Are today's music industry executives any different from Leonard Chess? Have performers like Michael Jackson, Jay-Z and P-Diddy changed the way the music industry deals with black artist?
I feel the modern record men/producers are greedier than the original record men because there is much more money to make in the mainstream including oversees and often times the producers or owners of the label are artist as well and that makes their practices worst. The Rza, Mater P, P.Diddy, Suge Knight, Eazy E and Jerry Heller are great examples of record men who had booming businesses but due to greed and questionable practices lost their impressive roster.
I also agree with Waverly. The music industry is very tricky and dangerous. Being power/money hungry can be the down fall of all the great ones that are in the record bussiness these days. Michael Jackson himself said that the industry is a crazy world and many times the artist are bamboozled by the label owners, espcially the black artist.
Todays executives are no different. Business is business and the music industry is a business where the executives are out to make a dollar. Artists like Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, and Diddy have done a lot to inhance the African American image in the industry but a lot of the up-incoming artists are only in it for the short-term instead of the long-term. They don't think in a business mind set and because of that they get ripped off as soon as they sign the contract.
It could be true that music executives are just as self-absorbed and as egocentric as the execs in Chess' day. It could also be true that execs know now that they cannot get away with all the hidden loopholes and tricks that they could before. However, the music industry has changed in the fact that music artists are much more aware and more critical in how important it is that their individuality be protected and their rights to their property be upheld. It's different for blacks during this day and age, too. Black artists of Chess' time were extremely under-educated and completely naive as to the way business and the music industry worked. This is why they were so easily swindled by Leonard; they were completely incapable of NOT being screwed over. Artists today are at a greater advantage because they know how to protect themselves from having the rights to their art taken away or violated. Take Alicia Keys, for example, she is one of many artists that pushed to gain a majority of the royalties for what she puts out. She protected herself from the tricks and schemes of greedy producers.
Because we live in a capitalistic society the industry has NOT changed "mentally." It has only changed because of laws, rules, and regulations that protect all interested parties. But as with capitalism there must be a lower class that serves the upper classes. In this sense, artists and entertainers are not only the capital, but also the lower class struggling to get to the top of the capitalistic hierarchy. Today's entertainers are by far more educated and resourceful than their predecessors during Chess' era. Indeed today artist have become the "independent(s)" that allowed Chess to succeed as he did. In the same way those who are eager to sell quickly and do not believe in their product often get the less lucrative deals.
Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, and P-Diddy were/are able to use their success as bargaining power in their negotiations and to raise capital to become in a sense "indedpents" themselves. Fortunately, they have become more than independents, they have become major players/labels. So, that being said, the black artists has come into the realization that they can become extremely successful and thus demands and gains more respect than "Chessmen"
Although artist today still get taken advantage of in the music industry we cannot say that it is all of the music execs fault. In Leonard Chess' day the artists were genuinely ignorant to the machanics of the industry. Now we have the ability to research our endeavors before we embark on them. Music executives today take advantage of artists to the extent that the artist lets them. Chess had a full advantage of his artists from everything to music to how they were paid and if they wanted to make it, they had to follow.
the executives of today are just wiser but a little bit more heartless than Chess. while Chess cared enough about his artists to buy them a house with their own money he didn't think it was robbery to keep a majority of their royalties. some artists are getting smarter and not signing anyones contract; instead they are bring in their own contracts for labels to adhear to.
I believe that the Chess brothers were simply businessmen. Their tactics would have been the same regardless of the specific industry. I believe that it is very hard for those of us in the University to understand how cold and heartless most large businesses can be. The worker is loved and needed until the day comes when you (the worker) are no longer needed and you are gone. Business will pay you their workers only as much as they have to in order for them to stay. I think the modern musicians have made strides. But what will be interesting question will be how will the music execs treat their companies and employees. Do they make huge profits at the expense of the legions of workers under their control? I would think yes. Art and business, can they ever exist together? The artist begins their career for the love of the art. Once they join the industry, they become an assembly line for production purposes.
I do believe that buisness is buisness no matter what day and age,but there are some similarities and differences in the way Chess ran his music industry and how the music indutry is run now.Executives are all about the money,which comes with this type of buisness,but i think nowadys the process may be a little more difficult and hard to come by.At the end of the day buisness during the Chess period and buisness now both serve the same purpose.
Yes, I believe there is still exploitation occuring in the music industry, but in a different way. Today, artists are held to contracts in which they have to release a certain amount of albums to fulfill their contracts. But the record execs have total control over when the artists record and release the records. With this being said, there are many artists being held under record labels due to them not releasing albums. Business is all about money. So if a certain artist no longer has a buzz in the industry, the execs will not release any of his material. Many artists are not able to buy their way out of the contracts due to "splurging", or even may owe money to the label's owner.
Music executives are completely different from the producers in Leonard Chess' time. Lil Wayne for example, owns his company(Yung Money) and he is the CEO of it. Artists now have control over the music they present to the public and the amount of money they recieve back. Some executives are not as powerful as their artists; the more popular and experienced an artist is, the less chances of them getting taken advantage of.
No, they are not any different. In fact I think they are worse than Leonard Chess. They still do some of the same things Chess did such as paying Dj's to play their music and so on. Now a days there isnt a problem with who to sell the music to, because times have changed. So there is in actually more money out here for the excutive producers to grab. Cause of men like Leonard Chess and how he did his artist, many other artist who are new coming into this business are reading contracts and making sure things are what they seem. This still doesnt mean that the producers does not try to get over on them. Just as Chess was about what sells and not about what sounds good, thats what modern producers are about now.
Comparing and contrasting todays music industry to yesterdays music industry, meaning Chess' time, not too much has changed. Leonard was doing wat he thought was best to make a buck, same as today. He schemed, we scheme now. The songs then though, had a real story behind it. The artists sang with meaning and heart. Today majority of the music being put out means absolutely crap. I don't think executives are ALL about the money today and as far as the artists are concerned, with some, you can go sing about the most ridiculous thing and make a hit record. So, I don't feel as though its too hard to get into this business. People in this industry now are way more educated and more aware than in yesterdays time even though you still have a few Leonard Chess' today.
Although the times may appear to be different from back in the Chess days not much has really changed. Artist back then didn't really know what was considered a good deal, therefore, most black artists got taken advantage of. The artists of today have the resources and ability to know when a deal isn't quite as good as it initially sounded, but some still get the short end of the deal. So there isn't really a difference because deals are still being under the table my producers to boost the market-ability of their artist inorder to make a profit off of them in return.
I believe that in some situations, today's music industry executives are similiar to Leonard Chess. Just like majority of the artists that worked with Chess weren't knowledgeable about the business back then, there are artists working with new executives who are not knowledgeable about the business today. Many people still don't know the rules of how the music industry works and how they are supposed to get a fair share for their hard work. Therefore some executives are still scheming and plotting.
I feel there is no difference with the music industry executives from today and in Leonard Chess' time. New artist that come in are still being cheated out of their money and don't know the business pros and cons like the executives. The only thing that really changed is that black artist have an easier time becoming fmous now a days because that racial factor isnt as strong as it was back then. But altogether black artist are still treated the same. Most black artist are still broke and the ones getting the real money or profit are the executives.
I feel that the music execs of today are similar to Chess. The industry is about money and power so they will take advantage of the artist, but only if the artist allows it. Today's musicians know a little more about the industry and many go on to creat their own labels. Artist today are more aware of their rights and the execs are just a little more clever than in Chess' time.
Today's execs are different. In society today the artists typically control their own assets and annuities because they do not trust people similar to Chess. Some of today's artists went to school and got an education so they cannot be taken advantage of
Today"s music executives are not different than Leonard Chess. Performers like Micheal Jackson, Jay-Z, and P-Diddy have changed the way the music industry deals with black artist. They have done so by surpassing even the executives in knowledge of the business.
I feel the modern record men/producers are greedier than the original record men because there is much more money to make in the mainstream including oversees and often times the producers or owners of the label are artist as well and that makes their practices worst. The Rza, Mater P, P.Diddy, Suge Knight, Eazy E and Jerry Heller are great examples of record men who had booming businesses but due to greed and questionable practices lost their impressive roster.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Waverly. The music industry is very tricky and dangerous. Being power/money hungry can be the down fall of all the great ones that are in the record bussiness these days. Michael Jackson himself said that the industry is a crazy world and many times the artist are bamboozled by the label owners, espcially the black artist.
ReplyDeleteTodays executives are no different. Business is business and the music industry is a business where the executives are out to make a dollar. Artists like Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, and Diddy have done a lot to inhance the African American image in the industry but a lot of the up-incoming artists are only in it for the short-term instead of the long-term. They don't think in a business mind set and because of that they get ripped off as soon as they sign the contract.
ReplyDeleteIt could be true that music executives are just as self-absorbed and as egocentric as the execs in Chess' day. It could also be true that execs know now that they cannot get away with all the hidden loopholes and tricks that they could before. However, the music industry has changed in the fact that music artists are much more aware and more critical in how important it is that their individuality be protected and their rights to their property be upheld. It's different for blacks during this day and age, too. Black artists of Chess' time were extremely under-educated and completely naive as to the way business and the music industry worked. This is why they were so easily swindled by Leonard; they were completely incapable of NOT being screwed over. Artists today are at a greater advantage because they know how to protect themselves from having the rights to their art taken away or violated. Take Alicia Keys, for example, she is one of many artists that pushed to gain a majority of the royalties for what she puts out. She protected herself from the tricks and schemes of greedy producers.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBecause we live in a capitalistic society the industry has NOT changed "mentally." It has only changed because of laws, rules, and regulations that protect all interested parties. But as with capitalism there must be a lower class that serves the upper classes. In this sense, artists and entertainers are not only the capital, but also the lower class struggling to get to the top of the capitalistic hierarchy. Today's entertainers are by far more educated and resourceful than their predecessors during Chess' era. Indeed today artist have become the "independent(s)" that allowed Chess to succeed as he did. In the same way those who are eager to sell quickly and do not believe in their product often get the less lucrative deals.
ReplyDeleteMichael Jackson, Jay-Z, and P-Diddy were/are able to use their success as bargaining power in their negotiations and to raise capital to become in a sense "indedpents" themselves. Fortunately, they have become more than independents, they have become major players/labels. So, that being said, the black artists has come into the realization that they can become extremely successful and thus demands and gains more respect than "Chessmen"
ReplyDeleteAlthough artist today still get taken advantage of in the music industry we cannot say that it is all of the music execs fault. In Leonard Chess' day the artists were genuinely ignorant to the machanics of the industry. Now we have the ability to research our endeavors before we embark on them. Music executives today take advantage of artists to the extent that the artist lets them. Chess had a full advantage of his artists from everything to music to how they were paid and if they wanted to make it, they had to follow.
ReplyDeletethe executives of today are just wiser but a little bit more heartless than Chess. while Chess cared enough about his artists to buy them a house with their own money he didn't think it was robbery to keep a majority of their royalties. some artists are getting smarter and not signing anyones contract; instead they are bring in their own contracts for labels to adhear to.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Chess brothers were simply businessmen. Their tactics would have been the same regardless of the specific industry. I believe that it is very hard for those of us in the University to understand how cold and heartless most large businesses can be. The worker is loved and needed until the day comes when you (the worker) are no longer needed and you are gone. Business will pay you their workers only as much as they have to in order for them to stay.
ReplyDeleteI think the modern musicians have made strides. But what will be interesting question will be how will the music execs treat their companies and employees. Do they make huge profits at the expense of the legions of workers under their control? I would think yes.
Art and business, can they ever exist together? The artist begins their career for the love of the art. Once they join the industry, they become an assembly line for production purposes.
I do believe that buisness is buisness no matter what day and age,but there are some similarities and differences in the way Chess ran his music industry and how the music indutry is run now.Executives are all about the money,which comes with this type of buisness,but i think nowadys the process may be a little more difficult and hard to come by.At the end of the day buisness during the Chess period and buisness now both serve the same purpose.
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe there is still exploitation occuring in the music industry, but in a different way. Today, artists are held to contracts in which they have to release a certain amount of albums to fulfill their contracts. But the record execs have total control over when the artists record and release the records. With this being said, there are many artists being held under record labels due to them not releasing albums. Business is all about money. So if a certain artist no longer has a buzz in the industry, the execs will not release any of his material. Many artists are not able to buy their way out of the contracts due to "splurging", or even may owe money to the label's owner.
ReplyDeleteMusic executives are completely different from the producers in Leonard Chess' time. Lil Wayne for example, owns his company(Yung Money) and he is the CEO of it. Artists now have control over the music they present to the public and the amount of money they recieve back. Some executives are not as powerful as their artists; the more popular and experienced an artist is, the less chances of them getting taken advantage of.
ReplyDeleteNo, they are not any different. In fact I think they are worse than Leonard Chess. They still do some of the same things Chess did such as paying Dj's to play their music and so on. Now a days there isnt a problem with who to sell the music to, because times have changed. So there is in actually more money out here for the excutive producers to grab. Cause of men like Leonard Chess and how he did his artist, many other artist who are new coming into this business are reading contracts and making sure things are what they seem. This still doesnt mean that the producers does not try to get over on them. Just as Chess was about what sells and not about what sounds good, thats what modern producers are about now.
ReplyDeleteComparing and contrasting todays music industry to yesterdays music industry, meaning Chess' time, not too much has changed. Leonard was doing wat he thought was best to make a buck, same as today. He schemed, we scheme now. The songs then though, had a real story behind it. The artists sang with meaning and heart. Today majority of the music being put out means absolutely crap.
ReplyDeleteI don't think executives are ALL about the money today and as far as the artists are concerned, with some, you can go sing about the most ridiculous thing and make a hit record. So, I don't feel as though its too hard to get into this business.
People in this industry now are way more educated and more aware than in yesterdays time even though you still have a few Leonard Chess' today.
Although the times may appear to be different from back in the Chess days not much has really changed. Artist back then didn't really know what was considered a good deal, therefore, most black artists got taken advantage of. The artists of today have the resources and ability to know when a deal isn't quite as good as it initially sounded, but some still get the short end of the deal. So there isn't really a difference because deals are still being under the table my producers to boost the market-ability of their artist inorder to make a profit off of them in return.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in some situations, today's music industry executives are similiar to Leonard Chess. Just like majority of the artists that worked with Chess weren't knowledgeable about the business back then, there are artists working with new executives who are not knowledgeable about the business today. Many people still don't know the rules of how the music industry works and how they are supposed to get a fair share for their hard work. Therefore some executives are still scheming and plotting.
ReplyDeleteI feel there is no difference with the music industry executives from today and in Leonard Chess' time. New artist that come in are still being cheated out of their money and don't know the business pros and cons like the executives. The only thing that really changed is that black artist have an easier time becoming fmous now a days because that racial factor isnt as strong as it was back then. But altogether black artist are still treated the same. Most black artist are still broke and the ones getting the real money or profit are the executives.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the music execs of today are similar to Chess. The industry is about money and power so they will take advantage of the artist, but only if the artist allows it. Today's musicians know a little more about the industry and many go on to creat their own labels. Artist today are more aware of their rights and the execs are just a little more clever than in Chess' time.
ReplyDeleteToday's execs are different. In society today the artists typically control their own assets and annuities because they do not trust people similar to Chess. Some of today's artists went to school and got an education so they cannot be taken advantage of
ReplyDeleteToday"s music executives are not different than Leonard Chess. Performers like Micheal Jackson, Jay-Z, and P-Diddy have changed the way the music industry deals with black artist. They have done so by surpassing even the executives in knowledge of the business.
ReplyDelete