The 80/20 Rule in Hip-Hop

What is the 80/20 Rule?

The 80/20 rule is a management formula that is also known as Pareto's Principle. This principle is used everyday by managers and management teams around the world in every capacity imaginable. The idea can be applied to nearly anything and it's definition in short is that theoritically in any given situation, there is a dominant 20% that leads and molds the other 80%, or as the founder of this formula Dr. Joseph Juran put it there is "the vital few and the trivial many". In this bloq I would like to invite you to reflect on how this formula may apply to Hip-hop music and culture;

Let's start by saying that it would seem evident that 20% of the companies within the recording industry receive 80% percent of the profits (because they own the distribution channels),

and that 80% percent of the music that actually reaches the public is made by only 20% percent of the artists trying to get out there ,

of that music I can confidently say that only 20% is actually good while 80% is..............wack,

I will even go as far as saying that just during this summer it is arguable that 80% of the music that has come out will not be remembered a few years from now while 20% percent of it will,

of the songs that do stand the test of time only 20% percent of the money will ever go to the artist's who created them while 80% will go to...........others,

80% of those "others".....involved in selling Hip-hop music do not care about or understand it's culture while a faithful 20% are the core group vital for Hip-hop's survival,

The question that I now sit here asking myself and that I hope you are asking yourself is whether I'm going to be one of the vital few or of the trivial many?

Cristopolis Dieguez
latinohiphop.org
cristopolis.com
202.730.5012