When Pigeons & Planes first covered EARTHGANG, it was a different time. The year was 2013, and we were still publishing a dozen or so articles a day. We’d premiere songs, write up blurbs about every track we liked, and introduce new artists on a daily basis. And people actually went to websites, read articles, and paid attention.
In the case of EARTHGANG, we had no expectations or inside knowledge. All we knew is that this eccentric duo from Atlanta was concocting an odd but extremely creative and compelling brand of hip-hop, and we couldn’t wait to hear more. We’d end up writing about them dozens of times over the next years.
Time after time, we’d hear about how those posts about new discoveries led to tangible progress—some artists got noticed by A&Rs and signed to labels, others got scouted by managers and creative collaborators, and many simply grew their fanbase and ran with it.
The role of blogs solved a very modern problem: with the internet, we had access to more music than ever before, but sifting through it all was impossible. Instead of trying to listen to hundreds of songs a day, fans could follow a handful of tastemakers they trusted and see what was being recommended.
For better or worse, things don’t happen like that today. On the positive side, the barrier to entry is lower than ever. There are few gatekeepers, and almost anyone can make a song in their bedroom, release it online, and market it through social media. But because of that non-existent barrier to entry, there is a lot of competition. There are tens of thousands of new songs released every day, and every new artist is fighting for attention however they can get it.
As an artist, you can’t simply make a great song, target a few of your favorite outlets, and hope you get covered—you’ve almost got to become a full-time marketing professional just to get your music in front of people. This means constant self-promo and behind-the-scenes networking, and even if you do all the right things, there’s no guarantee that it will pay off, especially if you don’t have the connections, the label support, and the marketing budget.
“Y’all always sending us these fire videos, these fire bars, these fire freestyles. Well, we linked up with Pigeons & Planes to give y’all the opportunity to open for us on the Biodeghettable Tour.” – EARTHGANG
Enough complaining, what can we do about it? Luckily, EARTHGANG didn’t forget about the impact of that early support from P&P and other music outlets, and they’re ready to pay it forward. The innovative ATL duo has come a long way since 2013—they signed to Dreamville, toured the world, and racked up hundreds of millions of streams along the way.
With their new album GHETTO GODS out now, they’re about to hit the road again, and they reached out with an idea: how can they use this tour to give a platform to emerging artists who want it and deserve it?
We are extremely proud to be working with EARTHGANG and their team on a new mission to give artists a rare opportunity to join the duo on stage as an opener in their city during the Biodeghettable Tour. Artists can submit music and info at this website, and we’ll sift through it all with the EARTHGANG team and curate a lineup of openers. The selected artists will have a chance to put on for their city, perform in front of thousands of fans, and get paid for their work.
“Y’all always sending us these fire videos, these fire bars, these fire freestyles,” EARTHGANG explain in a video message to their fans about the opportunity. “Well, we linked up with Pigeons & Planes to give y’all the opportunity to open for us on the Biodeghettable Tour.”
Head to biodeghettable.com to share your music, and we’ll see you on tour.