the lack of access that artists face when trying to get a career started. I know all too well the struggle of being an one of those artists that need to tour but no agents will sign them, needing a strategy and a little funding but labels are losing money and not developing new artists and then there's the radio - the medium that's supposed to introduce music to eager audiences and be a conduit for interactivity amongst a community has been out of reach for the majority of artists making music since it's inception. The bad part is that radio is still has the #1 impact on album sales and we see as stations have consolidated and fewer and fewer artists are able to break through to large audiences that now more than ever the need for a platform like Juice Radio.

I'm not saying we're going to flip a switch and have an audience as big as some of the big corporate radio giants, because honestly right now, this station is far from that. But what we can be is the FIRST station artists of all sizes turn to when they want to break a new record. The station that true hip hop fans of all styles can turn to in order to hear what's new. It will take a lot of work, a lot of trying things out and a lot of support from you real hip hop fans to make this the kind of station you wish you had on the radio dial but DO have anywhere you can connect to the internet.

That's the goal.

See you at the top.

Q

Why the Seahawks are better off than we think

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 16:38:00 +0000

As much as everyone would rather have Kam on the field, for coaches like Pete Carroll, a super star holdout is a dream come true.

2 back-to-back super bowl appearances and a bunch of big paydays likely makes it tough to motivate guys especially for as young as they are but Pete, like most good coaches, has his finest hour and thrives in situations where motivating his team through adversity that's in front of them is necessary.

Of course we'll see how this all plays out but I think we're not giving enough credit to Pete's ability to motivate and coach - especially through seemingly insurmountable adversity.

#GoHawks

Travel Journal: Chicago x Philly

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 19:43:00 +0000

Travel Journal: Lake Cle Elum

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 18:32:00 +0000

Indies are in the drivers seat.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:51:00 +0000

Guess what.

The game is changing. It's been changing. Did you get the memo?

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this ultimately means the music economy as it sits today has changed how musicians do business. And for a lot of hip hop artists this means changing DRASTICALLY the goals of your career and how you approach them.

I know a lot of musicians don't think of themselves as businesses and only want to focus on the creative aspect of what they do. Those days are over if you actually want to make a living sooner than later.

Why?

Streaming.

Streaming makes up 40% of record label income and same is true for musicians. But that's scary. Because in order to make $1000 a month you've gotta be pulling 200,000+ streams a month. 1M streams per month means you're making over 5 grand a month but lets' be honest. Majority of musicians aren't pulling those types of numbers and if you're with a label, they're getting the lion's share of that money.

What else is standing in the way?

Touring.

For majority of artists out there, touring is the #1 source of income but most can't afford to hit the road. You'd have to plan the tour while working that day job, you have to book it yourself because no agent is going to work with a new artist with no history, then hit the road which has a whole other set of logistics and costs attached to it that you'd better be prepared for. But say you're the average Hip Hop artist and your doing 185 tickets a night. At a $10 ticket that 1850 a night before you hit expenses. Again, at 185 tickets that leaves your agent with $185-370 dollars a night of which he probably spent the better part of a week trying to book. So again, you don't have an agent and if you do, you're both eating top ramen.

So let's say you have a label and you go on a 10 city tour and you're ACTUALLY getting 200K streams a month. Yes you're "on" but are your lights?

Long story short, the economics of the music business are favoring the independents these days and competing could require a lot of formal training in the artists part or hiring staff on minimal budgets to make things happen.

Straight Outta Compton an honest review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 18:47:00 +0000

Any movie that can make me feel something genuine is an automatic winner to me.

All my favorite movies have a premise that I connect with on a much deeper level than just what's happening on the screen. For example: 300, Braveheart and Gladiator are some of my favorite movies of all time because I not only have a strong interest in those periods of history but because each of those characters were the epitome of the underdog. If there could be something one step below underdog they're it and being an independent musician, I feel like every day of my existence is about fighting a battle i'm in no shape supposed to win.

But Straight Outta Compton takes it one step further.

When the storyline finally started to develop I couldn't help but feel the feelings of being about 9 years old when my oldest brother Marcus would come home from the studio with demos of politically charged raps in the same vein as NWA. This is the early 90s when not everybody had a computer and some free version of recording software so not everyone was a rapper, this was a really big deal. My older brother had all of those NWA records on tape too and I would dub over one of my Dad's old tapes some NWA or some Dr. Dre records, sneak a walkman he had lying around and bring the profanity filled rap music to school. I was in elementary school and playing the Clarinet in band where me and my boy Jereme would try to learn the melodies before lessons began.

There was so much excitement around all of that. All this discovery was happening and all this culture was taking shape and I was witnessing it. This was a crucial time for me as a very young musician as it was also for hip hop music. NWA had a crucial part of my musical childhood and this movie made me feel all that and more.

Seeing NWA in the studio just trying to figure it out in the beginning took me back to when i'd bring a 4-track recorder I got as a Christmas gift to school with beats I made on my brothers old sampler to record my friends. My first times in the booth were terrible but it was the bond me and my boys built that was the key and theres a lot of that in Straight Outta Compton. These guys were working on something special and they knew it.

All in all, if you like feeling nostalgic and seeing an insightful recreation of a crucial part of hip hop history, black history and american history this is it. No question.

The Circle of Coolness

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 21:40:00 +0000

In music, every couple years, there's a new circle of coolness that pops up be it locally or nationally. A couple guys or gals that seem like they're every where for that moment.

They reach all kinds of pinnacles of coolness. They get added to the most hyped shows, the biggest festivals, every alternative paper in town writes about them, the coolest blogs cover everything they post on soundcloud and the self-proclaimed tastemakers can't get enough of them.

I've seen about 4 cycles of the circle of coolness come through the Northwest and about 5 cycles of the circle of coolness on a national level.

Meanwhile, outside of the circle of coolness, are guys and gals like me who while feeling a little inadequate in the popularity department look up and realize we've actually traveled beyond where those in the circle of coolness can go.

We just slowly keep trucking along, doing what we do. Waving at the kids in the circle, bidding them a bittersweet farewell we still kinda wish we were as coveted as them and yet we find ourselves moving past all of them. And as time passes and career milestones are quietly reached, we know exactly where to find the cool kids. Right where we left em with they cool asses, waaay back there, in that circle of coolness they can't seem to get out of.

You think you know, but you have no idea

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 01:00:00 +0000

Being an independent musician can be the most rewarding, most frustrating profession in the world.

You can spend years just to make a great living and you can go broke before you know it.

I do all my work myself. With the exception of some guidance from my good friend Maurice, I've figured this crapshoot of an industry out on my own. Or should I say, learned how to answer the questions when they come.

But I love it.

Wouldn't rather do anything else.

I hate hip hop.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 21:59:00 +0000

I love Hip Hop. I love the culture, I love the music, the art, the expression, the energy, the attitude, the history, the innovation and what Hip Hop stands for but I hate where it's at. Both as a culture and as an industry.

I hate the division. I hate that instead of just hip hop we have: west coast, east coast, trap, dirty south, backpack, lyrical, political, alternative, midwest, texas chopped & screwed, gangsta, fratboy rap, hip pop and urban. Why can't we just have Hip Hop? Why can't I see a show featuring all of that? Why is that the DJ and MC have separate nights? Wasn't 2 turntables and a microphone how this started? Why do you go to the club and hate to see a performer rock a set? Why do you go to a show and hate the host DJ playing songs on the radio? Why can't they be one in the same?

I hate that our heroes and our warriors who fought for the rise of hip hop didn't leave an institutional foundation for those who came after them to be a part of, thus, making every single last one of us to have to start from the bottom. We've seen multimillionaires, and now a billionaire come from our culture from literally every facet from the music, the fashion and the art and yet no one has started their own distribution. No one has funded a touring promotion agency. No one has started a radio conglomerate. They took their money and ran away to whatever else would make them more.

I hate that "hustling" and "being a boss" is the method and the goal instead of practicing diligence and sound business practices, acquiring knowledge and being a leader.

I hate that we sacrifice the opportunity to further the perception and value of our art form and culture for the sake of a few likes and plays, giving away our intelligence for free.

I hate that we have no ownership of our industry. We don't work to support our music and culture in the ways that would be of a tangible, sound benefit. Who's booking Hip hop acts? Who's playing New Hip Hop on the radio dial? Who's advocating for the livelihood of Hip hop? No one.

Jay-Z didn't leave a blueprint. That was a lie. 3 times over. And I hate that too.

But I also love that because we lack all of this, we now have an opportunity to right the ship. Starting a label won't change a damn thing. But i'm down to be involved because I love Hip Hop and instead of watching it die this horrible slow death (the industry, not the culture) I want to see some things change.

You wit it or what?

Hip Hop isn't dead but the business is dying: Part 2 - Hip Hop and the concert business.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 20:31:00 +0000

Before we start on this topic let’s recap the previous post on Hip Hop and the Radio.

Number of Hip Hop Stations in the US: 0

*Number of Urban Stations in the US: 176 and slowly declining

Number of Country Stations in comparison in the US: 2000+

*Where urban is defined as a mixed playlist of pop, dance, R&B and Hip Hop while not dedicated to any one main genre.

Outlook: Extremely difficult to compete.

In Hip Hop’s heyday (90s and early 2000s), the top Hip Hop artists we’re touring in arenas pulling in attendance numbers in the 1k and higher range, the mid level acts including regional stars would fill 500+ capacity rooms with relative ease. This was also the time frame when the Billboard charts was dominated by Hip Hop and R&B, Hip Hop ruled the airwaves, ruled album sales and also the concert arena. Now Hip Hop is 4^th fiddle to Country, Pop and EDM.

There’s a very grim statistical estimate that states that of the thousands of acts represented by large to mid sized booking agencies (CAA, Agency Group, Madison House, William Morris, Windish, ICM, etc.) the number of those artists being Hip Hop or Urban is under 10%.

*This is for actual booking agencies not brokerage companies that serve as a middle man to the middle man like De la font agency and countless others. It also leaves out the handful of Live Nation acts.

I just did a once over on all of those companies rosters and I’d say it’s closer to 5% tops. Some popular agencies like Billions have 2 hip-hop artists on a roster eclipsing 210 artists.

This isn’t by accident my friends, this is by reaction of Hip Hop’s rapid decline.

This doesn’t mean that hip hop artists aren’t touring – no, there are plenty of hip hop artists touring but the money in hip hop touring has all but dried up thanks to the deteriorating system designed to support it. Proof?

According to Pollstar the touring industry trade magazine and website, over the past decade, the number of hip hop or Urban tours in the top 25 grossing tours has been exactly 8 and 4 of those have included members of or close affiliates to the Carter family (Jay-Z, Beyonce and Kanye West) the others belonging to Lil Wayne, Drake and Eminem. 8 Hip Hop tours made the list out of 250 my friends.

But now lets bring that down to the “average” Hip Hop tour. What is average?

According to the averages taken via Pollstar and the limited information on tour numbers available through other sources like Reverbnation and Songkick the average attendance per hip hop concert is 102.

Think about the capacity of venue you last saw one of your favorite rappers in chances are it was in a sub 500 capacity room where a number of tours stop (think Lincoln Hall in Chicago, Crocodile or Nectar in Seattle, Brick & Mortar in San Francisco)…and it probably wasn’t a sold out show. In fact, according to numbers available on Pollstar, just under 1 in every 20 Hip Hop shows actually sells out across the nation, of those that are not a mega star tour in a 1k-5k cap or higher venue, those sellouts are more likely to happen in sub 500 capacity venues.

There’s two economic factors here at work that I want to point out.

1. Rappers often claim absurd payouts they get per show but the median ticket price for a concert in a 500 cap hall is $13 (ranging from $8-20 and in some rare instances as high as $25). If the concert sells out at that price it grossed $6500 in tickets. The average bar tab in a city like Seattle is $11 per patron, which combined with tickets would equal $12,000 in gross not factoring in marketing and advertising expenses. If it’s the average show, you’re looking at $1326 in tickets and $1122 at the bar which is $2448 before expenses.

2. If you’re an agent getting 10% and you’re acts are doing the average 102 people a night at a $13 ticket your getting $132 bucks a night. You’d need 50 shows to crack $6600. That’s a lot of work for only 6600 bucks.

That said, these agencies and their agents aren’t dummies. They may not be following the money (like in Country – but Nashville is very self contained as it is, they have their own booking agencies) but they’re definitely steering clear of the trap that non-superstar acts in Hip Hop provide: One where the artists probably aren’t going to have the resources to tour 50+ dates a year (i.e, a van, a license, support from a label, etc.) and have a slew of misconceptions about what touring entails.

But what about guarantees: Long story short, majority of acts aren’t getting big guarantees to tour. For one offs sure, but go back through those numbers and tell me how much you think an artist might actually be worth. Unless you’re an established act who can pull in a $20+ ticket or increase attendance to the 300-500 range, chances are you’re getting a door deal which if you can pull the average isn’t a bad thing. Even then those guarantees have to be feasible for the promoter if they want to stay alive. Sure the fly by night and newbie promoters hear quotes and think “oh that’s about right” and after booking festivals I know artists can quote outrageous numbers. But take it from someone who’s booked acts and been booked at various points of my career: It’s ALL about what you’re worth in a particular market.

Think about that the next time you hear of rappers saying they get $10,000 or more a show. Because there’s a great chance that while they may quote that, they’re not getting that.

How do we remedy this? There is a good number of promoters who only will book the big ticket quoted acts and then when they find out the hard way they overpaid, they’re out of business. There aren’t very many venues owned and operated by those who actually cater towards Hip Hop on a regular basis. And the hip-hop tours that are non-superstar related as a whole aren’t doing much more than coffee shop numbers.

Really stacked mid level tour packages could be a short-term fix to help a long-term problem. Who wouldn’t pay $20 to see a tour of say, Dom Kennedy and Stevie Stone? Or $10-$15 to see a smaller tour with guys like Gerald Walker and Myself? It could work but that takes combating the bigger issue of misconceptions on what artists are worth in addition to tempering expectations and egos to make it work out.

Someone taking the initiative to build a Hip Hop agency or agencies is another lane to fill. If you don't mind working really hard for small numbers it could be to the benefit of the genre as a whole.

Hip Hop isn't dead, but the business is dying: Part 1 - Hip Hop and The Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 23:10:00 +0000

I know you hate the radio. I do too.

The same 10 damn songs over and over again all day blah blah blah. One day you’re just gonna get Sirius Satellite or get a Pandora account and listen to that because the radio sucks. We’ve all said it but if you’re the average American, you don’t mean it and as it pertains to the popularity and sales of music, you cannot discount radio. Yes, I’m a huge advocate for social media and it’s impact on the way artists attract new fans. I have a Master’s Degree in Internet Marketing, my latest EP charted on iTunes and I’ve had my best tour run to date this year in large part due to social media. It’s a huge platform for all artists, but it still isn’t the biggest indicator, predictor or have the impact on music sales that terrestrial radio does. If you have a song spinning 100+ times a week on commercial radio across the country, chances are you’re going to be on Billboard and the future looks immensely bright for you.

As the old saying goes “Radio Sells Records.”

According to a recent study by Statista, Country Radio accounts for 2,014 of The US’s 10,867 commercial stations, the largest number of any genre and format. In fact Country nearly doubles up it’s closest competitor, the News/Talk format, at 1,497 stations.

But what about Hip Hop? Therein lies the first issue with Hip Hop radio.

Before we get to the number of Hip Hop stations let’s point out that there is no such thing as Hip Hop radio on the AM/FM dial. What there is though, is Urban and it’s variants: Urban Adult Contemporary, Rhythmic Adult Contemporary and well, that’s about it. But what the fuck is “Urban” anyway? I’ve never heard anyone say when asked what style of music they make to reply with “yea I make urban music”. Sure I’ve heard some idiots say ‘I make more mainstream stuff” – even though they’re actually NOT mainstream but actually virtually unknown but this “urban” thing is what? Urban today is some weird mashup of R&B and Rap music where Drake, Chris Brown, Flo-Rida and whatever flavor of the week worldstar darling artist from Atlanta lives and should someone like say a Kendrick Lamar release an album so huge they can’t ignore it, there’s room for them there too. Did I mention that there are only 176 of those stations combined in the US? 176!

So what does that mean for the Hip Hop artist or Hip Hop label? Well it means there’s no commercial platform on the most influential medium of music sales for your artists because there aren’t Hip Hop radio stations. And where they DO play music similar to or stemming from Hip Hop, you’ll have to compete with those bonafide “Urban” acts like Drake and other bonafide Hip Hop megastars like Jay-Z, Eminem and Kanye West for a slot…on 176 stations.

Put that in comparison with Country where the new Country band Billy Joe Awesome and The Shitkickin’ Country Boys (not a real group) have over 2000 -COUNT THEM 2000- stations to try and gain traction on to build a story at radio and introduce their music to audiences everywhere. If the top 176 Country stations in the US pass on Billy Joe Awesome and The Shitkickin Country Boys’ new single guess what – he has 1,824 more stations he can plug away at.

As far as Hip Hop goes, on the radio it’s slowly becoming smooth jazz, the once popular format that radio programmers bolted from in the last few years citing low revenue numbers. Smooth Jazz’s problem wasn’t the number of listeners it attracted it was the market it attracted which was as random as it was wide and subsequently can’t be monetized because it’s so broad of a market. Furthermore, who could get a beat on what smooth jazz really is or was? It’s not traditional jazz and it’s not R&B although elements of both are present, the same way Urban isn’t really 100% Hip Hop nor is it 100% R&B nor is it 100% true Pop music. Counter in the fact that Hip Hop used to be the dominant genre on the radio in the late 90s and now it’s been quietly slipping away to new formats…even the newest trend “classic hip hop” which plays all the joints from well, the 90s and early 2000s and you have a very telling tale that Hip Hop isn’t dead but the business is dying.

How does this get remedied? Time and patience and a plan to make Hip Hop viable on radio again but in the meantime? Embracing new media like internet radio is going to have to do and because of that, lowering our expectations on how Hip Hop’s burgeoning stars operate and succeed. It won’t look like it used to and it’s already that way if you look close enough. Also because of this, artists will have to be prepared to know that playing the law of averages means maybe a 100,000 copy selling album is the ceiling.

Next: Hip Hop isn’t dead, but the business is dying: Part 2 - Hip Hop and Concerts

The Kick, Ep.1 ft Q Dot

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 16:59:00 +0000

A lot of people have asked me in private about what it takes to go from wanting to pursue a dream and actually living it. Mind you, I don't have the keys to castle so to say and i'm definitely far from where I really want to be, I had the pleasure of talking with my buddy MikeDrastic about this very topic on the first episode of "The Kick"

Check it out and share it with someone who could benefit from the info.

Q Dot - Black Gold

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 20:04:00 +0000

Well my friends, Black Gold made it to MTV. Slowly but surely this thing is working. =D

Q Dot - Black Gold

Q Dot @ The Spud Goodman show "Black Gold" Live

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 Apr 2015 18:26:00 +0000

TownTalk Q Dot interview

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 19:44:00 +0000

Q Dot - Black Gold (official music video)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:26:00 +0000

Q Dot - Black Gold (official music video)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:26:00 +0000