Sherri L. Smith, BlackWeb20.c0m

You don’t have to be a big name producer or a media mogul to see that things have changed in the music game. Gone are the days of spending millions to push a new artist. Hell, it’s hard for an established artist to get that kind of promotion now. And with the stations that were formerly music television turning into barren wastelands of reality shows, the video stars that hunted the radio star into extinction are also going the way of the dinosaur. Music needs a new business model — stat.

Enter Diddy and his new program P. Diddy’s Starmaker. At first glance, it looks like nothing more than an American Idol clone. 14 hopefuls perform for the chance of a lifetime — a recording contract with Bad Boy Entertainment. As they put their all into their act, 3-4 judges surgically pick them apart from their wardrobe choice, to the actual singing, or to the lack of the x-factor — star quality. And here’s where the show, takes a left from the norm. According to Diddy, he’s not just looking for the next great performer. The multi-talented, jack-of-all-trades mogul is looking for someone that can keep as many balls in the air as he can. And for Diddy, the road to stardom begins with branding and social networking.

“You have to understand how to be able to brand yourself,” he said. “Before, it was just at live shows, now you have to be able to do a great live show, you have to be able to do a great online interview, you need to have a great Facebook page, you have to have a great television performance.”

And hate him or love him, you have to respect Diddy’s acumen on where to find the that next big thing. It’s not enough to be able to riff a few notes –it’s all about can you engage the audience where they live. Soulja Boy, Priscilla Renea, Drake, and a number of early adopters have realized that the music video is no longer the center of the musical universe, now viral is king. Can an artist keep the audience coming back for more via sites like YouTube and Twitter where Diddy, coincidentally got rave reviews for Diddy TV and hit the million follower mark respectively.

So while winning a Bad Boy recording contract might be the biggest booby prize out there (just ask Cheri Dennis, Elephant Man, Loon, G-Dep, Craig Mack, Dream, Da Band, and the others that signed to Bad Boy never to be heard from again), one thing is for sure: Diddy knows how to spot talent. We’ll have to tune in to Starmaker and see which of the contestants has the chops to be the next big star of the digital generation.

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.

As the music industry works feverishly to discover a new business model that will repair its rapidly decaying orbit, the creative side of the business suffers. With less money being put into promotion and A&R, it’s become increasingly difficult for artists to be picked up and promoted effectively. As a result, up and coming artists are forced to use grassroots tactics of get their product in front of the right set of ears. In recent years, the Internet has replaced standing in front of a record label executive’s office, hoping to get lucky and get a demo into a famed starmaker’s hands. Nowadays, it’s all about the grind and making enough noise in the trenches to reach the corner offices belonging to music bigwigs.

Recent examples of sucessful of Internet noisemakers including the polarizing Soulja Boy and the world’s former most sought after free agent, Drake. The latest artist to step into the spotlight via the viral power of the Internet is Priscilla Renea. To quote the words of the late, great Notorious B.I.G., it was all a dream. The 18 year old built a rabid following through straight hustle, posting videos of herself singing covers of popular songs on YouTube. At the height of her YouTube assault she had posted 3oo videos and while she built up a healthy following through grassroots promotion it was her guerillla tactics that really got her noticed.

“I went and I searched and searched for the YouTube editor’s email. Then I pretended to be someone else and sent them an email. It was like, ‘yo, you need to check out this chick, she’s dope!’ (laughs) It worked and they put my video on the front page. That’s when I really started getting a lot of attention. There was a lot of self-promotion going on.”

The self-promotion will continue for the release of her upcoming album Jukebox set to release in October. The campaign definitely has some more juice behind it since she’s been signed to Capitol Records. But it’s more than promotion to Priscilla Renea. ” It’s not just a tool to promote my success, it’s also something I really enjoy. I like expressing myself. I like editing and posting the videos on YouTube. Now you’re going to get a lot of behind the scenes footage as well as the videos of the things I do with the label that’s all going on YouTube.” In addition to YouTube, Renea recently released an EP of three songs to whet fans’ appetites. Available on iTunes and Amazon, the EP includes the wildly popular single “Hello My Apple.”  She also has a new website (www.priscillareneamusic.com) where fans can catch up with Priscilla’s latest happenings.

In addition to her new site, fans can also connect with the artist via her twitter page (www.twitter.com/priscillarenea), where she likes to get a little more personal. “I definitely love being able to keep everyone in the loop of what’s going on. I guess it’s a little bit of both – what’s going in my life, letting fans feel like the know me on a personal level, but at the same time I’m keeping them informed.”

Clever promotion tactics aside, Priscilla Renea is the real deal. Her upcoming album promises to be a  “more organic” presentation of the quirky, heartfelt style her fans know and love.

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.

Would you Donate Cash to Soulja Boy?

If you haven’t been following Soulja Boy’s use of Web 2.0 techniques, some dating back as far as 2007 and earlier, you could be clueless to the kind of money he is getting using it. With many of his endeavors centering around the web, his cartoon and the various dances that accompany his records to name a few, he is clearly no novice at marketing. In fact one may consider him an expert and even follow his many tips that he dishes via YouTube on how to sell a cool milli online. 

Clearly he has more swag online than the average MC, however you might wanna think twice before you download that new Soulja Boy “Kiss Me Through the Phone” iPhone App for $1.99 or even pay $0.99 for one of his songs on iTunes. As if getting paid $.15 per comment and $0.02 per view on YouTube in addition to surely the other Stacks on Deck he has isn’t enough, he made a quick $28k for under 5 mins. of work on that video alone. So with ALL that DOUGH Soulja Boy has, why is he asking for donations on SouljaBoyTellEm.com?

Soulja Boy asks for Donations

Soulja Boy's company, S.O.D. Money Gang Entertainment's PayPal page from SouljaBoyTellem.com

I’ve been giving Soulja Boy props for how he uses the Internet and Web 2.0 tactics for a while now but he definitely gets the side-eye from me on this one. Regardless of what I or anyone else thinks about Soulja Boy accepting donations from dedicated fans there is no doubt there is a formula to his success and everyone seems to be trying to duplicate it, including Snoop:

Let’s hope donations from fans aren’t included in this “web 2.0 formula.” But if you’re feeling generous and LOVE Soulja Boy that much you can make a quick and easy payment to S.O.D. Money Gang Entertainment Inc. using PayPal. Psssshhhhhh. Maybe it’s just me, but is it okay for artists to ask for donations from fans…especially in this economy?

BlackWeb20.com covers website and application launches; culturally relevant Internet industry news; and mainstream Internet industry news from an African-American perspective.  They also analyze emerging web trends and how they apply to web properties that target African-Americans or African-American culture.

Eminem Looking For #1 Stan
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Andre 3000 Arrested Andre 3000 was arrested for going 109 mph in a 65 mph zone in Henry County early Saturday morning. Read more.

Soulja Boy Supports Chris Brown Soulja Boy explained to Entertainment Weekly that he was shocked upon hearing about the incident and believes that Chris Brown should focus on “fixing” things. Read more

Soulja Boy Talks About His Robbery After remaining mum on the recent robbery, Soulja Boy finally reveals some information on Big Boy’s radio show. Read on.

Reports are true about men invading the home of teen rapper Soulja Boy and robbing him and several of his close friends on News Year’s Eve, a representative for the entertainer said this weekend. On New Year’s Day, a video surfaced on the Internet showing two masked men who claimed responsibility for the crime, AllHipHop.com reports. The shows the two men bragging about how they had stalked Soulja Boy and followed him home after his album-release party. The purported assailants described the robbery in detail, but rejected earlier reports that there had been six gunmen armed with AK-47s. They said they had done it between the two of them, using only one gun. The video was so dramatic and overproduced that it was widely perceived as a hoax. But AllHipHop.com says the rapper’s rep said that an incident definitely took place, declining to go into detail. The crime was a “serious situation,” he told the Web site.

Soulja Boy says he’s sorry for his filthy mouth.  Soulja Boy, the 18-year-old rapper, says he’s sorry for his vulgar words. Last year, he rocketed to success with his Grammy-nominated hit, “Crank That,” but the language and subject matter he uses is less than savory. Even his YouTube offerings are rife with dirty words. But, in an interview with The Associated Press, Soulja Boy apologized to parents and says he is going to try harder to set a positive example for his young fans. “Over the past few months, I’ve had a chance to meet a lot of my fans face to face, and it made me realize that I got a large fan base of kids that look up to me,” he said. “I have a greater responsibility to the kids that want to be like Soulja Boy, (and) I need set a positive example for them. …I wouldn’t say a role model because I think parents or a guardian should be a kid’s main role model, but from now on, I’m going to make sure that every kid that looks up to me will get a positive image that the kids and parents can trust,” said the rapper who just released his new CD, “iSouljaBoyTellem,” this week.

Def Jam boss reportedly shot himself. Police have confirmed the death announced by Def Jam Recordings of its executive vice president on Saturday as a suicide. Cobb County, Georgia authorities said on Sunday that Shakir Stewart’s body was found in the bathroom of his home near Atlanta. Stewart, 34, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The gunshot wound that killed him reportedly was self-inflicted. Stewart stepped into the executive slot vacated by rapper Jay-Z at the end of 2007. Get more details on the tragedy at BET.com/Music.

Common had been at the barber shop where five were shot.

Rapper Common had just received a hair cut at a New York salon hours before a man was killed there, according to Allhiphop.com. Two gunmen shot at a 19-year-old man in Brooklyn before the man ran into the salon and was killed there early this week. Four other bystanders at the shop were reportedly wounded, including an off-duty cop. The suspects fled the crime scene in a blue Chevrolet Tahoe, according to reports.

Soulja Boy disses ex-assistant, promotes new CD.

Having disposed of actor and rap great Ice T in a war of Web words, Soulja Boy has responded to a YouTube attack from his ex-personal assistant. “Q,” as the former aide identifies himself, recently posted a video claiming he’d been threatened at gunpoint to take $45,000 of his old boss’ cash, so he complied. Q insists that his story is true, explaining that he always had access to Soulja Boy’s account and that he could’ve emptied it on many occasions if he chose to. The rapper, however, isn’t buying Q’s story, and says that Q could’ve simply explained the threat on his life and asked for the cash. “I don’t care if I got $10 million lying on the floor,” Soulja Boy says. “You don’t touch one dollar without asking me. …I’m 18 years old, and I’m glad that I learned this lesson at an early age.”