Dear J-Malice:
Your statement:
"cuz man im plannin on gettin big wit dis shit but im tryna do my own thing. im not tryna have ppl tellin me what to do."
does not make sense from a label's perspective.
If I am a label, and I think you are a promising artist, however, you do not possess a workable attitude that I can capitalise on and lower my probability of failure if I invest in you, then I won't invest in you.
Let me give you a clearer example:
I am at a label, and I get your demo from a friend. She says "check this rapper J-Malice out, he's good."
I listen to it, and I like it, so arrange to see you in action, and arrange with your manager to perform a showcase for me.
I create a strategy with a team of what would occur should I sign you, and what would be the best chances of having a successful record come out. This strategy then depicts the decision making in how your record and your image as an artist will concur with that strategy.
So, if you have an attitude where we offer to market you a certain way, with a higher probability of selling more units as image "x," than your wanted image (the one you desire) which we will call "y," then there will be a direct problem and issue in the way the record company will approach you and your management.
Should you not wish to accept our terms, we would either look for similar artists willing to work with us, or simply coerce and use our leverage against you or your management for you to do our bidding whether you like it or not. Money would talk in that case.
Usually, such an issue happens after an artist gets signed and then wants to flex their muscle. With a quick scare that they (the artist) will be dropped is usually the fix-all for that.
Yes, image stylists are used, they are expensive and they are used for a reason. Furthermore, discussions with video directors on the projection of your style and image on television also is a factor. These decisions are made on the type of music you will do. The creative dept. that does in-house album art (if the art is done in house) usually sets the tone.
Another approach is to hire an advertising agency and actually have them create your image that would most appeal to our target demographic. This is usually tricky because a package deal would have tol be accepted by the agency of having a couple artists on their account, and that costs the label money. But stylists and image consultants are constantly used regardless.
You must remember, as an artist, you are essentially a product that needs to be sold and create a return on investment for the label. That's something that you should think about. Labels will usually do what I said, at least smart ones.
Sincerely,
God
