Key Takeaways
- Jermaine Dupri says artists cannot expect strong ticket sales when they tour without real hits or perform subpar music.
- "This is the MUSIC BIZ, not the marketing business," Dupri wrote, arguing that music — not promotion, streaming numbers or hype — must drive an artist’s career.
- He compared today's artists to Waymo passengers running on autopilot, drawing on a career behind hits for Usher, Mariah Carey, Bow Wow, Da Brat, Xscape and Kris Kross.
Jermaine Dupri has shared that he thinks artists struggling to sell tickets should spend less time blaming the touring business and more time looking at the music they're making.
On Friday (October 2), the So So Def founder took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the current state of live music, arguing that artists need records people genuinely want to hear before expecting fans to show up for a concert.
"Why Y'all keep skipping around the real issue?" Dupri wrote. "Going on tour with no real hits, doing a show with subpar music, doesn't make people wanna come."
Dupri continued by stressing that music, not promotion, should remain at the center of an artist's success. "This is the MUSIC BIZ, not the marketing business, the music is the driver," he wrote, before ending with a jab at the current generation: "Most of these artist are in Waymo's."
The Waymo reference appears to be Dupri's way of saying today's artists are letting their careers run on autopilot rather than taking control of the music driving them forward.
His latest comments are consistent with what he's been saying about the industry recently. During an August appearance on The Manager's Playbook, Dupri argued that artists and executives have become too focused on streaming numbers, charts and hype instead of creating undeniable records capable of sustaining careers.
Dupri has plenty of experience with the connection between hit records and live audiences. Through So So Def and his highly decorated production career, he's played a role in the success of records by Kris Kross, Xscape, Da Brat, Bow Wow, Usher, and Mariah Carey.
