how well do popular underground rappers do financially?

[AtomSmasher]

Not to be a d*ck but, hipster rappers? That's a small market haha.

ha philly/balt/nyc area hipsters love rap like this. they don't cater exclusively to hipsters but generally scene type kids are attracted to them.

[v-unit]

Dont Major label artist get pennies off each album??

Major label artists recieve way more than pennies...They make the majority of their money from live shows, touring, etc. Fairly certain they make bonuses if they create large hits on the charts. Doing features can bring in big bucks as well. Promotions and advertising with other companies can bring in a lot of green as well.

[GP_20]

V-Unit check ur PMs

[phoenix18]

Major label artists recieve way more than pennies...They make the majority of their money from live shows, touring, etc. Fairly certain they make bonuses if they create large hits on the charts. Doing features can bring in big bucks as well. Promotions and advertising with other companies can bring in a lot of green as well.

I remember Fat Joe talking about it in XXL and they had a comparison between major record companies and...... aww sh*t, I cant remember.

I bought that copy too, I should have around my house somewhere, I'll look for it tomorrow.

[Rake2204]

This is a good topic. I'm interested in this myself. I'll throw Brother Ali into the ring as he found himself briefly homeless at one point over the past few years (after his marriage dissolved). I haven't read up enough to discover whether it was a "let me crash for a few days while I find a new house" situation or a "she has all of the little amount of money I had and now I can't afford to live out on my own" situation. I'll guess the former but perhaps it was a mix of both.

[Dizzle-2k7]

before the houston scene blew up a few years ago, all of the underground artists were getting big bank... slim, flip, koopa, paul ,mike, scar, zro have been paid waaayyyy before they went major...

paul/koopa sold 100,000+ cds of their first record (get ya mind correct) and they put that out independently.... 10bucks a pop, thats a million dollars right there.

[thejumpa]

Yeah, I used to work with a dude who was affiliated with Lil J and couple others down there in Houston. He said the rappers down there were bringing in some serious money. On the flip side, I heard it was a lot different nowadays.

This is a great topic, though. I know a couple cats from my area made a little money of the local shows they did. One or two signed with Koch for a dist deal so they could get that extra push...

I have no idea what they actually make, but I bet it's 75% from touring. Local, nationwide, or overseas. If you have a non existent buzz and haven't put out much, how much can you really get paid?

[beasly15]

before the houston scene blew up a few years ago, all of the underground artists were getting big bank... slim, flip, koopa, paul ,mike, scar, zro have been paid waaayyyy before they went major...

paul/koopa sold 100,000+ cds of their first record (get ya mind correct) and they put that out independently.... 10bucks a pop, thats a million dollars right there.

out of that list, z-ro is the best one( by waaayyyy far) and i don't think he was "paid" way before he "made it" and that pretty much sums it up... the more skill, the less money.

and not all the underground artists from houston were making big money. atleast not the good ones..

[v-unit]

I read that Ying Yang twins slept in their car for a while until they made money

[RomeoLuvCasanova]

Since most of the undeground artists aren't signed to major labels, they don't have 360 deals like all of the new artists. The 360 deal takes a cut of sales, touring, merchandise, publishing...basically anything you make income off of. The smart thing to do now if you are into music is get a regional fanbase, build that buzz, start off independently then the major labels will come to you offering a deal worth signing.

[Timmy D for MVP]

It depends on your defenition of underground. Like officially The Roots and Mos Def and Talib Kweli are considered underground by databases like Pandora but we all know them and they are ALL doing just fine.

But as for like unuderground underground artists: like Blue Scholars are really only put out there if they end up on something like a videogame or something.

[RidonKs]

But as for like unuderground underground artists

so are you saying you like me or you 'like' like me?

[D.J.]

Oddly enough, some of the most popular musicians are underground. It is not necessarily limited to rap either. With mainstream music, a lot of it is the image. If you do not fit the image, then it is really difficult to make it. That is not to say an independent musician cannot make good money. If you have a good following, then you can be successful.

[insidehoops]

yeah. ghostface is another decent example. 340k for fishscale (which was quite an edgy release)? very impressive.

I wonder how much they make per cd sold, though. Like, final net profit, not including taxes