What’s up! My name’s Martin Connor, a 20-something freelance writer and musician from Philly, PA, and it is I who made the rap news aggregator you now hold in your hands. Do you want to see more stuff like Hip Hop Headlines? Maybe a news aggregator for other music genres? Great! You can help make those other projects happen by donating here:
$1 or $2 would, seriously, mean the world to me. I don’t ever forget anyone who furthers my vision through their support, monetary or otherwise. So if you could find it in your heart to help make this day unlike any other in your life by right now trying to correct the structural inequities of capitalism, well, then, why wouldn’t you? Right?
Look man, I get it. You expect to get everything free online: music, video games, whatever. Shit, I do the same damn thing, so I’m not saying that’s wrong. But I am saying that, as of yet, there is a disconnect online between the quality of someone’s work and how they are in turn compensated for that work. I’ve gotten over 500,000 page views, had my work featured on the biggest media outlets in the rap industry, and never seen a dime from any of it. And you know what those-magazines-who-shall-not-be-named did with my articles that went viral? They copied and pasted my work, and straight up stole my content. Not only did I not see a fraction of a penny from any of this, but I didn’t even get the puerile satisfaction of seeing my page views go marginally up.
But I know it’s a balance. If people did have to pay to see my articles or download my apps, I probably wouldn’t have gotten 500,000 page views in the first place. I’m not saying what I’m proposing to you now is the be-all, end-all answer. But I am saying that I’m at my fucking wits’ end trying to make this work, because bussing tables every weekend on back-to-back graveyard shifts isn’t what I want to do the rest of my life.
So, thanks. And, as always,
Love,
Martin
