Skaz Digga

            Skaz Digga of the Butter Team started out as a small time Dj, spinning at local house parties and doing mix tapes.  As time progressed and his name grew, Skaz began to spin at major clubs around the triangle area where he’s from (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill).  As his status became more dominant and his role as a DJ began to ring bells, Skaz was the go-to guy for all the major parties to come in North Carolina.

Management...

Music management comes with a lot of important roles, especially when managing an artist.  Authors Paul Allen, H. Lee Hetherington, and Walt F. J. Goodridge go in depth by breaking down the different responsibilities in managing a successful music artist.  There are no specific rules on how to go about getting into this business, it’s more of how much you know and if you can handle huge tasks, loosing lots of sleep and selling a person, other than an object.  “Managers direct all aspects of an artist's career, including record company issues, publishing, touring, marketing, publicity, business management, film and sound track work, sponsorships,

Management

Competition is fierce in the music industry, all genres.  More of a struggle for an artist who doesn’t have the backing, or someone to help oversee his/her career, than it is for an established manager to break into the industry.  Now when it comes to a point where there are two individuals working towards the same common goal, with an added source of help, the competition then takes a different turn.  “Artist managers are persistent.  Persistence in this environment is a quiet determination without being pushy.  Remember that to be effective, the manager must navigate around gatekeepers, and an overly aggressive style can be offensive to some of those whose help is needed on behalf of the manager’s artists (Paul, 2011, p. 10).”

American Marketing Association

            According to the American Marketing Association, “In recent years, music industry sales have declined in the United States by an average of 7% per year, after peaking in 1999. Much of this sales decline has been attributed to the widespread use of illegal file-sharing sites, such as Napster, Grokster, and LimeWire.”  ITunes along with many other file sharing websites that are legal, music can be downloaded at a price to where the music isn’t pirated illegally.   

Digital piracy has become a major problem in the entertainment industry; it undercuts the growth of an artist financially, causing album sales to drop, and piracy also affects the life of record companies.

Make A Difference

Kevin Liles is a very prominent figure in the entertainment industry; not only for the great things he has accomplished within the entertainment industry, but also for the positive image he has created and maintained in the community.  Kevin Liles has many roles that he plays, but one role that is most important to him is his role in the community.  His organizations are as follows: Make It Happen Foundation, Kevin Liles For a Better Baltimore Foundation and Ogilvy & Mather.  In addition with the following organizations, Kevin Liles participates in philanthropic work with: New Yorkers For Children, The SEED Foundation, Junior Achievement, Hip-Hop Summit and UJA Federation of New York.  

With the many foundations and organizations Kevil Liles participates in, the “Make It Happen Foundation” is the one that I will put emphasis on.  “The Make It Happen

Image

Artist development involves molding an artist into a star and helping the artist create a quality sound that is commercially viable.  This goes hand in hand with creating the image of an artist.  Creating an image doesn’t necessarily mean the outward appearance and what the world see’s.  The artist must know who they are as a person first, and then as the artist; because there are two distinct differences, even though the artists is “one” person at the end of the day.  Creating an image plays a big part on what the world see’s, i.e. viewers and listeners of his/her music.  “The two things artists need to gain fans are (viewers and listeners) and frequency of reach.

Find Your Lane

On this road to a deal, finding a lane the artist fits in is a key component to his/her career.  Dealing with hip-hop, there are various lanes an artist can go down; street lane, LL lane, dance lane, conscious lane, and pop lane.  Once that lane has been found, you then stick to it and begin recording quality music that fits this lane.   While traveling this lane, finding what’s comfortable and what one is good at makes it easier for this lane to be traveled.  Staying in this lane is also a very important thing because no one wants to go 100 percent in a certain direction, or perceived to go in a certain direction, then all of a sudden switching from dance to a more conscious lane.   You then have confused those who choose or are trying to follow. 

Test Post

On the road to a deal, Mark Steele finds himself walked over by many of his close counterparts that included mostly family; learning that, in some situations, family and business doesn’t mix.  This problem really dealt with the management aspect of his soon to be “big” career.  As time went on, a very close friend steps in, and without realizing, began to take over in the area where Mark felt as if he was lacking, management.  Things then began to look up, shows were being booked, tracks were being laid and a project was beginning to take form.  Not only did these things begin to happen, but also Mark appointed his friend to a high position in his organization, the leader.  This friend was Dion “Sh8kes” Williamson.  Dion “Sh8kes” Williamson has a reputation that precedes him, not only as a scholar in school, but a guy with street credibility.  He has the power to lead and a very high influence value that plays closely with honesty and loyalty.

            Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, with the two of us putting our brains together, we developed a plan.  On the road to a deal, we’ve made plenty of mistakes, and ran into many roadblocks, but never have we once been knocked off the highway.  Following leaders such as Kevin Liles, we’ve learned to refuel, rotate the tires, and keep the oil changed.  We are the engines and its up to us to keep up the maintenance.  As we travel along this road, we take footage of everything we do.  From shows, meetings, studio sessions and until we lay our heads down, we document everything.  Not just to show the good side of things, but to eventually let the world know what it takes and how it really is to grind on this road to a deal.