With today’s rise in technology, aspiring rap and hip-hop artists have a better chance than ever to fulfill their dream of becoming a music legend. But, because new technology has made it easier for artists to produce their music, it means that there is a much greater amount of mediocre talent out there that your music must cut through to be noticed. Although it is always hard to start out as an unknown rap artist, there are a number of key points that you can consider to give yourself an edge over the competition. Knowledge is Key - Make sure that you know and understand your craft. It is absolutely essential that you study music theory, and also the styles and sub-genres of hip-hop and rap music. Doing this will ensure that you are fluent in understanding your music and can communicate clearly with labels, producers, and even other musicians about the direction of your music. Be Unique – Create and use a technique in your style that distinguishes you from the other rappers trying to make it in the industry. No listeners want to hear another rapper that sounds like other rappers. If you can create something unique about your style, you will have a much better chance at being discovered. A perfect example of this is the rap artist Tyler the Creator. He and his group “Odd Future” are known for being dark, vulgar, and having an “against authority” attitude that separates them from the crowd. Have Great Lyrics – A key component of any great rap song is the ability of the lyrics to convey a meaningful message. This is a huge aspect of rap music, and should be a tool of yours that you develop over time and practice. Of course, any good song must have a flow and usually a rhyme scheme that sounds catchy to the listener, but what makes a great rap song is the ability of the song to have very meaningful lyrics that carry along that flow and rhyme scheme. Quality Makes a Difference – A major component that determines whether or not listeners take your music seriously is the quality of the actual sound. This seems obvious, but you would be surprised by how many artists choose to overlook audio quality to save money. Fortunately, audio equipment advancements have allowed many artists to produce their own music for a relatively small amount of money. Basic audio equipment will get you started, but if you do not want to learn mixing and mastering skills, you may have to find a friend or even pay someone else to produce the music for you. You will also need to make sure that the quality of the beat, or instrumental, is professional. If you are not experienced in producing hip-hop or rap style beats yourself, they are always available for purchase on the Internet on websites such as http://www.InstantClassicProductionz.com. You may not want to pay any money to have your music or beats produced, but it’s worth it when potential labels are considering your demo. Share, Share, Share! – Quite possibly the most important point of this entire article is to share your music. You want your music to be recognized by as many people as possible, so why limit yourself? Share your songs, information, and links on every site you can think of. Soundcloud, ReverbNation, YouTube, and Blip.fm are good sites to post your music on, and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are great places to provide friends and fans with links to your music. Also, make sure to tell people in person! Let people know that rapping is a passion of yours, and provide them with a simple, easy to remember place where they can access your music. Play Any Show Possible – A huge part of being noticed in music today is being able to play at concerts and shows. It will be difficult to find places to play at while you are not known, but it becomes easier once you have some concert experience under your belt. The key idea here is to not expect to p

If you are looking to start a career in music, here are some tips that should help you. 1. Find a label. Before the advent of the digital download goldrush, musicians were forced to take the only route to success, getting hitched to a major record label. For young musicians, this seemed like a dream come true. The music business was indeed a mighty empire, a slick machine that was oiled by profits and balance sheets…not the love of music itself. Musicians were merely ‘assets’ owned by ‘suits’….lawyers, accountants, publishers, managers, etc. Now, thanks to the internet and digital downloading, you can make your dream come true yourself by cutting out the middlemen and being in total control of your product. Here’s how. 2. Put your mp3 tracks on social network sites specially for musicians, there are loads of them out there and most are free. There are lots of them, and making you own songs and making covers helps it to have a great music career. 3. Create your own website. When you do this, you can link in to your other sites and vice versa, so you can gain maximum exposure and increase your web traffic. 4. Create your own EPK (electronic press kit) easily, there are scores of tips on the net on how to create your own press kit what to put in and leave out and who to send it to. There are lots of free information sites with loads of tips. 5. Get yourself a copy of books about marketing in music for loads of information on publishers, radio, television and internet stations that will gladly play your music for free. The books aren’t cheap, but they are a worthwhile investment. Also, try to find tips or obtain books that contain information about royalty payments and general copyright laws. 6. Make sure your songs and lyrics are copyrighted to the person/s who created the songs, music and lyrics or all of that. You can send your songs to yourself by special delivery, you sign it when it returns but you don’t open it. It’s just a guarantee that you copyrighted the songs on a particular date…actually, a song is copyright after its committed to paper and signed and dated. 7. Know your target audience….who are they? Age? Preference? No use playing heavy metal to a crowd of emo lovers or pop fans! Social network sites are great finding them because people who stop by will usually click on your tracks and if they like what they hear, they will email you to say, so…eh voila….you have found a fan! 8. Maintain their interest. Now that you’ve found your fans through your social network sites and through playing live…how do you keep them interested. The secret is to give them a stake in the business…make them feel a part of the band! Enlist their help for tours, gigs, merchandising, get ideas from them, ask them what they’d like you to do next…involve them and you have them for life. Offer free tickets and discounts in return for their help in promoting you…there’s nothing more effective than the ‘carrot’ at the end of the stick! Got some gorgeous girl fans…get ‘em modelling your merchandise, take some photos and stick ‘em on your sites. 9. Merchandise. As stated previously, merchandising goes a long way towards your band promotion, badges, hats, teeshirts, stickers, freebie cds, these are all worth it and you can also sell your stuff at gigs…just remember to give some of your profit to the dreaded tax man! 10. Continue to expand your network. As well as doing live gigs, having various networked sites, what else can you do to raise your profile…well, you can include blogs, video blogs, podcasts and videocasts. If your band writes about social injustice, then find related sites and blog on them, leaving your website address clearly visible, do charity gigs for good causes, remember live aid, comic relief, look for local festivals and get onstage and strut your stuff. Put free ads on the net offering freebies or contact your lo