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RapLabel

- Any producer in the rap and hip hop genres of music needs to know what it takes to operate a successful, profitable record label and the business knowledge behind it. This intimate knowledge was once held only for producers making profitable music in the country, rock and pop music industries. Only now is this information specialized and revealed to the hip hop producer. Because this book specializes in only rap and hip hop music, your questions posed are directly assessed and answered. - www.RapManual.com

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ALLEGORY

An explained metaphor. (i.e: “Your sic wit it, BECAUSE the crowd’s screamin/”. The word “because” explains why “your sic wit it.”)


ALLITERATION

Repetition of the same sounds or types of sounds at the beginning of words. (i.e; “spit, sit, slit, some split sure cents/”. Note that “cents” does not begin with a “s” but still sounds the same.)

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ANTI-PERSONIFICATION

Comparing a human to an inanimate object. (i.e; “Your girl’s like a refrigerator , everyone sticks meat in it/”. The girl is compared to the refrigerator.)


ANTONYM

A word with the opposite meaning as another word. (i.e.; “hot/cold”, “sun/moon”, “up/down”.)

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APOLOGUE

Based on a fable. Where you compare inanimate or animate creatures and compare them to people using fables or stories. (i.e: “Stayed steady like the tortoise, now ahead of the hare/” / Story of the tortoise and the hare.)


ASSONANCE

Repeating similar or identical vowel sounds, but contains changes in the consonants that are intervening. (i.e; “silly bill, killed Nifty Bill at Six fifty/”)

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BAR SHIFT

A bar shift is when a bar ends with a word that you would not expect )(i.e; ending with dog, then ending in rat)

“Grimey lyrics, transform like alchemy, going off like balconies/
But clear like falcon sees, I spit em once, and now they’re chalkin me/
STALKIN ME, with lights but told em all, the flows invincible/
Intimidate your cards, I fold em all, uncomprehensible/”

In the above “stalkin me” is where I continued from “chalkin me”, I then shifted and used the word “invincible”, a totally different fhyming word from the first 2 bars. To shift, put a rhyming word from the end of your second bar to the very beginning of your third bar.


BITING

Can mean many things where you copy and repeat with words, schemes or technical use. It also means using a quotation and not giving immediate credit to the author or creator.

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CALLBACK

Callbacks are a rhyme at the beginning of the first bar that eventually rhymes with words at the end of the second bar.


COLLOQUIALISM

Quote, slang, or verbal expression used. (i.e; “ride the beat”, “get down”, “get head”)

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DUELING PROVERB

A bar shift is when a bar ends with a word that you would not expect )(i.e; ending with dog, then ending in rat)

“Grimey lyrics, transform like alchemy, going off like balconies/
But clear like falcon sees, I spit em once, and now they’re chalkin me/
STALKIN ME, with lights but told em all, the flows invincible/
Intimidate your cards, I fold em all, uncomprehensible/”

In the above “stalkin me” is where I continued from “chalkin me”, I then shifted and used the word “invincible”, a totally different fhyming word from the first 2 bars. To shift, put a rhyming word from the end of your second bar to the very beginning of your third bar.


FLOW

Can mean many things where you copy and repeat with words, schemes or technical use. It also means using a quotation and not giving immediate credit to the author or creator.

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HENDIADYS

Using two or more nouns describing something instead of using one. (i.e; She has boobs like a porn star, voice like Mariah/ But she has a forehead that’s bigger than Tyra’s/”. This hendiadys uses three, comparing to a pornstar, Mariah Carey and Tyra Banks.)


HOMONYM

A word that is spelled the same, but means something different. (i.e; “tell and tale”, “whale and wale”, “sight and site”.)

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IDIOM

Slang or words that have no meaning except through figurative speech. (i.e; “throw dem bos” symbolizes fighting; “follow the white rabbit” symbolizes the start of a journey.)


IMPLICATION

Implies something or words that are not direct. (i.e; “I see you’re comin’ out the closet/” implies they are homosexual and embarrassed of something, therefore hiding in the closet.)

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INNERS

An inner is just a word that rhymes but not at the end of the bar. (i.e; “Chokin up VETS like a kamikaze fighter/in SETS. Take BETS on whos hot spitfire is lighter/”. “Vets”, “Sets” and “Bets” are the inners.)


KENNING

A name given to something for what it is essentially used for, or what it does. (i.e; “My records touch the DJ, soundwaves hit the back/needle like a drug and you’re addicted like crack/”. The DJ needle on the record player becomes a drug needle.)

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METALEPSIS

This is the advanced form of metonymy. (i.e; “I’m poppin’ lyrics to shatter your dome piece/” . “Poppin” here equals to guns shooting, “dome piece” is compared to a stadium dome.)


METALLAGE

Comparing a colloquialism to a person. (i.e; “I ride the beat like the master of a horse and carriage/”)

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METAPHOR

Saying one thing is another. (i.e; “She’s like a sickness/” compares her to being a sickness.)


METONYMY

Comparing something to what it does. (i.e; “I talk much smack/” where you actually talk much “words”, but the sound of the words you talk make a smack sound so you substitute “words” with “smack” because that is what the words do.)

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A&R (ARTIST & REPERTOIRE)

The ones in charge of finding and signing new talent. They also have a hand at choosing album cuts and studio selection.


AIRPLAY

Airplay is very competitive. There are two ways to get airplay. One is through money and the other is through buzz. Either you pay a hired radio promoter a bunch of loot, or get buzz. Buzz can be obtained on college radio and other indie radio outlets like mixshows and late night specialties enough to generate public awareness. Buzz can also be made announcing your release date or distribution or gigs. There is one third way. Luck.

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ART DEPARTMENT

They are in charge of artwork like album covers and advertisements.


BARCODES

These are parallel lines that vary in width and represent a 12 digit number called the Universal Product Code number or UPC. When they are on your album and scanned the store digitally stores data of what album is being sold. You don’t need a barcode if you’re selling in mom & pop stores and gigs, but once you sell in retail and online retailers you do. You can get one from http://www.uc-council.org. The fee for a professional barcode is around $750.00 plus the cost to renew it every year. If you want your sales to count on charts then you must register your barcode with SoundScan. There is a way to get around the $750.00 price of a barcode and that is by signing up for Cdbaby.com and buying one for $10.00 there, but this type of barcode only counts for your first 10,000 sales, after that you must buy a new one.

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BDS and SOUNDSCAN

BDS tracks your radio airplay. Registration to BDS is free (although it costs to get back data), send them your song name, label and genre of music.
Their address is:

8100 NW 101st Terrace
Kansas City, MO 64153
ATTN: Encoding Department


BUSINESS AFFAIR

Takes care of any financing and payroll issues.

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BUSINESS PLAN

In this document you will show your plans on budget, marketing, your absolute strengths and weak points and any problems that you face.


CONSIGNMENT

Consignment is when a store takes your product and you are paid when they sell. Usually by contract you promise to promote your album and they keep it on the shelves. You must keep vigorous track of sales or you the store may keep your money. It is very wise to use consignment as a sales backing so you can present a clear picture of your history to a distribution company.

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COPYRIGHTS

Fill a Form SR (sound recordings) copyright at www.copyright.gov . Sending a copy of your material to yourself might not hold up in court playa, be legit...


DISTRIBUTION

Distribution companies are the ones who put your album in stores. In order to have distribution you must have a strong sales history or strong buzz through radio or promotion. You must also have a business plan and be able to have more than several albums to be distributed in the future. If you are an indie, the pressing of your album and materials will be your responsibility so most distribution companies will not take you on if you are not extremely financed.

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LABEL LIAISON

This is the person who talks to distribution and record labels on the specific date an album is released and if it conflicts with other releases.


LAWYERS

Musicians hire a special lawyer called a music or entertainment lawyer which specialize in handling record label problems any legal questions can be resolved with this person. Also music attorneys many times act as people that can get you through the door as far as your label getting a distribution deal from a major so you can sell nationwide, never be scared to ask anything and find out a few quote of their prices before hiring a lawyer.

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LEGAL DEPARTMENT

Handles lawsuits and contracts


MARKETING DEPARTMENT

Organizes the plans of the promotion, publicity and sales department on every album.

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Marketing/Publicity/Hype

– Marketing is to promote your artists by using means other than cds, like t-shirts, benefits associated with your record label and such.

– Advertising is tv, radio, commercial and other media base promotion.

– Publicity is getting people to talk about you through media like
newspaper clippinsg and word of mouth.

– Hype is the momentum until your album is released. A local publicist should be hired if you need the buzz.


Mechanical/Royalties

Mechanical royalties are about .0715 cents per song and you can be paid up to about ten songs, but in due to a statutory clause a record label only pays 75% of the .0715 royalty.

So if you album goes platinum (sells a million records) you would get paid 1,000,000 times 10 (ten songs) and then take that 10,000,000 and times that by 75% of .0715 or .06639 to get $663,900

1,000,000 records
* 10 songs
----------------------
10,000,000
* $.06639 royalty percent
----------------------
$663,900


This cost is without recoupment costs of the album and assumes you own 100% of the publishing. If the record label owns 50% of the publishing the record label gets paid 50% of this sum. All cost of the album are then taken from the artist’s portion of this sum including studio time, promotion, producers, retail, distribution, mastering and anything that costs money.

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