1. Know why you are releasing a mixtape in the first place. So many up and coming rappers are releasing mixtapes thinking that 50 cent released a bunch of mixtapes and got rich so they think they are going to do the same thing. But what they dont realize is that 50 had a plan and a goal and it involved more than just giving away free music or selling cheap cd-r’s . Set a goal and make a plan before you even start recording your mixtape. Here is a clue your goals should involve building a fan base and exposing your brand.
2. This could also easily be #1. Hire a professional and creative graphic designer to design your cover art. Seriously when I go to a mixtape site Im not listening to each mixtape I see just cause its free. Im listening to the ones that catch my eye first. And it should be obvious that the mixtapes with the Dopest covers are going to catch someones eye first.
3. Do more than just recorded over the instrumentals that you hear on the radio. I dont ever want to hear another Black and Yellow freestyle again !! using beats that are popular has its advantages but please dont use the joint that is in rotation on the radio right now. Trust me Lil Wayne‘s freestyle is the only one anyone is checking for. If you want to use popular instrumentals do so, but the smart move is use the beats that will bring up nostalgic feelings for people and not the ones that people are already sick of hearing on the radio 100 times a day. And dont name your song “XXX” freestyle (xxx being the name of the original song). use the beat but turn it into a whole new song and make it your own.
4. Dont just post on Datpiff.com . You can and should post your tape there because it is a well known site for mixtapes but post it other places too. Your tape is gonna get lost in the shuffle on Datpiff unless you have a mixtape marketing company or team pushing it. I suggest useing Bandcamp.com for two reasons 1st you can set it up so that the consumer gets to download the lower bit rate version for free and can choose to purchase the higher quality version for a small price if they like it and 2nd you can set it up so they have to give you their email address in exchange for the free download.
5. Remember to use your mixtape to advertise your for sale music. Mixtapes are a promotional tool if your not using them to promote something else for sale you are wasting time and missing an opportunity to make money.
6. Hire a publicist or expirenced mixtape marketing company to help you spread the word about your mixtape. Look at all your favorite Hip Hop blogs and websites, if you see the same mixtape pop up on more than one of those blogs I promise you a publicist was behind making sure those bloggers posted about it. Im not saying bloggers dont discover some mixtapes on their own (we do) but in most cases a professional PR person helped it get noticed.
7. Read the Industry Rule #4080 section on this blog regularly. I have dedicated this section of Dopestash.com to helping up and coming artists get noticed and mixtapes are my specialty. I sold literally hundreds of thousands of mix cds online and in the streets from 1996 to 2005 and I was one of the people that pioneered giving mixtapes away for free online once the RIAA started really cracking down. Use my knowlege and first hand experience as a place to start and add in your own creativity and I promise you will have a solid foundation for a fruitful career with or without a label.
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