Underpinning every American genre, from rock ‘n’ roll to jazz to hip-hop, lies Black culture.
The ‘race records’ of the 1920s marked the beginning of what would become decades of Black artists locked into inequitable, one-sided deals by record labels. Up until the 1970s, access to studio time was managed and recording contracts were inked exclusively by the white execs that controlled these companies.
As rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Little Richard put it, “if you wanted to record, you signed on their terms or you didn’t record”. Following the release of his breakthrough hit ‘Tutti Frutti’ in 1955, he was gouged out of proper compensation through a distribution deal where he made half a cent for every record sold, a tenth of what the average unknown white artist was making at that time. The exploitation of Little Richard is embedded in many of the predatory practices we continue to see today.
George Clinton, leader of the notorious funk collective Parliament-Funkadelic, has had seemingly unending legal battles over copyright issues and unpaid dues with his publisher, Bridgeport Music, dating back to 1999. The question of whether music manager Jerry Heller swindled the members of N.W.A., including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, out of royalties, remains ongoing. Prince performed with the word “Slave” etched onto his cheek over a deal with Warner Music Group because the company maintained they would retain control over his entire back catalog.
In defense of the record industry, they are seemingly inclusive in the sense that artists across all races have complained or sued or re-recorded their entire discography over the absence of an equitable deal.
However, Black artists remain much more susceptible to signing contracts that don’t have their best interests in mind. Eric Holt, an assistant professor of music business at Belmont, says that the agreed upon terms for Black artists today compared to the 1950s follow the “same exact character sketch … African-American, poor, looking for a way out of their circumstances, and using their talent as a way out.”
At a label meeting, the educational and economic disparities present within our society manifest as a lack of legal representation and access to advice regarding “record contracts, royalty payments, marketing, promotion, or career development.”
This type of exploitation is not uncommon, says entertainment attorney Vince Phillips (whose clients include Lil Baby, Kevin Gates, NBA YoungBoy), and “if a major label knows a Black artist needs to earn money quickly … they’ll use that knowledge to pressure them into signing a bad contract.”
In 2019, Hip-hop and RnB were the most-streamed genres on Spotify. As of today, seven of the top 10 slots on the Billboard Hot 100 are filled by Black artists. The major labels are substantially profiting off Black talent, yet those at the helm of the industry, the players in the C-suite, are primarily white men. In the UK, out of 12 surveyed music industry bodies, 10 didn’t employ a single Black woman.
The barrier of entry to the music industry is typically a series of unpaid summer internships that, due to systemic inequities, often exclude low-income minority groups. Accepting these offers are the ones that can afford to temporarily relocate to LA or New York, withhold the flow of any income for three months, and still manage to get by. Those making the connections needed to retain entry-level positions at these labels are thereby reduced to the pool of candidates who have the wherewithal to afford these opportunities.
On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by Officer Derek Chauvin outside of a convenience store in Minneapolis, MN. In the following weeks, mass protests, memorials, and marches ensued across the globe. Corporations from Nike to the NFL began running ‘Black Lives Matter’ marketing campaigns. The record industry attempted to show solidarity for the cause through the social media campaign, #TheShowMustBePaused.
On June 2nd, 2020, black boxes flooded the feeds of Instagram users. This endless scroll of 4x4 black squares was meant to disrupt the flow of our daily routine, creating space for reflection and initiating conversations on how we can support Black communities.
What was started in good faith by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, two Black marketing executives at Columbia Records, quickly went viral and was rebranded from #TheShowMustBePaused to #BlackoutTuesday. Posts were soon brandished with any tag related to social justice, effectively muting the prior posts with useful information containing those tags. Clicking the #BLM and #BlackLivesMatter tags would lead you to a monotonous, black wall.
Anger soon ensued from the general public and artists alike, with the former claiming it was censoring activists and the latter expressing discontent over the lack of any tangible support or change.
As an immediate follow-up to the botched black square experiment, Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group each launched a $100 million fund “to support social justice and anti-racist initiatives around the globe.”
As of today, Sony Music has not uploaded any post or provided details on where these resources have been allocated. Warner Music at least has a blog however the only three posts are from June —when the fund was created; July — when the board members were picked; and seven days ago, February 18, 2021 — when the recipients of these funds were first announced. The timing of this press release coincidentally falling within Black History Month, eight months after the initial establishment of the fund, feels a bit … performative.
There is no substitute for sustained activism. The major labels have been able to prosper despite operating under outdated practices because they have deep pockets. Without the contributions of Black artists, they would not have the capital to keep themselves afloat. Artist-friendly platforms such as ethical music streaming co-ops and blockchain-backed streaming services have begun to emerge. These companies allow artists to both retain ownership of their work and offer fair payment. If there is no reform, artists of all races may soon be empowered to ditch the label altogether.
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