Myx Music Label disappears

Last Thursday brought an announcement of a new marketing company, Quality Control.

QC* is the result of four individuals (Karim Panni, Kyle Pierce, Ian Davis, and Jonathan Kim) combining ideas, contacts, experience, and resources to form one like-minded company.

QC* provides numerous services aimed towards the artist, record label, new media companies, lifestyle, clothing and streetwear, and social networking companies. Our goal is to establish a reputation for marketing and  promoting the most innovative, progressive, talented and top quality artists, projects, brands and content. Consider Quality Control a source for ‘What’s Next” in Urban music and marketing.

Nestled within the email announcement was a disheartening bit of news:

Greetings and welcome to the brand new newsletter for Quality Control Marketing LLC, and former home of MYX Music Label. Unfortunately, in what is surely a sign of the state of industry and the economy, MYX Music Label has closed its doors and shut down operations. It’s been a great run and we’d like to personally thank and congratulate all of our artists (Keelay and Zaire, D.Black, Jern Eye, Kam Moye, One Be Lo, Crown Royale, Fortilive) for their hard work, perseverance and great music.

Myx Music Label barely lasted a year. Its situation as an label funded by ABS-CBN, a Philippines-based cable network seeking to build an audience in the States, and taking its name from ABS-CBN’s fledgling youth network MYX TV, seemed precarious from the start. How long would a corporation with international ambitions dabble in indie-rap, a game with low profit margins and fickle fans?

At the moment, U.S. indie-rap labels survive on cult of personality. FDrom Stones Throw Records’ Madlib and Rhymesayers Entertainment’s Atmosphere to SomeOthaShip’s Georgia Anne Muldrow and Declaime and Duck Down Records’ Boot Camp Clik, each centers on artists who found individual success before converting their brand name into scrappy companies. Even a relatively unheralded label like Mello Music Group hinges on the talents of Oddisee, a D.C. producer/rapper who enjoys some respect in indie-rap circles.

But Bay Area-based MML didn’t have those assets. Its first release came from Keelay & Zaire, a production duo relatively unknown  outside of rap chat rooms. In fact, people began checking for the group because its first MP3 leak, “The Times” starred then-white-hot rapper Blu. Subsequent releases such as D. Black’s Ali’Yah and Jern Eye (from Bay Area vets Lunar Heights)’s Vision — may have drawn blank stares. Its best known artist was Supastition, the North Carolina MC who drew acclaim for 2005’s Chain Letters. So why did Supastition use his real name, Kam Moye, for last year’s little-heard Splitting Image? The change was undoubtedly heartfelt, but it may have not been a wise business choice.

In today’s climate, indie labels have to be extremely smart. They have to target a specific niche audience, and create short goals that end with record sales and other forms of income. They have to take a hard look at each artist and ask, “Who will buy the artist’s CD, MP3s or vinyl? Who will buy a ticket to the artist’s concerts?”

Rap imprints have it worse. Hip hop fans should stop wondering who killed the genre and look in the fucking mirror. They just aren’t willing to spend money on music. Instead, they demand mixtapes and other sorts of free bullshit before they’ll even consider financially supporting a new artist. Then they maintain an absurdly high degree of difficulty for each release (which has to be a “classic”). I’ve spoken with retail store owners that claim rap fans don’t even buy new vinyl any more (with the notable exception of Stones Throw). Most of the growth in the burgeoning vinyl market comes from the indie-rock scene, which maintains an equally absurd myth of a never-ending creative Renaissance. While indie-rock fans think its bands are geniuses, indie-rap fans think its artists suck.

It’s not a knock on MML’s modest roster to question whether it was capable of surmounting these obstacles and fulfilling ABS-CBN’s goal of penetrating the enigmatic hip hop market. In an interview last year, label manager and rapper Karim “Nightclubber Lang” Panni (from the Boom Bap Project) told me he wasn’t interested in specifically targeting Asian-American youth. Why not? “I just look for the people who are making really good music that I would like,” he told me.

Perhaps Panni thought he had more time to make Myx Music start-up work. I was looking forward to albums by Crown Royale, a pairing between promising Detroit rapper Buff1 and veteran L.A. turntablist Rhettmatic; and Michigan cult artist One Be Lo. I wonder what will happen with those projects?

After I received the Quality Control press release, I sent an email to Panni asking what happened with MML. He hasn’t responded yet. If he does, I’ll let you know what he says.

Share
This entry was posted in Hip-Hop Heaven, News and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Myx Music Label disappears

  1. Lex says:

    I respect your opinion but I don’t think it’s fair to compare them (or any indie label recently emerging) to Stones Throw and Rhymesayers because for one they hadn’t had enough time to get things moving. According to what I was told from someone close to the label, ABS-CBN canceled the Myx TV network and the label because the TV network loss a ton of money. It wasn’t because the label/artists weren’t selling so that’s a big assumption. Secondly, Stones Throw and Rhymesayers entered the indie market during the 90’s when indie records could sell 10,000 records. I honestly don’t think Mello Music Group is even a factor as far as sales go and indie labels go yet. Although very talented and they receive attention online.. Oddisee and Diamond District numbers were very low. I was looking forward to the One Be Lo album and Supa has left the music business altogether (according to his website) so I don’t know what’s next for those artists.

    I do agree with you 100% though on your analysis on hip hop’s fans high expectations and their low commitment to supporting it. Saying an album has to be *classic* before they spend their money but meanwhile overlooking *good* albums. The sad thing is that the fans access to artists has increased and they can speak to them at anytime which was unheard of before. Before you had to go to a show or instore to speak with your favorite rapper.. but now you don’t even have to buy their music or go to a show but feel entitled to speak with them on Twitter, Facebook, etc… It’s a very fickle generation who has a wierd sense of entitlement.

    Btw.. I enjoy your writing. Keep at it

  2. Damn good stuff, I hugely appreciate all the context. I was impressed with their roster and visibility but never knew the story behind it. That’s my favorite kind of brainfood, so thank you. I saw your recent “line in the sand” post back on May 1 about not playing the “firehose of content” game, and thanks for that, too. Less is definitely more when so many channels carry the same shit.

    Keep up the good work.

  3. plugoneboss says:

    Lex and Justin, thanks for the kind comments.

    Lex, I didn’t realize that ABS-CBN ended its U.S. operations. I hope to do some research this week before adding an update to this post.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *