Hip-hop/R&B on life support?

[MarcR]

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?

Since the only life experience 50 Cent has to offer the world is that he was shot 9 times and lived to tell about it, I think his 15 minutes of fame are about over.
As for digital album sales and Hip Hop, the genre's performing poorly in that sphere as well. Sure, people pick the tracks that appeal to them and ignore the rest, but how do artists (in Hip Hop or any other genre for that matter) expect to earn serious money that way?

 

[jjmac]

Since the only life experience 50 Cent has to offer the world is that he was shot 9 times and lived to tell about it, I think his 15 minutes of fame are about over.
As for digital album sales and Hip Hop, the genre's performing poorly in that sphere as well. Sure, people pick the tracks that appeal to them and ignore the rest, but how do artists (in Hip Hop or any other genre for that matter) expect to earn serious money that way?

If 50 Cent would put out viable music he still is very much a core artist in the format. But this latest album is terrible. As for how artists will make money...let's face it, it's not like they were raking in the dough off of album sales anyway. An album has to go platinum before an artists sees ANY royalties that haven't been recouped by the record label. So artists will make money the same way they always have - touring, merchandise, etc. CD sales won't really affect the MUSIC industry, just the recording industry. That's why it's becoming increasingly easier and more profitable for artists to just hire a good management team and do it themselves. Futhermore, that's why record labels are struggling so much unless they sign artists to these new 360 deals. But that's a whole other beast for a whole other post.