T.I. (As A New Free Agent) Sparks Bidding War! He wants $75 Million To Sign To Label (Offers Have Already Been Made)

As reported by TMZ:

"Got $75 million handy? If so, you can sign T.I. to your label … the hip hop star just became the number-one free agent in rap — and despite the steep price tag he’s putting out … some deep pockets are already lining up. Sources close to T.I. tell TMZ … T.I.’s 10-year contract with Atlantic ran up only a month ago … but he’s already put together his own idea of a $75 million deal: - 3 albums - 10-20 percent of publishing, touring, merchandise, film and TV rights - Corporate endorsement deals - Exclusive signing of all Grand Hustle artists Sources close to T.I. tell TMZ … he’s already met with some of the industry’s biggest names … including Dr. Dre, who asked him to join Interscope over dinner at Katana recently … and Jay-Z, who wants T.I. in the RocNation family. We’re told Sony’s put a $50 million deal on the table so far … and Universal’s meeting with him later this week to make an offer too. All in all, not a bad group to have knocking at your door …" Now if you take a look at the history behind T.I. and how he made it to where he is today you will know why he will most likely get everything he is asking for and maybe more. T.I. has come up in the industry by doing a lot himself independently. What he raps about is his life story and what he has gone through and experienced. The trials and troubles of his life were written into hit songs! T.I. not only creates great music that will keep your head nodding but he is marketable and can appeal to a mass audience while having a humble personality. All independent artists should take those things into consideration and make note when trying to pursue a career in the music industry.

Music Artist Tips From Zobe Records A&R

Want to Get My Attention?
Here are a few great tips from Music Clout on getting my (or any A&R rep's) attention.

Getting noticed as an unsigned independent artist is tough no matter what situation their in. Getting noticed by a people who matter is damn near impossible for most up and coming musicians, so this article will give you a few tips on how you can stand-out amongst the sea of other unsigned independent musicians in today’s music industry.

Having a Great Product
Hands-down the number one way to stand-out from other artists is to have a superior product. Making sure your demo/EP is the absolutely best it can be with both the writing and also the production should be at the top of any musicians list as with every release they put out.

Building a Solid Fan-Base
One of the first things A&R reps want to learn once they’re turned on to your music, is who else is turned on to it. A&R reps know that without the support of a large loyal fan-base, independent acts have a hard time making any real head-way with having an actual music career. So for independent acts, building and maintaining a large loyal fan-base should be a top priority in their overall strategy for getting noticed by A&R label reps.

Get In Their Face
With well over five million independent musicians trying to make it in today’s industry, trying to organically stand-out is nearly impossible and sitting around waiting for A&R rep to knock on your door is most likely never going to happen. One thing technology did besides change the sales landscape for music sales forever, is to knock down the barriers previously in place before the rise of social media. Now, with just a few clicks of your mouse and a few creative words you can speak directly to the head of A&R at any record label regardless of the size. Independent artists should always put themselves in the face of any record label A&R that they have interests in signing with for all their releases or any other major event happening with their career.

Sounds simple, but it’s actually a lot of work and therefore a barrier that most independent musicians will never break through. So if you’re independent musicians and have a great work ethic and consistently follow these three simple steps, you’re very likely to get the attention of any record label A&R rep.

Original article: http://musicclout.com/article/104/3-simple-tips-for-getting-noticed-by-ars.aspx?utm_source=Potential+Members&utm_campaign=c8e8d359f9-3_Simple_Tips_for_Getting_Noticed&utm_medium=email

Barack Obama Re-Elected

We will now see 4 more years for our current president Barack Obama! Congrats to Democrats who have really shown that voting really makes a difference! The impact of this election is historical!

Get More: Young Jeezy, MTV Shows

Check out Zobe Magazine's presentation of the International Latin Fashion Week events that were last weekend at the Washington Convention Center (DC)!

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Nicki Minaj & Mariah Carey Go At It During 'American Idol' Audition

As reported by TMZ... "Nicki Minaj derailed the American Idol auditions in Charlotte, North Carolina after swearing at Mariah Carey and threatening to fight her." Seriously ladies?!?! Will Nicki and Mariah be able to work with eachother for the remainder of the show? We're sure American Idol producers and directors are very concerned about this matter and upset that the judges are acting this way! They not only cost the show time and money for stopping and postponing the casting until the two calmed down but we are sure those who were scheduled to audition were pretty upset about having to reschedule. We are pretty sure neither celebrity will loose any fans as an outcome but it was pretty childish and it was reported to only stem from a disagreement on one of the audition performances.

Wale Just Missed Forbes List...

The annual Hip Hop Cash Kings list was announced by Forbes and DMV area native Wale just missed the list. Topped by the likes of Jay-Z (#1), Diddy (#2), and Kanye (#3), the list features 20 of the top hip-hop /rap earners (before taxes and fees are deducted). The majority of those top earners reside on the east coast with a few on the west coast over the past 5 years. The major regions being New York, Atlanta, and California where majority of the top earners are from.

As reported by Steven J. Horowitz at hiphopdx.com:
Wale narrowly missed this year's Hip Hop Cash Kings list, netting nearly $5 million from concert tickets and album sales. As such, Forbes has named the Maybach Music Group rapper a "cash prince," speaking with him about his lofty ambitions.

"I don’t want to be one of those guys that you see who made $4 million, invested $3.5 million, and now you work at Wendy’s,” he said. “I want to get the highest score on Pacman or Frogger … [and] I want to make sure I’m on the Forbes list in a year or two.”

The D.C. native is estimated to make $20,000 per concert, having performed more than 75 shows in the past year. He revealed plans to hold off on spending and plans to put together a line of hats, branded drinking water and a couple of deals with professional athletes.

Watch the interview below:

Music Industry & Hip-Hop Mogul Chris Lighty Gone (R.I.P)

Photo credit: Getty Images

Chris Lighty, one of the music industry legends has passed away. Chris was the founder and chief executive of Violator Management/Brand Asset Group. Chris had been a part of the music scene since 1988 when he joined Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen at Rush Management. The music industry is definitely feeling the loss of this music mogul who helped mold many careers in the industry. Chris worked with some of the greatest like Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Missy Elliott, Fantasia, Mya, Diggy Simmons, Ja Rule, Mobb Deep, LL Cool J, Nas, and 50 Cent just to name a few.

There was some confusion about what actually happened leading to the death of Chris Lighty as reported by NY Daily News:

"Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty died Thursday morning after apparently shooting himself in the head in his Bronx apartment, sources told the Daily News.

Lighty, 44 — a longtime manager of 50 Cent, Diddy, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey — was found dead inside his South Riverdale apartment about 11:30 a.m., police sources said.

It appeared he died from a bullet to his head, sources said. A gun was recovered next to his body.

Law enforcement sources said Lighty — who divorced his wife, Veronica, last year — may have been dealing with financial struggles, including owing about $5 million to the IRS."

Then NY Daily News reported:
"Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty died Thursday morning after he shot himself after an argument with his estranged wife at his Bronx apartment, sources told the Daily News.

Lighty, 44 — a longtime manager of 50 Cent, Diddy, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey — stepped outside his South Riverdale apartment about 11:30 a.m., after a spat with his wife, Veronica, police sources said.

Suddenly, a gun shot was heard and Lighty was found lying faceup with a 9-mm. pistol next to his body, sources said."

Our condolences go out to Chris Lighty's family from all of us here at Zobe. He is gone but will never be forgotten.

Week One Challenge: Ride Solo

This weekend I challenge you to "ride solo"; go out and promote yourself, by yourself. Why? Because when you travel outside of the comfy cozy box of your neighborhood bar with your life-long friends and into the wild on your own, you are guaranteed to learn about yourself and others.

The most amazing thing about the Washington DC area is the variety of people and cultures, income classes and races. Its mind blowing how many different types of people there are in the area and how often we stick to what's safe and what we know.

Get out there! Meet new people! Market yourself! Be influential! Stand out! 

If you dare to complete this challenge, give me feed back. Did you love it or hate it? Who did you talk to? What new experiences did you have? How did it effect how you feel about yourself? 

I will follow up with you all about this week's challenge: "Ride Solo" and present the Week Two Challenge that will get you thinking and experiencing outside of your small constricting box next Friday! Happy weekend!

Is Tupac Back?

There has and always will be someone who wishes that the legend was still alive. Recently a number of celebrities on social media networking websites such as Facebook have reported that Tupac Shakur recently sent them a friend request. (and they accepted the request) Nobody knows what to make of this and at this moment there has not been any reports of any words to be exchanged from the 2pac accounts in question.

So if Tupac really is alive... where has he been at all this time and why fake his death? Why return now? Many people still believe that he is alive. Many others feel that he is definitely dead and gone. Will we ever know the truth?

2012 New Music Seminar (New York City)

Check out the coverage of the NY NMS 2012 by Zobe Magazine! This was an awesome event featuring the "who's who" of the music industry and Zobe Record Label's Founder/Owner/Senior Director of A&R (Alonzo Black) was in attendance! Check out some of the music producers, A&Rs, VPs/Presidents/CEOs of major music industry corporations, and entertainment executives who were in attendance along with some of the featured talent. Even a sneak peak at the red carpet...

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