Hip-hop/R&B on life support?

[bchristi]

A friend I have who is a DJ says urban music is declining rapidly in popularity and he expects it to dissapear from the mainstream completely sometime in the early 2010s. Say it isn't so!

 

[djfrresh]

thats not true hiphop and rb are doing good check charts what songs are 1

 

[Mid West Clubber]

Thats only because the Hip Hop labels have all the payola to make any song a hit. Even if Urban music is still very popular with teens, it isnt the bubblegum songs you hear on the radio that kids are listening to and downloading, its the harder edged album cuts that their bumpin. Dance and Club music will find its way back onto Rhythmic radio before too long, and then the rhythmic stations will once again be listenable. Also, Mainstream Urban Radio will go back to playing more harder deeper rap and R&B, rather than trying to be a rhythmic clone.. This is coming by the end of the decade. No more Fine Line between Rhythmic and Urban.

 

[htowler]

So Which way do you think a Station like HOT97 In NYC will go? HOT97 can pass for being a Rhythmic and an Urban station.

 

[rapking]

A friend I have who is a DJ says urban music is declining rapidly in popularity and he expects it to dissapear from the mainstream completely sometime in the early 2010s. Say it isn't so!

This question is like VH One " I love the 80's ". Hip Hop/R&B was a fad , it will not last ( 1980 ) . Now in 2007 ( 2008 ) Hip Hop/R&B is a fad , it will not last . Hip Hop/R&B is here to stay !

 

[MarcR]

Though Rapking might be in a state of denial about it, Hip Hop album sales have dropped by 44% since the genre reached its relative apotheosis in 2000., and in 2006 constituted 10% of all music sales, down from 13% in 2000.
That figure of 10% is even more remarkable considering that album sales for *All* genres of music have declined since 2000., meaning that Hip Hop sales are declining considerably faster than any other genre of music.
Of course Hip Hop music will continue on irrespective of sales data, but the data does demonstrate that the genre is commercially in peril at the moment.

 

[rapking]

Though Rapking might be in a state of denial about it, Hip Hop album sales have dropped by 44% since the genre reached its relative apotheosis in 2000., and in 2006 constituted 10% of all music sales, down from 13% in 2000.
That figure of 10% is even more remarkable considering that album sales for *All* genres of music have declined since 2000., meaning that Hip Hop sales are declining considerably faster than any other genre of music.
Of course Hip Hop music will continue on irrespective of sales data, but the data does demonstrate that the genre is commercially in peril at the moment.

Every Business has its Up and Down years . Americans are gettin there home's Repossess at a record pace , does that mean all Furniture and Real Estate Companies will be Out of business ?

 

[Gabba Gabba Hey!]

From what I have witnessed from a programming stand point and read in numerous articles...

Album sales are down all over the scene. At the same time, it just seems that HIP HOP is kinda blurry as far as the music is concerned. Meaning, it just seems to be in a wierd limbo. There's not alot that really stands out. There does not seem to be alot of shelf life for most of what is being produced. It's kinda like the same crap is being cranked out and people are getting tired. Plus you got artists that are growing and changing their thing and that adds to a unstable, uncertain market when it comes to the music scene.

But hey... these are simply my opinions.

 

[jjmac]

Expanding on what Gabba just said, the problem with hip-hop is that Joe Blow can buy a good mic and a good beat-mixing software and put out a rap CD. That mixed in with the fact that record labels will sign just about anything to at least a three-single deal at this point means the market is getting oversaturated with music that is, for the most part, crap. I get tracks on my desk every day that just make me laugh, really. So, yes, there's not much that stands out and I'm sure that has an affect on sales.

Secondly, keep in mind that hip-hop is, generally speaking, target towards an 18-34 demographic and occasionally skewing a little bit younger. This demo is NOT the album-buying demo - it's the generation of iTunes and LEGAL Napster and Myspace. With entire CDs being offered on iTunes now and tracks being available on social networking sites, the people that are listening to hip-hop are increasingly finding different ways to access their music. So while physical CD sales may be decreasing for hip-hop artists, take a look at digital sales and ringtone sales, and I'd be willing to bet the story is completely reversed.

Hip-hop is alive and well. Rhythmic radio is not in trouble. As is the case in any business, over the years the format will need to evolve and re-invent itself, but it's certainly not a dying "fad". Just IMHO.

 

[radiorama1]

Expanding on what Gabba just said, the problem with hip-hop is that Joe Blow can buy a good mic and a good beat-mixing software and put out a rap CD. That mixed in with the fact that record labels will sign just about anything to at least a three-single deal at this point means the market is getting oversaturated with music that is, for the most part, crap. I get tracks on my desk every day that just make me laugh, really. So, yes, there's not much that stands out and I'm sure that has an affect on sales.

BINGO. Oversaturation is DEFINITELY the problem right now.

There is so much stuff coming out these days, and a lot of it sounds the same... And the creativity is certainly lacking as well.

Back in the mid-to-late 90's, for example, There was a "main version" of a track, then an "official remix", and then you would have your random or "X-Mix" remix of the track that a DJ may use. Now, you have 6-12 "Official remixes" of the same track. There is just too much IMO. Same thing with the amount of material being released. As jjmac alluded to, there is 5x the amount of "singles" released a month as opposed to what was being cranked out say, in 96,97,98 or 99. Or even 2001.

Don't get me wrong, I still love hip-hop, BUT... for example, take a listen to the CD that I have in my Car right now... Source Hip-Hop Awards 1999 , and if you don't have the CD, go to Amazon.com and check out the track listing. (And I didn't hand-pick that CD, it is just a totally random example.) In my opinion, the comparison between what is coming out now as opposed to what was put out 10 years ago, it isn't even close.

But, the future of the format is bright, and as rapking said, everything has it's ups and down's. The quantity will eventually go down, and the quality will go back up. Just my opinion.

Or, do I feel this way just because I'm getting old?

 

[MarcR]

So while physical CD sales may be decreasing for hip-hop artists, take a look at digital sales and ringtone sales, and I'd be willing to bet the story is completely reversed.
Hip-hop is alive and well. Rhythmic radio is not in trouble. As is the case in any business, over the years the format will need to evolve and re-invent itself, but it's certainly not a dying "fad". Just IMHO.

Digital and ringtone sales don't come close to compensating for the steep decrease since 2000 in album sales! Hip Hop stars like 50 Cent and Jay-Z are expected to sell close to 5 million albums but today are lucky to reach platinum sales. Though it's true that every genre of music is experiencing a decrease in album sales, the decrease for Hip Hop in 2007 was roughly *Double* thedecrease for all genres of music combined.

 

[rapking]

So while physical CD sales may be decreasing for hip-hop artists, take a look at digital sales and ringtone sales, and I'd be willing to bet the story is completely reversed.
Hip-hop is alive and well. Rhythmic radio is not in trouble. As is the case in any business, over the years the format will need to evolve and re-invent itself, but it's certainly not a dying "fad". Just IMHO.

Digital and ringtone sales don't come close to compensating for the steep decrease since 2000 in album sales! Hip Hop stars like 50 Cent and Jay-Z are expected to sell close to 5 million albums but today are lucky to reach platinum sales. Though it's true that every genre of music is experiencing a decrease in album sales, the decrease for Hip Hop in 2007 was roughly *Double* thedecrease for all genres of music combined.

And 8-Track Tape Sales are down 100 percent from 1960 . C D's are so 90's . I used to buy 100 dollars a week in C D's back in the 90's , Now I have not purchase a CD in the last 3 years . Why ? Because free downloads, on the internet . Hip-Hop is here to stay . CD's are on life support ( 8-tracks, 33 and 45 records, and cassette ,RIP )

 

[Gabba Gabba Hey!]

So while physical CD sales may be decreasing for hip-hop artists, take a look at digital sales and ringtone sales, and I'd be willing to bet the story is completely reversed.
Hip-hop is alive and well. Rhythmic radio is not in trouble. As is the case in any business, over the years the format will need to evolve and re-invent itself, but it's certainly not a dying "fad". Just IMHO.

Digital and ringtone sales don't come close to compensating for the steep decrease since 2000 in album sales! Hip Hop stars like 50 Cent and Jay-Z are expected to sell close to 5 million albums but today are lucky to reach platinum sales. Though it's true that every genre of music is experiencing a decrease in album sales, the decrease for Hip Hop in 2007 was roughly *Double* thedecrease for all genres of music combined.

And 8-Track Tape Sales are down 100 percent from 1960 . C D's are so 90's . I used to buy 100 dollars a week in C D's back in the 90's , Now I have not purchase a CD in the last 3 years . Why ? Because free downloads, on the internet . Hip-Hop is here to stay . CD's are on life support ( 8-tracks, 33 and 45 records, and cassette ,RIP )

Your are correct. HIPHOP is here to stay. However, it is not the massive product that it use to be. BUT! Thats simply a circle of life thing. It will come back like gang busters.... just like anything else.

 

[MarcR]

If Hip Hop artists don't have something different to say other than the typical nihilism of "get rich or die trying", then I'm not so confident that the genre will rebound anytime soon.

 

[lalumia]

hip hop is dominant at chr over everything else,and nothing forseeable is looming to claim the crown,especially not dance in it's current state

 

[CHRles]

I think lalumia is largely on point here.
BTW, the number of Hip Hop radio stations across the country is bigger then ever. It used to be that you had a bunch of Hip Hop leaning Rhythmics all over California, and a bunch of Hip Hop leaning Urbans across the South, now you can even find Hip Hop stations all over Midwestern states like Illinois and Missouri, and in conservative markets like Evansville and Huntsville.

 

[MarcR]

I think lalumia is largely on point here.
BTW, the number of Hip Hop radio stations across the country is bigger then ever. It used to be that you had a bunch of Hip Hop leaning Rhythmics all over California, and a bunch of Hip Hop leaning Urbans across the South, now you can even find Hip Hop stations all over Midwestern states like Illinois and Missouri, and in conservative markets like Evansville and Huntsville.

I apologize for getting nasty about this, but I believe that anybody who passed Grade 9 math can discern that Hip Hop, at least the commerical aspect of it, is in a steep decline from the year (2000) that it was a veritable cultural juggernaut. Even the New York Times published an article about the precarious situation facing the music. I'll grant that virtually every genre of music is struggling to sell albums these days, but none of those other genres come anywhere close to the more than 40% drop in sales from 2000 through 2006 (along with the 30% drop from 2006 to 2007) that Hip Hop has endured.
Why don't you guys google "hip Hop" and "album sales" to find the slew of articles on this subject if you want to check my math!

 

[MarcR]

Incidentally, as for the radio aspect of this, it was widely rumored a few years ago (2006) that Clear Channel wanted its CHR/Pop stations to purge a significant amount of Hip Hop from their playlists.

 

[WBIMDJ]

Me and my cousin are not old (barely in our mid twenties) and as big hip hop fans and radio fans, we both agree that 95% of what's on the hip hop radio nowadays is complete and utter garbage, even compared to say, 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[jjmac]

I think what you'll see is the NUMBER of hip hop artists hitting the mainstream will reduce a little bit, just as the number of rock artists hitting the mainstream took a nosedive a few years back. Music goes in cycles, especially in CHR radio - the tastes of our target demos change over the years. But, there are still and always will be viable hip-hop artists in CHR formats...50 Cent, Luda, Timbaland, T-Pain, T.I. - these are all artists that aren't just going to go away - and there will be new ones that come in and fill their shoes.

And I agree with whoever said...hip-hop isn't on the decline, CDs are on the decline. Remember when the #1 album of the year sold 8 to 10 million copies?? What did the #1 CD of last year sell? Two, maybe three million?