On Dec. 7, Patchwerk Studios hosted a discussion that, honestly, every rapper, producer — and anyone involved in the music industry — should have been at. It was a part of the studio’s weekend workshops, where music executives come and give game about what they have learned and seen in the industry. This week’s special guest was Kai “Verse” Tyler, who has been in the game for decades working with the likes of Polo G, Mindless Behavior and Lil Baby. He also sold 15 million records. Tyler spoke with rolling out about new artists and deciding on if a label deal is right for them.
Do you think artists should still go after the typical label deal?
I feel artists out there coming from an independent space … should be open to funding themselves and looking for a label partner — not a record deal. You want to have a partnership, not a record deal. So, if you are an artist and you bootstrapping, the best way I can tell you to go about it is always building your leverage so you can have something to offer the major when they come to you — if they come to you or if you decide to go to them.
How do artists build their leverage nowadays?
Right now, building your leverage is building a catalog that matters, building a catalog that has visibility attached to it. If I can’t see you, I can’t judge you.
Why do you think artists want label deals so bad?
I think artists are pressed for the label deals because it’s all about alignment. When I say label deals, I say label deals; I take my label, and I go to the major [companies] and get a label deal. When you say label, you saying they looking for a major record deal, right? They were pressed for it because they wanted the light that they thought came along with it. But the independent space provides just as much light, if not more.
What is something good and bad that you are seeing from today’s artists?
The good thing I’m seeing from artists today is consistency. But I want them to change. I want them to be more original and stop following the leader.
What is some advice you would give this generation of artists?
I would tell them to keep going, keep staying original, stay outside the box. Remember, you look at artists like Juice WRLD, God bless the dead. Anybody that was special, they actually did their own thing there. XXXtentacion, God bless the Dead. People that were special; you know, they did their own thing, and they stayed outside the box. And that’s what made them superstars.
