Though artists like Big K.R.I.T. continue to use free projects to get their music out, not every emcee agrees with that business model.
In an interview with The Come Up Show TV, Sean Price revealed that he is against handing out music for free. “That ain’t a diss to everybody, because some little dudes make dope music,” explained P! “I just don’t…I’ve had studio sessions where I’ve made four songs. But I’m gonna put it out when I’m ready to. I don’t actually believe in giving out free music. I think that sucks, b. I’m gonna bust my ass to make this music. It might be free to y’all, but I had to pay somebody to get this stuff. I don’t believe in free music. You got to cop this, bruh.”
Interestingly, Price admitted that bootlegging was inevitable, and that it doesn’t bother him that much. “Just wait long enough and steal it later. You can’t stop bootlegging. I just try to put a stop to it when it first come out. But after a couple of months, go with what you know.
Price also listed his favorite projects of 2012. “I feel like me, Roc Marciano, and Kendick Lamar put the illest albums out. Straight up.” He was referring to his own Mic Tyson, Roc’s Reloaded and Kendrick Lamar’s gold-selling good kid, m.A.A.d city.
Listen to the interview below:
RELATED: Sean Price – “Bar-Barian”
i get where hes coming from. If youre already an established artist then theres really no reason to give out free music anymore. Look at Jay and Em. Two of the biggest rappers in the world. Whens the last time they dropped a mixtape…. EXACTLY.
Wayne is a big rapper as well but hes begun to oversaturate the market and thats why his features dont mean as much as they used to.
Look at Drake. He still does it but to a much less degree. Hes not droppin a mixtape every year. we may get 2 to 3 free tracks every 2years. So when he drops a song, whether you like him or not, people check for it.
Now those unestablished guys… they dont really have a choice. Putting out free music is the way to gain a fanbase. Think about it. Whos gonna pay to buy music from an artist theyve never heard of? Nobody
actually Jay dropped a mixtape with Green Lantern called Creative Control. Em….naw
Who is this nigga…again?
n who r u
you’re favorite rappers favorite rapper, sean P
That would be Scarface young sir.
hes absolutely right. People need to stop expecting everything to be free. Music, reading material, etc. That shit costs money and time to make, and I think everyone can dish out 10 bucks for a real good cd…everyone was doing it beore so clearly it can be done
Paying for shit is for suckers though. Datpiff is my shit.
so you’re proud of being a broke ass muthafucker, huh?. And if you don’t like Sean Price, why would you even click (and probably read) the article?
Anonymous:
so you’re proud of being a broke ass muthafucker, huh?. And if you don’t like Sean Price, why would you even click (and probably read) the article?
its not necessarily about being broke u dumb clown. If you can get something for FREE why pay for it?? common sense
datpiff is full of bullshit
I’d still pirate his shit, tell him I did it, and see how mad he gets.
That said when you check Sean Price’s credentials he’s indie, so I doubt there’s a major record deal or any other “evil” company trying to put words in his mouth. Then again, when you do independent music I agree that the studio time, equipment, licensing and all that can be a pain if you don’t know how to make your own sessions. I made two albums with a Blue microphone, a pop filter, and fucking Audacity. I put it out there for free because the promotion and reception I got was ‘free’ publicity in kind. I’ve heard of Sean Price here and there (although probably just from an article here) but I’ve never heard his music. If the nigga has a problem with “free music” where do you draw the line? Is Hulkshare/Datpiff streaming bad? Should that mean people have to pay you just to decide if they like or dislike your music?
He’s not neccesarily calling it bad, he’s just saying from an artists viewpoint, why should he put out music for free when he puts so much time, work, and money into it himself. And by the way, he was hard for me to get into at first, but once i did he instantly became one of my favorite rappers. Just buy his album he did with Black Milk and Guilty Simpson. Its called Random Axe. Definitely in MY top 10 favorite albums ive heard.
errrrrm….. then maybe you should listen to heltah skeltah as he was the ruck half of that. through the mid 90s duckdown got a lot of hits out , from black moon , smif n wessun , heltah skeltah , ogc… trust me sean price has been on some pretty massive stages.
Sean P may not believe in free music but theres great rappers today that wouldn’t have been heard/be in a position to command pay without free mixtapes. Sadly when It comes to promo in 2013 the old methods are not necessarily the best, not everyone can be afforded a large budget and deal. So If thats what people have to do to get heard over the sea of crap then more power to them.
The music industry will not stop me. BLACKHOOD THE MIXTAPE.
MS. BEHAVIN AKA “THE REAL NIKKI MINAJ” 2013
lmao at buying music…how fucking dumb are you? i ont give a fuck i aint gonna buy shit
it’s not about stupid or dumb, some people actually have morals yea i’m guilty of downloading music to sample the artist but i don’t download whole albums
another retard posting bullshit
imma too broke to buy music. “illegal download” is tha way to be
yup especially if they charge like 13 euro or dollars for 12 track album… FUCK THAT SHIT
go suck as dick sean… you nobody
I’m a NOBODY? says the guy who’s name is “Anonymous”
…this nigga couldn’t move units pre-digital age music either….
This is my dilema, I have recorded over 60 songs over the past 5 years. Now finally ready to release a project….i’m a unknown artist…I mean not completely unknown but not known to the point i feel confident about askng people to buy my shit. I and thinking about just releasing a EP with 7 songs and no more…and handing it out free…at this point..getting people to listen and some exposure is more valuble than trying to get money right now…being that I do have a 9-5 to support my musical efforts at this time on a small scale. I don’t beleive in making a “mixtape” especially if you don’t have a DJ to host it. I don’t so….releasing a free EP with some bangers on it is the best way to start off for me…..i got plenty of songs on deck, but no need to release a 18 song album..peoples attention spans are not that long when it comes to music these days…got to hit’em quick and fast, make’em hit the rewind button
When artist give away free music, there is no value to their work. People put value in what they pay for, If i give you something free, you may take care of it and you may not. If you pay for with your money, 9/10 you will better take care of it and place value on that object. Artist that give away free music is training the public that music should be free all the time and that’s why record sales are so low. We are accustomed to free sh*t. Why buy that album when I can get free music over here? It’s a death cycle. Artist should always sell their music unless it’s a free promo that comes along with the bought material.If you can get a free Big Mac everyday, why and the hell would you go and pay for a $5.00 whopper? Kill the free shi& . That is all.
I feel you, But as much I want to sell…as I stated before I am considered UNKNOWN.If somebody comes up to you on the streets asks you to buy they cd and you don’t know him from Adam..and never heard it before, do you buy it?…if you do, its because you are feeling generous. You have to look at the current state of things and the market currently. Its all about trying to get money on the back in now. How can I ask people to buy my shit, when established artist like, WIZ KHALIFA, BIG KRIT, LIL WAYNE, DRAKE, CURRENCY,RICK ROSS, MEEK MILL, WALE……..all release free material yearly. I know its fuck up..but that is just where the game is now. I would not release a WHOLE ALBUM FOR FREE…but i think releasing a EP which is only like 3-7 songs for free is nothing less than resaonable. Now if I get traction and a buzz from this EP…then I can start looking for money for future projects. TAKE trinidad james for instance….that song all gold everything, he said he got that beat for free off line. Released his “mixtape” for free. He said he just handed it out….he parlayed that one “FREE SONG” into a million dollar deal with def jam. Get my point? Even if you do try to sell your music online or what not…people arge going to find a way to download or leak it for free. IF wayne, jay-z, kanye, ross,,,get leaked and downloaded for free…and they got major labels behind them…..I AIN’T GOTTA SHOT! LMAO!
And one more thing , alot of these artist get good SHOW MONEY off of their free projects…think about it
@ d-nucks
try to book some shows, get some t-shirts, charge for the shirts and give the music away for free. Dude is right, all you’re doing is conditioning your “fans” to buy free music but if you have a piece of MERCHANDISE you can garner revenue.
Statik Selektah feat. Raekwon, Joey Bada$$ & Black Thought Birds Eye View
joey badass can barly hold his own
I was very disappointed in that Mic Tyson album. Shit sounded as if it was someones first project mad in their moms basement. No way he should compare that BS to any other studio album released in 2012. You’re too old and have too solid a fan base to allow some shit like that to be release P, your entire label lose cool points for releasing that project in that condition.
Krit’s free work > Sean Price career
Truth
fools
not even close you dick rider
False. Plus, KRIT shouldn’t have given that shit away.
No, it’s not close.. Krit’s worst work is about 400 % better than anything by Sean Price.
jokes on you dumb shit. only reason krit put out his project for free is bc of his major label association and not being able to clear the samples. either way… youre comparing apples to oranges musically.
I actually bought Krit’s album because of all the free work.. best believe in downloadinn Sean Price’s album for freee
Also, I believe it’s important to support the artist you like by buying their music so I still cop up from FYE a couple times a year. However, if you’re one of the I’m rich as fuck rappers, I’m not buying your shit. I bootlegged GKMC and then went and purchased the deluxe CD. We as hip-hop heads/consumers should always be willing to pay for good music.
Somebody get this fool some Spitta tapes and then we will talk about “litle dudes” putting out free music. Curren$y has this model on lock. Everything he puts out is quality and consistent. The free shit is so good, you can feel confident about giving him your money for full length LPs, buying merch, and catching live shows.
Yeah, show Sean Price some Currensy, get outta here. Ruckus is a monster
Co-sign 100%!! Curren$y is my favorite mc right now. And the jet life crew is the 1st I thought of when reading this. T.H.C by smoke dza, & Priest andretti by curren$y shit on every solo project sean price ever put out. They give us hot shit to sample, and we show love on the retail end. That’s how it works. And I been listening to hip hop since ’83.
I think free music is what’s killing the game now….Y’all should checkout thegrandreport.com too, they usually have som e good reads as well
Who gives a fuck about this wannabee gangster, statistics show that lil wayne fans generally have higher Iq’s than underground listeners
99% of statistics are made up.
Give the source of that stat please.
Actually, it’s the other way around. http://thegrip.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/sat-scores-vs-music-you-listen-to/
Yeah man Sean is right dog. All ya’ll need to be buying our music. Not illegally downloading it. What’s up, it’s Colione from the world famous production team the j.u.s.t.i.c.e league. If ya’ll want us to keep making this good music we make that feeds your life, you need to be buying it. Everybody know’s the hits we make. And if it were not for us, your life my not exist. So you need to buy our music. Or you need to be sending us money. Cause we make your life better than it really is. And if you decide to send us money, which i think you should. Don’t just send a couple dollars. Send at least $20. That means everyone who reads this. AND that means $20 for every hit we made. So that means all of you owe us $1000. We don’t except personal check. J.U.S.T.I.C.E. LEAGUE FOREVER!!!!!! YOU CAN’T STOP US!!!!!!!!
He better hope people illegally download his shit because nobody is buying it
thats why he gon stay at the bottom.
Bald fatso rap stays losing P!!
Make an album worthy buying Sean and… also take some care as to its production values, maybe ask Duck Down to make vinyl… Last two Sean Price projects were throways–
the one with Black Milk and Guilty Simpson nobody even remembers
and Mic Tyson, which was a huge let down
if dude is that bored with rap, go back to the stock department at Costco, that job has better benefits anyway.
You crazy.
I bought Monkey Barz, Jesus Price and now Mic Tyson. all great stuff
We are sorry that their was a different way to get music that didn’t require hopin’ in the whip and purchasing a CD. Especially when you only listen to half the album because the rest wasn’t good or just complete garbage.
Can you blame anyone for not buying an album knowin’ it was a sorry nigga that made it. No need to say names cuz everyone knows who they are. So to all artist: Give me better content and I’ll buy who I feel should get my $10.00 or so. I ain’t gonna lie though the last real CD I got well over 7 years ago. My last ones were PIMP C and Project Pat. I had them downloaded before but I wanted it for the sound quality.
I HATE FREE MUSIC…I THINK IT SUCKS! I’M 12…
Free music doesn’t believe in Sean Price either– definitely 14 15!!
He’s 10000000000000% right. I’m just a fan and I blame that free shit for the trash quality that we’re seeing now. Nobody values Hip Hop music/culture anymore because the stakeholders are literally saying, “this shit ain’t worth no money”. You don’t see any other genre doing this shit.
lol i’ll tell you i wouldn’t be listening to sean p if i couldnt get some of his shit free.
you need to put out some free shit, but don’t saturate.
That’s a nice idea, Sean P, but honestly the way the people are now they have a huge appetite for music and a small budget. Both big and small name artists got to get their music to listeners’ ears somehow, and free stuff is a good way to do it. Music is turing into a common good anyway with Spotify and shit like that, not to mention illegal downloading, people just don’t consume the way they used to and Big K.R.I.T. and all them are adapting. I wouldn’t have heard dude if he didn’t put out the free mixtapes and those are fire. It’s not just low prices but tons of competition as well, I can’t afford all the dope albums I want.
One solution in my mind? Lower the damn CD prices! 13 songs ain’t worth $13 in this day and age, or only rarely. If albums cost like $5-7 I would buy way more music, in fact most music I buy is in that range used on Amazon or something.
from the attitude of certain commenters i think all rappers should stop putting out any music. Then what are you gonna do… listen to Soft RNB or country…
Interesting discussion here. I just agree partially with Sean P, imo there is a lot of good free music in circulation, you just have to recognize it and get pass the veil of bad/mediocre mainstream music. Currently, i feel like the free music has way better quality than music you have to pay for.
I also think that every mixtape Big Krit dropped is better than his studio album, it’s ridiculous, but true. The fact is, that last year i listened to way more free projects than i used too, just because the quality of most of the commercial material was not really good.
If you don’t believe check out these dope free albums:
King Mez – My Everlasting Zeal
Luck-One & Dekk – Beautiful Music Part 2
Big Krit – 4eva And A Day (and his previous 2 tapes)
Joey Badass – 1999
Mally & the Sundance Kid – The Last Great …
Underachievers Tape
Clear Soul Forces – Detroit Revolution
Action Bronson / Alchemist – Rare Chandeliers
Nemo Achida Nemotional
I totally agree with Assasin221, that lower the CD prices is absolutely necessary. I mean i live in Germany and CD prices are even higher than in the US (normally 17 – 20 Euros for a rap CD) and they don’t get cheaper with time, just because the demand is not there. Mainstream Pop-Albums are cheaper though.
The only thing fucked up about people who download illegally is they’ll legally purchase eminem or timberlake. These faggots don’t deserve to call themselves hip-hop fans, those artists already stack cheddar, so let’s start supporting our own people.
Stop whinging you bloody wog
still not a better rapper then ja rule
i feel like if you illegally download an album is good, if u like it u gona buy it. ive bought good kid maad city, afta illegally downloading it
Ja Rule believes in free music…his mixtapes go platinum