3 Tips for Memphis Hip Hop Artists Who Want to Break Into the Music Industry

Becoming a major hip hop artist can be difficult when you’re from a market like Memphis for many reasons. Major labels still favor major bigger markets like California, Atlanta, and New York and will be more willing to sign artists who are from these areas or associated with them. You can always try to go independent, but that comes with many challenges and you may have higher aspirations for yourself. If your ultimate goal is to get signed by a major label, here are a few things you should do.

Work on Your Product, Image, and Performance

Three things will get you noticed as a recording artist, and that is the quality of your music, your image and brand as an artist, and the quality of your live performance. Of these three things, your music and live performance will make the biggest difference, so work on these first. The easiest way to improve your music is to release it and look at what people have to say. See where you could improve. Listen to artists you’re trying to emulate and learn from them.

You should also consider learning how to produce tracks. As a new artist, you probably won’t have the money to keep buying tracks or hire an engineer and you need something that at least sounds good for you to get discovered. Learning how to produce will allow you to start releasing decent tracks without spending too much.

You might be surprised by how nice self-produced tracks can sound too. If you manage to learn how to use programs like Cubase or Pro Tools, you could start making professional-sounding tracks with advanced effects like auto-tune with simple, easy-to-use plugins. If you’re looking for the best EFX plug-in to transform your tracks, check out Antares.

Set Your Product Apart

You have to understand that you’ll be competing with thousands of other artists just like you, so find a way to set yourself apart. One thing we suggest you do is look into specialized classes. You could take creative writing or singing classes, for instance. You may not see how this could help your music career, but creative writing classes could help you become a better storyteller, for instance, and great storytelling is one of the best ways to connect with an audience. If you have talent, work on your skills, and constantly improve your music and performance, it will be hard for you not to at least get some attention.

Go Where the Action Is

The closer you are to labels and executives, the easier it will be for you to meet them, and the higher the chances that you’ll bump into them at events. The natural option here would be to go to a place like Atlanta, but Miami and Los Angeles are also great options. Otherwise, you will have to draw a lot of attention to yourself to make them to come to you in Memphis.

Look at who your music appeals to the most to and go where it would make more sense for you financially.

These are all the things you should consider if you want to get signed by a major label as a Memphis artist. It will take perseverance, determination, and dedication to your craft, so be ready for the tough road ahead and the hard work that comes with being an artist.