A new report by Forbes magazine says that Shawn Carter, better known in the hip-hop rap & beats world as Jay-Z, earned an estimated $63 million in personal income between June 2009 and June 2010. The recording artist and music producer did so well during the recession by following a strategy that most of the top-10 industry earners also adopted: doing other things.

Hip Hop Is Just A Foot In The Door

According to the Forbes report, Diddy Combs earned $30 million in the same time frame and Akon checked in at number 3 with $21 million, just ahead of L’il Wayne, who despite being tied up with legal battles, notched $20 million. Most of the industry’s major earners make more money off of endorsements and related business concerns than they do from making and selling records. That’s not to say, however, that the music doesn’t play an important role in their financial success.

Music puts these top earners in front of the public and that public presence makes them extremely valuable to companies who are looking to target certain demographic segments of the market. In addition, proceeds from music careers can finance other business interests. For example, the popular 40/40 nightclub chain is one of Jay-Z’s business holdings. The nightclub chain also enables Jay-Z to come in contact with and promote new music artists since music production is another of his sidelines.

Other rap and hip hop music stars have turned their personas and music into other careers. Ice-T, for example is spending much of his time in front of the camera, and the highly recognizable Diddy Combs promotes vodka to earn cash on the side.

To take advantage of the secondary opportunities in rap music, potential players have to make it big in the music scene first. Breaking in isn’t as difficult a job as you might think, and the music is in no way secondary to everything else. If the music isn’t there, an artist’s career won’t be going very far. Having a great understanding of how to make beats that people want to listen to is critical.

So how can you break into the hip-hop music scene? First and foremost, make great music. Self-production has never been easier using software like Sonic Producer. You can make your own backbeats and mix tapes, combine unique sounds, add lyric tracks and put your music out for the world to hear. You don’t have to catch the attention of a music producer; you simply have to catch the attention of the listener. Sonic Producer is a great software to start with, since it creates a professional sound and uses royalty-free samples. You’ll also get great video tutorials to help you create the sounds that hip-hop fans want to hear. Check it out!

Photo Credit: NRK P3, via Flickr