Has Talib Kweli Come Up with a New Revenue Stream for Indie Artists?

Talib Kweli is well known on the underground scene and in the world of hip-hop music has always been the creator of innovative lyrics and music. He tours more than most mainstream artists but hasn’t had the same “success” as many of his mainstream counterparts.Jay-Z was quoted in the song “Moment of Clarity,” “If skills sold, truth be told, I’d probably be, Lyrically Talib Kweli, Truthfully I wanna rhyme like Common Sense, But I did 5 mill’ – I ain’t been rhyming like Common since.”It’s so common in this game that most rappers don’t live the life of a Jay-Z nor do they rap like him but the truth is we all want to get paid like him. The trick is to get paid without compromising your art and staying true to yourself. With that being said,in an effort to promote his upcoming album, “Gravitas,” and upcoming shows, Talib Kweli is offering fans a chance to have private meet & greets  and discussions with him before his shows for $50. On his KweliClub.com website, Talib gives details as to how fans can get up close and personal with him for 30 minutes. He is also allowing fans to pre-order his new album through his site and not through traditional channels such as iTunes. He has cut out the middle man.A meet and greet is nothing new or even paying more for a concert ticket to get the VIP experience but these deals are usually done through a label and corporations like Live Nation. Talib is doing i’m sure with a team but virtually by his damn self.  In this game we all know that time is money and Talib Kweli has proven that in this new industry, there are no rules.