Don't post songs from the HHH Favorites List! There's 2 kinds of rappers; indie and signed. Both have pros and cons when it comes to the dollar, but in the indie guy is in a much better position. If you're indie, depending on what your setup is, you're more than likely keeping most if not all of your album sale money. So, if you're indie, and you only sell 25k at 10 bucks a piece, congrats you just put a quarter million bucks in your pocket minus taxes off of one tape. If you're signed however, you're probably gonna sell more, but there's way more hands in your pocket so you only end up keeping single digit percentages of your album sales.

The label gets their money first, always.

The indie guy probably put more in his pocket off of that 25k album than the signed guy did for his k album, to be totally honest. Also, if you're signed, you don't own your masters.

If you're independent and you work it out to where you own your masters, those masters are now an asset.

You can walk into a bank and get a million dollar loan and put up a master to one of your songs as collateral. Hella guys do that in order to get a jump start into an investment. If you're indie and you stumble into a 1 hit record, please consider this.

Touring is where the big bucks are at. You have to actually work for your money now but its good for us the consumer because we get more shows. Back in the day, there weren't nearly as many festivals and tours as there are now. If you didn't live in a big city, you weren't getting much hip-hop. Depending on the artist, you're lookin at maybe a few grand for some internet hype cat to like a quarter million per show for Drake. Not all of that goes into your pocket though, you gotta pay your clique.

Managers, roadies, whoever you got. Usually the money is guaranteed up front, regardless of whether you even perform. MERCH - This can be a big money maker especially if you got some hypebeast shit out. Tyler The Creator is eating very nicely off of his merch.

Dope merch in addition to your touring money is really good, and the profit margins for merch are huge get a shitty hanes t-shirt screenprinted for 3 bucks, sell it for 40 bucks. That's like flippin cocaine in the 80's baby that's stupid profit. When you're a rapper, you're more than a musician, you're a brand.

Guys like Rick Ross and 50 and Dre made a bulk of their money this way, not via rap. Most of the older rappers who still have money have money invested in small business, joint ventures, you gotta diversify yo bonds nigga. Also, if you get a dope endorsement, that'll be enough to make a nigga wanna quit rap. I don't even wanna know how much money Drake got from Sprite.

I know Action Bronson had a set up with G Pens too; not the same level, but that G Pen endorsement probably made him just as much as a tour would if he played it right.

Realistically, rap money and rap money alone is not that much money.

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Your average run of the mill relatively famous rapper probably makes middle class money just off rap money alone. And if you're living the "Baller" lifestyle, that will go away QUICKLY.

That's why cats end up broke so fast; you hear about someone getting a 2 million dollar deal and your eyes get big but realistically so much of that is going back to the label or to this person or that person or uncle sam that at the end of the day its pennies on the dollar. It's the side hustles that really get these guys set. If you live off rap money and just rap money, you can live a cozy middle class lifestyle, but you ain't ballin in a mansion off royalty checks unless your ass is going platinum.

Nobody can know for sure what everyone's financials are like, since a lot of people lie or a lot of people got their money in some shady areas, but there's still a lot of money to be made in rap. It's simply that the cheese has moved. You ain't gonna be able to get it the same way 90's niggas got it, but it's still there. Damn awesome reply dude thanks for the info.

I still find it pretty cool how rappers with even a small following can still make like 5 grand a night. I mean that doesn't sound like much, but fuck it you can make an alright living off of that if you tour enough.

I abide by the 10, stan theory: That's not a lot of people at all, but thats realistically all it takes. Not 10, fans, 10, stans. That's a very attainable goal. That's exactly what I was thinking. It's actually pretty crazy, like you can get a decent following by hard work alone. I'm very much considering taking this music thing I do further. I sing, not rap btw but its in a similar boat. One thing though, You also need to minus the costs of the vendors and effort used to make all of that.

If you're also selling physical copies, you need to subtract the amount used for production of it. The goal of all of this is to make profit in the end. Endorsements are where it's at. An overlooked reason is It's non destructive towards the artist and the Label. Jay Z's money is mainly from outside business ventures other then his commission from rapping. Forbes top 10 rappers net-worth yearly earnings. While Forbes isn't always accurate, they give a good estimate to say the least.

Let's go over what we have over here. Pitbull - The biggest things that make it is his endorsements. Remember the Kodak Line in one of his songs?

How Do Rappers Make Money and How Much Do They Make?

That wasn't just to make a line, it was the company that told him to put it in the song. The Walmart thing, Commercials, movie soundtracks The guy is a smart businessman. He is no where as popular in music in today, but he keeps himself busy with Acting and taking commission from products. Kanye - When it comes to music G. Music and Producing has helped him. Other factors not mentioned are An international presence, Air Yeezies, Clothing line more high end , and some more I can't think of.

Birdman - Ceo makes commission from all of the other artists under his wing. Looking at his line up, I think it's fair we can leave endorsements out of this for now. Minaj - Idol and Pepsi pay big. She also is in the pop music market which pays more and has more listeners.

Dre - Beats by dre alone couldn't make 40 million, but I wouldn't doubt it's a lot. He also does his fair share of producing which is much more stable then being a solo artist.

Also, not sure if he's still with Dr. If he is, it would make sense. If not, it would make even more sense that he lost money. Diddy - Very surprised and also skeptical of the legitimacy.

However, a marketing agency does make money. Another Thing I found http: Keep in mind, this goes back and forth on the graph with Net-worth for some artists and yearly earnings from another. Legitimacy is also questioned, but it also confirms some numbers with the forbes article. This makes me thinking a little more highly of Wiz.

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You won't be able to vote or comment. I mean that doesn't sound like much, but fuck it you can make an alright living off of that if you tour enough Side note: I sing, not rap btw but its in a similar boat So what about you, how are you gonna attain this goal? You already got us, HHH as a platform lol. Reddits formatting won't reverse the numbers of the list: Wiz - I am verrry surprised. Kinda skeptical on this one, but nonetheless Takes commission from Young Money as well as Supra, personal clothing line, beats, and much more Kanye - When it comes to music G.

Other factors not mentioned are An international presence, Air Yeezies, Clothing line more high end , and some more I can't think of Birdman - Ceo makes commission from all of the other artists under his wing. She also is in the pop music market which pays more and has more listeners Dre - Beats by dre alone couldn't make 40 million, but I wouldn't doubt it's a lot. Jay - The stuff said in the video explains almost everything. International presence also helps Diddy - Very surprised and also skeptical of the legitimacy.

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