In an even more odious version of the pay-to-play scam rock bands have been dealing with for decades (although it's more of an L.A. rather than a NYC thing) in which artists have to sell a certain amount of tickets to earn the right to perform at a certain venue, the hip hop counterpart entails getting ripped of by not even being allowed to perform, after coming thru financially. Ugh.
[AV Club - The Scam Industry: How the Hip-Hop Boom Sets Hopefuls Up for Failure]
