Why?

           My name is Walt Goodridge (No, that's not me in the photo above!). I started the Hip Hop Entrepreneur Company to give Hip Hop entrepreneurs the information and step-by-step guidelines to follow to turn their dreams into reality. It's as simple as that. As I said in the quote above, "HipHopBiz.com provides the information people like you have been using since 1992 to release their own music."

What are the main benefits?

           If you take the information I'm offering, and put it to use, a few unique things will start to happen. People will start to realize you're SERIOUS about living your dream. You'll have an actual product as well as a business as evidence of your talent and commitment. Imagine if an established label notices what you're doing and leaves a message on your voicemail with an offer... and you refuse it because you're doing much better than signing a record deal could ever create! You'll walk proud knowing that you didn't need fat cat record label executives to make your dream come true You'll be a role model others can look up to and follow. (But, be careful what you wish for! YOU might just become the one that others start coming to with their hands out!)

Now let me share a little secret: The #1 reason a lot of talented rappers and producers will never get signed, and how YOU can avoid making that mistake!

           The #1 reason a lot of talented rappers and producers will never get signed is simply because they're waiting for someone to do it for them. They've fallen into the entitlement trap, and believe that someone with connections and money needs to give them a handout in order for them to be successful.            That's simply not true. It wasn't true years ago when I first wrote the first edition of Change the Game, and it's not true now years later with the updated version which includes internet marketing and promotion.

I know exactly what you're feeling

           When I started my label many years ago, it was because I knew I wanted to live a different life. I was the label owner, and my friends and partners were the rappers and producers, but we all felt the same way. We didn't want to live the rest of our lives knowing that our talent would go unheard, unappreciated and unrewarded. We didn't want to end up in nowhere jobs for the rest of our lives. We didn't want to look back and have others laugh at us and our unfulfilled dreams. We didn't want to get left behind.

It can be frustrating!

           It can be frustrating when labels don't return your calls. It can be frustrating watching others with less talent get put on, and feeling like no one wants to help a newcomer to the industry. You're not alone.

You've got to act now!

           When my partners and I were doing our record label thing, we were on a mission. Whenever something needed to get done, we did it with a sense of purpose and urgency. I don't think we ever said this out loud, but we knew time was running out. In this industry, at some point, unless you make the right moves and move in the right direction, your age will make you a "wannabe rapper" who missed the seat on the train that someone else took!

What will YOU gain after going through the steps in Change the Game?

           Whether you order Change the Game, This Game of Hip Hop Artist Management, or The Hip Hop Business Plan, you'll be taking an important step on the way to earning respect from your peers as they see you moving forward. You'll compliments and praise, and people may even be coming to YOU to have you produce or collaborate with them! You're only limited by what you can imagine.

Can it really work?

           I'm going to tell you another little secret that people may think is a little politically incorrect to say out loud, and it's this. Some authors don't really share your experience. As much as other authors may want to help you, there is a difference between managing rap artists and creating a hip hop label compared to doing the same for a rock label. Yes, some of the business basics are the same, but the day to day operations required for success in Hip Hop are different from Rock. Plain and simple. That's just the reality of life in America and the world. I talk about that in a preview of This Game of Hip Hop Artist Management (Why Managing Rap Artists Is Different in the Music Industy") that you'll find on the next page, when you click "enter" at the end of this introduction.

Who is this for?

           If you're running into roadblocks getting noticed, this site and its unique products is for you. If you want to know how to start your own label and release your own music, this site is for you. If you want to get your talent out into the marketplace, this site can help you.

Who DOESN'T need this?

           Of course, this site and its products ISN'T for everybody. Puffy doesn't need this site. 50 Cent doesn't need this site. And, if you're already parlayed your hip hop passion into profit, if you've already had a record sell and earn enough money to give you an independent stream of income, then YOU don't need this site either. Otherwise, if you're NOT Puffy or 50-Cent, it may be worth looking a little further.

New Information

           I said before that information is key. However, you need different information than what may be available out there at this moment. The reason why you need different information is because the world is changing. If you're following the news, you can see that the RIAA is cracking down on file sharing. You'll see that CD sales are down. You'll see that Facebook, Twitter and the concept of social networking has taken hold all over the world. What you should recognize from all of this is something that the major labels already know, the landscape has changed, and you need to have a different strategy for music industry success. I'll suggest you read another preview from Change the Game entitled "The Record Label of the Future" which is also available in full form, at www.hiphopbusinessplan.com

"I can't afford it"

           I'll tell you what a mentor of mine used to say to me when I used those words. He would say, "You can't afford NOT to purchase this!" In other words, if the only thing standing in the way of your potential success is a $49 or a $69 investment, you can't afford to let that alone stop you from making the effort. How will you feel years from now if you tell people that you HAD the chance, but you let the cost of some valuable information stand in your way?