By Majella Mark
- The Drake vs Kendrick rap beef is igniting stagnant businesses and offering new opportunities for creators to reap benefits
- Spotify, among other streaming platforms have recorded increased streams in millions
Rap beefs keep artists on their toes and are essential in keeping the HipHop culture alive. In 2007, two big rap stars took the hip-hop beef tradition to lucrative heights. Kanye won by selling 266,000 more albums than 50 Cent that day, totaling over 1.6 million units combined, making the industry over $20 million in one day. The revenue of the U.S. music industry totaled $11.8 billion for the year.
Why This Matters: When two heavyweight artists engage in a public feud, fans clamor to show their allegiance by purchasing apparel and music, online commentary, or outright screaming matches on the block. But just how profitable is a rap feud? Spotify’s monthly listen count for Kendrick jumped to 18 million listeners! We all know the more streams an artist gets, the more royalties they earn. The music industry gained a revenue of $17.1 billion in 2023, with two-thirds of that revenue going to Spotify and Apple Music.
New Ho King, a Chinese restaurant in Canada that was mentioned in one of Lamar’s diss tracks, Euphoria has witnessed a surge in its customers up to 300%. In turn, as an ode to Kendrick, the restaurant has named one dish in honor of the rapper. This is likely to continue bringing in more fans to the restaurant and its popularity will continue growing.
Individuals are also getting a piece of the cake. Kendrick Lamar, for the first time ever waived all copyrights for his diss tracks. This means his content can be used by anyone to make revenue whether you’re making a reaction video or even using it on the background of your video without getting worried of being flagged. The average fine for copyright infringement is from $750 – $30,000. Willful violations can cost you up to $150,000 so this is a win for content creators to jump in and garner their popularity votes thanks to Kendrick.
Situational Awareness: Looking at the bigger picture, this opens creative opportunities for films, shows, video games, and even performance art shared on social media. The financial benefits of a publicized rap battle are undeniable for the music industry but there are broader implications for the Black economy. By harnessing the power of cultural phenomena like hip-hop beef, the community can foster economic growth, emerging talent, and cultural connection on a global scale. As we wait for the next great showdown in the rap game, one thing is for sure, there are tangible capital gains for those smart enough to recognize the opportunities.
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