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GAF-Hop |OT7| Either die the GOAT or live long enough to become Nas.

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D

DominoKid

Member
RIAA's new streaming policy is discriminatory to hip-hop

Sites like DatPiff and LiveMixtapes should be a part of Billboard's gold and platinum equation

As SPIN reported via Billboard last week, the Recording Industry Association of America announced that it will now count the number of streams an album receives towards its gold and platinum status. The services whose streams will be considered are MOG, Muve Music, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify, and Xbox Music. Also, video views from MTV.com, VEVO, Yahoo! Music, and YouTube are going to be factored in. A hundred streams will count as one download, because, well, the RIAA says so.

Although this looks like an aging-out aspect of the industry acknowledging the present, it will have devastating effects for hip-hop and, ultimately, may leave the genre further out on the margins of the pop mainstream. See, the RIAA has not taken into account many of the locations where streaming rap music is most significant: Namely, mixtape sites like DatPiff and LiveMixtapes, and populist video websites like WorldStarHipHop. These are the places where regular, work-a-day rap listeners are consuming their music. Often, rap songs that later make it to the radio or MTV, or get placed on albums and, therefore, land on streaming sites like Spotify, begin on free-to-download mixtapes via sites like DatPiff.

LiveMixTapes even has an excellent smart-phone application that allows you to stream, say, the new Young Scooter mixtape. These streams must be tallied if the RIAA is looking for an accurate representation of hip-hop popularity. Consider rapper Chief Keef, who broke into the mainstream by way of a Kanye West co-sign and the "I Don't Like" remix, but whose success was significant well before those industry accolades. When Keef began receiving mainstream attention, the video for his song "Bang" was already pushing 500,000 views. Currently, the DatPiff statistics for his 2012 mixtape Back from The Dead are as follows: 396,567 streams and 506,225 downloads. And that's just from one mixtape-streaming website. If the goal of the RIAA is to reflect how people are consuming music, then taking into account the anomalies specific to hip-hop seems necessary. As is, all other genres receive a leg-up in terms of quantified success by way of streams.

Last fall, when Billboard made the decision to now consider digital download sales and data based on streaming music, the intention was to move away from genre charts, which are "fueled solely by radio airplay." It significantly diminished the importance of radio, a corporate-controlled monster in most other genres, but one that is far more listener-friendly in the world of hip-hop. The effect for rap was pushing K-pop phenomenon "Gangnam Style" to the top of the rap chart, even though the song received zero rap-radio airplay. By not acknowledging the contingencies of rap success in 2013, the same mistakes are being made by the RIAA.

The refusal to note the adjustments to hip-hop, at a time when the genre is being otherwise erased from the mainstream is not just a naïve oversight, but a misunderstanding of the genre and how it functions right now. RIAA Chairman and Chief Executive Cary Sherman told Billboard that the RIAA "felt that pure economics should not be the basis for acknowledging artistic achievement." That quote sounds encouraging — a move towards accepting the free-culture elements of popular music in the 2010s. And rap's free mixtape culture, which the RIAA has not taken into account, is a prime example of "artistic achievement" ("achievement" really just means "success") separate from "pure economics." If the RIAA's goal is to adjust to changing times, they would be wise to consider the contingencies of hip-hop music consumption, as well.
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E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
DominoKid said:
RIAA's new streaming policy is discriminatory to hip-hop
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Methinks this might have to do with them not passing through some sort of check to see if they can reliably count stream numbers. Sorta like how YT has an aggressive, behind the scenes equation for what they constitute as a view. Either that or they couldn't amend their site or system in time, being smaller sites and all.

Doesn't mean much though I think, just iTunes is notably absent from that list.

Macca said:
You better not be referring to what I think you are. And if you are, cut that fucking shit out.
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:lol
 
R

Recon

Banned
WanderingWind said:
Uh, to get in a less banny topic, we 2013 has been an enormous crash to earth. This entire year has sucked monkey anus.
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Maybe for you, but most of the stuff I listen to on the daily is from 2013. Add in other genres( 20/20, RAM, etc) and it has already been a fantastic year, for me at least.

mooooose said:
TBH all of TDE's releases that were "albums" should've been free.
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I dont know, s80 is better than most albums released in 2011. Soul's album was great too. I think Q's should have been free, but thats because it was pretty hit or miss for me.
 
R

Recon

Banned
Also, I listened to RAM for the first time today.....That first track...I was just riding around with the windows down, such good music.
 
M

mooooose

Member
Recon said:
I dont know, s80 is better than most albums released in 2011. Soul's album was great too. I think Q's should have been free, but thats because it was pretty hit or miss for me.
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It's not even about quality, it's about distribution, marketing, market placement, etc. It's their prerogative to sell the tapes but no one bought it and if it was somehow stuck behind a paywall then Kendrick, Soul, and Q wouldn't be as big as they are now.
 
R

Recon

Banned
mooooose said:
It's not even about quality, it's about distribution, marketing, market placement, etc. It's their prerogative to sell the tapes but no one bought it and if it was somehow stuck behind a paywall then Kendrick, Soul, and Q wouldn't be as big as they are now.
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What are you even saying?
 
E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Recon said:
Maybe for you, but most of the stuff I listen to on the daily is from 2013. Add in other genres( 20/20, RAM, etc) and it has already been a fantastic year, for me at least.
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20/20 and RAM are at the top of my list for albums I like this year. But if I had to come up with the best hip-hop thing I listened to this year, all that comes to mind is Rocky's solo. And then I'm sad because that's the best I can think of and I though it was okay, but not something I'd consider top 10 material. I spent most of the year catching up on the previous year's stuff.
 
Z

Zeus Molecules

illegal immigrants are stealing our air
enzo_gt said:
20/20 and RAM are at the top of my list for albums I like this year. But if I had to come up with the best hip-hop thing I listened to this year, all that comes to mind is Rocky's solo. And then I'm sad because that's the best I can think of and I though it was okay, but not something I'd consider top 10 material. I spent most of the year catching up on the previous year's stuff.
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so only a few weeks to go and until halfway through this year and I got to say 2013 is not up to par with 2012 and 2011 for album quality or even number of albums that are really good. I mean not one album this year would be on a top ten of albums dropped since 2011. And you know who I blame for this ..... Fucking Lord Finesse.... Fuck him and his "I need royalty money from mixtapes"
 
R

Recon

Banned
enzo_gt said:
20/20 and RAM are at the top of my list for albums I like this year. But if I had to come up with the best hip-hop thing I listened to this year, all that comes to mind is Rocky's solo. And then I'm sad because that's the best I can think of and I though it was okay, but not something I'd consider top 10 material. I spent most of the year catching up on the previous year's stuff.
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KRIT tape, Rocky Fresh had two tapes, J.Cole had two mini tapes. Ace Hood with Starvation 2. Ethel Wulf had a dope short mixtape. That is just off the top of my head, I bet if I looked I could find a lot more.
 
M

Macca

Member
WanderingWind said:
Napster still a thing? I dunno. I buy all my music on cassettes.
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That sure looks like your profile on the front page of Napster.

3XMJwkY.png
 
P

Pol_Pothead

Neo Member
DominoKid said:
RIAA's new streaming policy is discriminatory to hip-hop
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I think I get how it's discriminatory to hiphop, but it becoming a measure of music being consumed free or not is a whole different thing. These charts are just normally about sales either physical or digital, so I don't know how livemixtapes or datpiff downloads and whatnot are going to figure into that shit. Until they can figure out a way to monetise exposure and youtube views (although there is evidence views have already been monetised particularly with Bauer's Harlem Shake) i'm not sure how aforementioned download sites are going to be be considered for charts. Saw another article making some observations on chart changes that are kind of interesting although it has a pretty racial bias here
 
T

The Return of

Banned
I don't know I sometimes get a bit depressed how little of rap I've been digging, but then I realize the few that I like, I seem to like a lot. Other genres I've been pretty pleased with though like Vampire Weekend and Mikal Cronin
 
I

iavi

Member
Tguy said:
I don't know I sometimes get a bit depressed how little of rap I've been digging, but then I realize the few that I like, I seem to like a lot. Other genres I've been pretty pleased with though like Vampire Weekend and Mikal Cronin
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Yeh, I've been experiencing the same thing lately
 
D

DominoKid

Member
Pol_Pothead said:
I think I get how it's discriminatory to hiphop, but it becoming a measure of music being consumed free or not is a whole different thing. These charts are just normally about sales either physical or digital, so I don't know how livemixtapes or datpiff downloads and whatnot are going to figure into that shit. Until they can figure out a way to monetise exposure and youtube views (although there is evidence views have already been monetised particularly with Bauer's Harlem Shake) i'm not sure how aforementioned download sites are going to be be considered for charts. Saw another article making some observations on chart changes that are kind of interesting although it has a pretty racial bias here
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Yeah the industry's history of race politics (i lack a descriptive better term) is very interesting. I've always wanted to read more into it.
 
R

Recon

Banned
Tguy said:
Overly Dedicated was the first he charged for though. Not Section 80
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Was it? Shit, GKMC wasnt even his sophomore effort.

Also, that RIAA shit isnt racist or hurting hip hop. Why count a bunch of free music, with most of it not being album quality?
 
E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
Recon said:
KRIT tape, Rocky Fresh had two tapes, J.Cole had two mini tapes. Ace Hood with Starvation 2. Ethel Wulf had a dope short mixtape. That is just off the top of my head, I bet if I looked I could find a lot more.
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Oh yeah Rockie Fresh' first was good.

You know I fucks with that KRIT tape a lot but it didn't get a lot of burn from me for some reason.

I still need to check out the Ethel Wulf people were hyping, what was the tape called?
 
T

The Return of

Banned
Recon said:
Was it? Shit, GKMC wasnt even his sophomore effort.
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Yeah, since 2010 TDE artist have been selling their projects, then they release them for free. Q - setbacks was charged for, same with Ab Soul- long term mentality.

My favorite release of the year is probably Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap. It's so ridiculously catchy for me and I don't know, it has really grown on me a lot.
 
P

PBY

Banned
Tguy said:
Yeah, since 2010 TDE artist have been selling their projects, then they release them for free. Q - setbacks was charged for, same with Ab Soul- long term mentality.

My favorite release of the year is probably Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap. It's so ridiculously catchy for me and I don't know, it has really grown on me a lot.
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P4K loved the shit out of that album
 
R

Recon

Banned
enzo_gt said:
Oh yeah Rockie Fresh' first was good.

You know I fucks with that KRIT tape a lot but it didn't get a lot of burn from me for some reason.

I still need to check out the Ethel Wulf people were hyping, what was the tape called?
Click to expand...

Damare Shizukani
 
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