Artists often have no idea what they’re doing and end up burning bridges or pissing bloggers off. In the video above, I discuss some issues I have come across in my work as well as among other bloggers and media personalities. Hip hop is something we all love, and although we love the culture, the industry is not always the friendliest especially towards women. It can be straight-up sexist.
Here are some tips on how not to come off as a sexist asshole and if you are new to the industry how to properly approach a media persona.
- Be Cordial and professional. Pretty simple and basic point, this is a business opportunity so approach it as such.
- Avoid the use of pet names like babe, hun, sweetie etc especially on the first contact.
- Do your research. Don’t reach out to someone and you have no idea what they do. How do you expect to work with someone if you don’t even know what they do?
- Don’t bring up ex-partners. Regardless of how you met someone, don’t mention their ex. That’s disrespectful and won’t help you get featured.
- Be clear about what you want. Don’t just send a song, ask for what you want and be specific
- Don’t hit on a blogger. If you want to work then keep it on that platform, don’t hit on someone thinking it will help you in the end. It will often do the opposite.
- Respect price points. Everyone sets a price for a reason and if you don’t see the value then you keep it professional and move on. You never know if you will want to work with that person in the future. It can be out of your price range which is fine, but there is no need to haggle or downplay their work.
This is not a comprehensive list of everything wrong with the industry but it’s a start. There will be more videos and posts helping artists and bloggers navigate the industry so stay tuned. If you want to donate to the creative efforts check out the support the starz section. Until next time, shine bright starz.
