How One Independent Rapper Navigates NYC’s Live Show Scene
In a packed room of a Woodside nightclub, the moody LED lights transition from purple to blue to green. The bass of hip-hop beats blast through the speakers and vibrates through the bodies in the crowd. The DJ and emcee grabs his mic to hype up everyone in the house. The entire crowd at La Boom nightclub is ready for a night showcasing local talent through live music. The stage is set for rapper, Nigel Dior, to perform and get the show started.
Nigel Dior is a 24-year-old independent rapper and producer based out of Brooklyn. With thousands of streams across Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Music, Dior has garnered the attention of hip-hop fans around the world. While these streaming platforms allow his music to be heard globally, Dior’s reach in performing his music for live audiences remains local.
For up-and-coming artists like Dior, live shows are imperative to the early stages of their careers. Playing gigs allows smaller artists to put their work out there and gain the attention of potential new fans. Dior sometimes even uses his performances as a way to gauge the direction of his music. “If I go to a certain place and I’m not from there and I know the crowd isn’t in my favor or familiar with me, I know it’s going to be harder to win them over–but I know their reactions are a genuine response. For me, it just shows how my music can stand in different spaces,” he says.
In New York, where the cost of living is high and there is an abundance of rising musicians, playing live shows as an independent artist is important for exposure, though it can be quite the gamble.
“Honestly, most times it’s for exposure. Other times, it goes by ticket sales. So if you can bring in X amount of people, you get a certain cut from that.” Dior says he is usually paid out 50 percent of the ticket sales with the other 50 percent is paid out to the venue. He adds that he only receives that cut if he sells a set number of tickets for the venue.
“[The venue] gives you a budget for how much it would cost to perform, then they give you tickets to sell,” says Dior. “These ticket sales can account for your performance, but if you don’t satisfy it, it’s going to have to come out of your own pocket.”
“It sucks if you can’t sell out, but I mostly do it for the experience anyways. Not saying money isn’t important, but it’s not really the motive or goal as of right now. It’s about being heard,” Dior says.
According to Forbes, profit from their live performances accounts for about 75 percent of the income of artists signed to a label today, as opposed to less than one third in the 1990s. When these artists are only receiving a 10 percent cut of royalties on average overall (this includes royalties from streaming platforms, live performances, merchandise, etc.), it is important that they not only play shows but consistently sell them out in order to actually see a steady flow of income.
Independent artists might earn a greater cut from their gigs due to a lack of middlemen, but they usually have to go the extra mile to book their own events, which can be much smaller in scale in comparison to artists working with record labels and management.
“It’s work, but up to this point, everything I’ve ever done that involves music has been worth it,” says Dior. “It’s allowed me to learn certain skills and how to network and things of that nature. I’m thankful for it because it’s opened up a lot of different forms of insight,” he says.
“The only reason why I’m able to do the things I’m doing now is because of the minuscule level I’m on. Not trying to downplay my work at all, but it’s like, I have the time to make beats and network and everything like that because I’m not doing other things, like touring the world… Eventually I want to be able to go out and venture out to different states and tour the world.”
