Welcome To Our 2012 List Of The 11 HOTTEST Music Artists That Rep The DC Metropolitan Area.

Welcome to our 2012 list of the 11 HOTTEST music artists that rep the DC Metropolitan area.

We are not making a list of who we feel is the best, only who, in our opinion, had the best year. Hence, the emphasis on HOTTEST. Please note that there is no specific order this year.

The purpose of this list is to shine a light on the great talent coming out of the DMV and the amazing impact that they’ve made as “local” music artists over the the last year.

When we say local artist we just mean that they are from the area, not confined to it.

We decided to change it up this time and list music artists instead of just rappers so you will see a great diversity of singers and rappers, both signed and independent that have been making a name both within DC and beyond.

This list is based on who we felt had the made the most noise inside and outside the D.C. metropolitan area by way of buzzworthy shows, social media following, tours, videos, albums/mixtapes, singles, publicity, street buzz, industry co-signs and other music-related things that kept the artist’s name on the tip of everybody’s tongue in 2012.

Again, this is a list of artists who we feel had the hottest year so this is no slight to other artists who may have been named in the past or feel they should be on the list. The shift in format from just rappers to also include singers bumped many deserving rappers who had a more quiet year 2012 than they did in 2011.

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         Record companies have defied the global economic downturn to invest US$4.5 billion annually in artists and repertoire (A&R) and marketing, according to a comprehensive new report from IFPI on the changing economics of the music business.

Record companies remain the primary investors in artists, maintaining A&R spend despite declining overall revenues in recent years. Labels spent US$2.7 billion in 2011, only marginally down on 2008 (US$2.8 billion), despite an overall decline of 16 per cent in the trade value of the industry globally over the same period. Revenues invested in A&R increased from 15 to 16 per cent of industry turnover between 2008 and 2011.

Music companies invest a greater proportion of their global revenues in A&R than most other sectors do in research and development (R&D). Comparisons show music industry investment exceeding that of industries including software and computing (9.6%) and the pharmaceutical and biotech sector (15.3%). The comparisons are based on the European Commission's 2011 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard.

Two new surveys, conducted in the UK and Germany in 2012, show more than 70 per cent of unsigned acts want a record deal, with marketing leading the perceived benefits of record company support.

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USA TOUR STARTS THIS WEEKEND! ＋＋＋New Io Echo dates added＋＋＋

Nominations for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards were announced tonight by The Recording Academy and reflected an eclectic mix of the best and brightest in music over the past year, as determined by the voting members of The Academy. For the fifth year, nominations for the annual GRAMMY Awards were announced on primetime television as part of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night," a one-hour CBS entertainment special broadcast live for the first time ever from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Fun., Jay-Z, Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean, and Kanye West top the nominations with six each; the Black Keys, Chick Corea and Miguel each garner five nods; and producer Jeff Bhasker, mastering engineer Bob Ludwig and Nas are each up for four awards.

"The GRAMMY Awards process once again has produced a diverse and impressive list of nominations across multiple genres," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "This year's nominees truly represent an exceptional and vibrant creative community that exemplifies some of the highest levels of artistry and excellence in their respective fields. Combined with the fifth year of our primetime nominations special, we're off to an exciting start on the road to Music's Biggest Night, the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards, on February 10.

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