How Two People Restructured the Music Industry
As I’ve talked about previously, the music industry has seen fundamental changes over the past few years. Digital music production has opened the industry’s gateway by lowering cost barriers and the internet has completely changed music distribution. Some of the most crucial individuals in emphasizing this shift--in my eyes--are Nicholas Mira and Taz Taylor. Nick Mira--whose birthday is, coincidentally, today--is a record producer most notable for his work with Juice WRLD, Lil Tecca, and Iann Dior early in their careers. What makes Mira unique is that he was among the emotional-rap pioneers--the first group of people to really combine the melodic, emotional components found in emo/pop music with the percussion and production of rap music. However, Mira’s discography--as impressive as it is--is not what makes him one of the most significant music producers in recent history. Nick Mira and Taz Taylor changed the world of music--completely transforming the way musicians collaborate and distribute music--by co-founding a producer group called “Internet Money”.
Internet Money is a producer collective and recording label co-founded by producers Taz Taylor and Nick Mira. The label is responsible for propelling the careers of Juice WRLD, Trevor Daniel, Lil Tecca, and Iann Dior and has signed over 40 artists and producers. What separates Internet Money from other recording labels is that--because it is founded by producers--it emphasizes the importance of music producers within the industry. Previously, music producers were an afterthought when it came to granting credit and royalties of a specific track--despite producers’ significant and, often, dominating contributions to the track. However, Internet Money has been responsible for a recent shift in this mindset. With “Lemonade”, Internet Money became among the first ever producer groups to be the primary artist on a triple-platinum hip-hop single, further advancing the power producers have over the industry.
The name “Internet Money” signifies the origin of the label. When the collective was founded in 2016, the conventional way for a producer to sell an instrumental to an artist would require the herculean networking skills involved in booking a physical studio session with that artist. However, Mira was a sophomore in high school who had neither the industry connections nor the time to make them. Mira turned the internet into his marketplace--specifically, YouTube. Mira and Taylor would upload beats onto the site to attract as many views as possible, with the hope that an artist would eventually be willing to pay for the rights to use the track. This expanded their clientele from the limited number of people they personally knew to everybody with an active internet connection. This very principle allowed Mira and Taylor to make money on the internet through their music--hence the name, “Internet Money”.
The novel business model Mira and Taylor developed has been crucial in the development of not just hip-hop/trap music, but the music industry as a whole. Now, many of the industry’s most successful producers--KBeazy, Murda Beatz, CashMoneyAP, and Cody Rounds--have achieved commercial success with, respectively, “Mood” by 24kGoldn, “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” by Travis Scott, “Nowadays” by Lil Skies, and “WRONG” by The Kid Laroi because of their start online or through YouTube. Nick Mira and Taz Taylor radically restructured the music industry and have established themselves as--in my eyes--some of the most influential musicians in recent history
Image from rollingstone.com
