The Music Industry Was Built on Racism. Changing It Will Take More Than Donations On Tuesday, the major labels protested police brutality with a âblackout.â Executives and artists say industry-wide racial equality is still a long way away In September 1978, soul producer extraordinaire Kenneth Gamble helped launch the Black Music Association, an advocacy group set on pushing the music industry to ârecognize and celebrate the economic and cultural power of black music as well as those who made and promoted it.â âIt was time for something new and more inclusive of all black music industry professionals,â Gamble said in 2015. The BMA was addressed to both artists and executives, linking two groups that both faced music industry racism but were often on opposite sides of negotiating tables. The BMAâs slogan? âBlack Music Is Green.â The BMA eventually faded from prominence, â[un]able to withstand splintered agendas in the leadership.â But several executives referenced the organizationâs history of advocacy this week in the aftermath of Blackout Tuesday, which saw work stoppages across the major labels. âI feel like we need that [to come back],â says one manager who participated in Blackout Tuesday events. Amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, record labels decided to use Tuesday for a rare industry-wide reckoning. Two related conversations have unfolded in parallel. First, can the music industry use its vast resources and wide influence to help reduce police brutality and combat systemic racism? Second, can the music industry finally face down its own history of racism and build a more equitable future? Some saw the industryâs navel-gazing as a distraction from the fierce urgency of the protests around Floydâs death. âIf I donât want to be exploited by the music business, I know how to not be exploited by the music business â I donât sign a contract,â says another manager who participated in Blackout Tuesday events. âI still donât know how not to be killed by a police officer.â But this weekâs conversation about the ways âthe record industry does a very good job of keeping black people out of the room,â as one A&R puts it, is accelerating discussions that have been in progress for decades and were already becoming more public in recent years. These concern the wildly uneven contracts that continue to earn the music business millions of dollars while passing on only a small amount of that wealth to artists, the...
Read More
The Woodstock festival was experienced by “half a million strong,” as the song goes. But the movie and its soundtrack brought the “Three Days of Peace and Music” counterculture celebration to millions of people across the globe. Released in May 1970, eight months after the festival took place in New York, the film’s soundtrack cemented the legacy of ’60s music and added a dash of idealism for years to come. The triple-LP set was unleashed to an audience enamored with that moment in time, hoping to catch a contact high of sorts. The performances released on the record were only a fraction of the music experienced over those three August 1969 days, but as a snapshot of the event, it more than delivers, as many of them would become iconic portraits, lasting far longer than many other touchstones of the era. Even though they were a rough and tumble blues band at their core, Canned Heat are best know for the light and bouncy “Going Up the Country,” a song that’s become synonymous with Woodstock. And its presence here is crucial. As is Richie Havens’ “Freedom.” The New York City folksinger brought an intensity to his performance that perfectly captured the spirit of the event and will forever be tied to the music fest. Crosby, Stills Nash and Young were so new when they played Woodstock that Stephen Stills noted onstage, “This is only the second time we’ve performed in front of people. We’re scared shitless.” Three of their songs show up on the soundtrack: “Suite: Judy Blues Eyes,” “Wooden Ships” and “Sea of Madness.” Country Joe & the Fish were among the pioneers of psychedelic music (their debut album, Electronic Music for Mind and Body, is a genuine genre landmark), they are best remembered for their Woodstock appearance, in which they delivered not only the infamous “Fish Cheer” (“Give me an F! Give me a U! Give me a C! Give me a K! What’s that’s spell?“) but also the rousing “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” which originally appeared on the band’s second album, but becomes one of the era’s greatest protest songs thanks to the Joe McDonald-led singalong. Several of the acts at Woodstock had also appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival two years earlier, including Jimi Hendrix and the Who, both of whom made their U.S. debuts at the 1967 show. By the time they each played Woodstock, they were among the biggest artists in rock music, The Who’s performance...
Read More
Bring the legacy of The Band into your home with Once Were Brothers, now available on-demand! Â See available platforms...
Read More
NOW AVAILABLE! Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the BAND OF GYPSYS original release with this limited edition all-analog edition vinyl anniversary edition. Get it...
Read More
Record Store Day 2020 has been postponed as health concerns rise in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic. Originally scheduled to take place on April 18, the global music event will now take place at participating record stores on Saturday June 20. âRSD acknowledges the need to be good citizens of both the local and worldwide communities while still giving our participating stores around the world the best chance to have a profitable, successful Record Store Day,â organizers said in a statement. As cases of coronavirus continue to be diagnosed, countries are moving to quell any further outbreaks of the disease. This week, New York, for example, banned all gatherings over 500 people, with venues such as Carnegie Hall canceling all programming until April. Festivals, including Coachella and SXSW, have either been postponed or canceled outright, while Live Nation Entertainment and AEG Presents are suspending all of their touring acts through the end of the month. The 2020 Rock Hall induction ceremony has also been postponed. Learn more in âWhat Happens When a Music Festival Is Canceled Due to Coronavirus?â and âHow 14 Major Cities Are Responding to the...
Read More
