The Revolutionary Heart of the Dirty South: Tahir on Hood Economics

hood economics album cover

HOOD ECONOMICS (2004) – Tahir RBG Talking Hip Hop Business [Originally published at ProHipHop in 2005] Talking Hip Hop Business gets off to a unique start with Tahir of Hedrush LLC discussing the concept of Hood Economics. You may know Tahir from his work with Abu as the production team of Hedrush. Their work appears … Read more

When Did Selling Out Become Cashing In?

nuthin but a g thang book cover

[My third All In The Game Column from the July/August 2005 issue of Pound magazine] Lately I’ve been pondering the notion that hip hop went from viewing the relentless pursuit of money through wide ranging commercial endorsements and merchandising as “selling out” to “cashing in.” This consideration was spurred by a David Kiley article at … Read more

50 Cent and the Violence of Money

[My second All In The Game column from the May/June 2005 issue of Pound magazine] Though the shooting that occurred at New York’s Hot 97 radio station between the release of The Game’s “The Documentary” and 50 Cent’s “The Massacre” has been called a publicity stunt, 50 Cent’s prior public statements clued me in to … Read more

How Much Longer Can Hip Hop Claim Outsider Status?

russell simmons on cover of business week in 2003

[My first All In The Game column from the March/April 2005 issue of Pound magazine] All In The Game is my first opportunity to expand upon ProHipHop, a trade weblog that provides daily hip hop business news and commentary across industry categories. Each column will allow me to step back and look at the bigger … Read more

Announcing Playlist Biz: The Business Of Playlists

[Update: The Death of a Playlist Blog] Original Post: Some of you may have noticed that I recently started posting news links about the business of playlists at Playlist Biz. I just wanted to make a more official announcement here at Flux Research and explain what I’m up to. Playlist Biz is a lightweight blog designed to allow … Read more

How Murder By Death Became The #3 Most Successful Kickstarter Music Campaign

[Originally published at Hypebot in August, 2012.]

Rock band Murder By Death recently achieved the honor of having the third highest funded Kickstarter music campaign after Amanda Palmer and Five Iron Frenzy. Exceeding their $100,000 goal, their final pledge total was $187,048. I spoke with lead singer Adam Turla over the weekend and he shared the details of the campaign.

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Finding The One Key Metric That Matters For Your Career As A Musician

[Originally published at Hypebot in January 2013.]

From time to time concepts and approaches from the world of tech startups have relevance to indie and DIY musicians. Recently the concept of “One Key Metric” has been making the rounds of Silicon Valley. Though not a new idea, the recent attention has resulted in some useful exploration. It’s particularly relevant to emerging musicians attempting to establish a business-like focus that doesn’t get in the way of making art.

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