IMPORTANT: Please read our Guide To Quality Writing before you begin posting!

Dismiss Notice
Please note that we are only approving writers from the US, UK and Canada at this time.

Why Do Major Record Labels Quickly Promote Negativity But Reject Positive Music?

Discussion in 'Music' started by Dinbanks, Apr 17, 2015.

  1. Dinbanks

    Dinbanks Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2015
    Posts:
    46
    Likes Received:
    8
    Gender:
    Male
    In relation to hip hop this topic has evolved since the mid 80's. There was a time when big record labels like Atlantic, Columbia, Capitol, and RCA said hip hop was a joke and they would not touch it with a ten foot pole. Well that scenario changed real quick lol.

    When they saw how lucrative and popular hip hop became from the late 80's forward they jumped on the bandwagon quick fast and in a hurry. The bad thing about this though was the fact that 1. these major labels were giving aspiring hip hop artists horrible contracts in comparison to other new artists of different genres and 2. these labels made it a point that these new hip hop acts had to write sings about violence, the drug game, and exploiting women.

    Why does the record industry so lack moral scruples and have seemingly no sense of responsibility to the people?
     
  2. micmariem

    micmariem New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2015
    Posts:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Female
    Because for some weird reason....IT SELLS!!! And that's the bottom line. Never mind who gets messed up along the way.
    They didn't go into the business for The ethics or morals it upholds.....right?
     
  3. kuyarobi

    kuyarobi New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2015
    Posts:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    Every loves drama and scandals. It sells. That notion is ever so popular in music and entertainment. The music industry is a business. It is not a charity where they give out free music that lifts people out of bad situations. If there is money to made off the the horror and death and the music that is inspired by them, then that is what they are going to sell. They sell what make money. They do not sell what makes sense.
     
  4. OhioTom76

    OhioTom76 New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2015
    Posts:
    10
    Likes Received:
    1
    Gender:
    Female
    Some supposed industry "insider" published a piece a couple years ago which supposedly blew the lid open that the whole surge in "gangsta rap" in the early 90's was part of a larger calculated effort on behalf of then booming private prison industry to keep their jails filled, so those investing in them could reap the real financial rewards from it. They explained that there were meetings with the record labels and high level industry execs to promote such music and cultural violence, so they could arrest more people (read: minorities) and get them into the "system".

    I'm assuming this was probably just a bunch of tin-foil-hat wearing conspiracy stuff, and not entirely real, but you never know. I'm actually really interested in seeing the new documentary on NWA which should be coming out soon, as I've heard some great things about it and in interviews, Ice Cube has stated that they really wanted to tell their story properly.
     
  5. vziglar

    vziglar New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2015
    Posts:
    21
    Likes Received:
    2
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    Florida
    It's very simple, they promote what's going to sell. Sad to say but lyrical content has little to do with what will actually sell. What most people actually want to vibe to and listen to on a daily basis. Consumers want to hear a good beat and a catchy hook. And so that is what record labels are going to promote. The other day I saw a comedy skit on IG. It basically portrayed the anticipation of one of Wayne's carter albums coming out. There was all this hype and excitement sounding the release date. Then when it actually came out it showed a young man with headphones on listening to Wayne rapping "A B C D E F G ... ". Lol it was hilarious! Because it's sooo true! He wasn't talking about anything but yet everyone wanted it because of all of the hype(promotion) surrounding it. Just something I thought was funny. I wish I could find it and post it. But anyways there are some that do care about lyrical content but not enough to really sell albums. There needs to be a combination of lyrics, a nice beat, and a catchy hook. Without all 3 unfortunately great artist get lost in the shuffle and don't get the promotion they should.
     
  6. LaTavia McQueen

    LaTavia McQueen New Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2015
    Posts:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Female
    Record labels reject positive music because unfortunately the negative music sells better. For some reason most people stopped listening to music to feel something, now people listen to not feel anything. The lyrical content is not a factor anymore as long as the song is catchy. In the rap genre especially, often artists are praised for the way they sound of the life they are glorifying. Instead of being about content, the music industry has turned to only being about fads and trends. Whatever is hot is what's going to sell and that's all the record labels care about.
     
  7. mr.opinion

    mr.opinion New Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2015
    Posts:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    A rapper named Chamillionaire had an album titled Controversy Sells. This is my best answer. You can identify this throughout all facets of the entertainment industry. People are just as quick, if not quicker, to listen to or observe something they dislike or disagree with. Im sure, so they can reinforce or justify their stance. It boils down to human psychology.
     
  8. GernBlanston

    GernBlanston New Member

    Joined:
    May 5, 2015
    Posts:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    You're all kinda mostly right, Hip Hop conspiracy theorists are not actually that far off from the truth.
    Everyone seems to assume Rap went bad at a certain point, Hip Hop is a way of Life, rap is only a small part of it.
    The culture (mostly a mix of Jamaican Latin and "inner city anyone") is an all inclusive generally non violent creed, in fact it was hip hop alone that brought New yorks 'Legacy' gang violence to an armistice.

    I encourage all (New School Heads) to discover the Real history of hip hop and by proxy rap, start with Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation.
    I will assume most of us here are american, as we are the ONLY nation ignorant of our own history (thus the term stupid americans).
    Hip Hop culture spread across the world long before the first Rap song was ever played on main stream media, oddly enough the worst "Rap Song" of the day was the one that Sold out Hip Hop to the mainstream media and is regarded as the first rap song (by people that don't know any better)
    'Rappers Delight' a song that was completely ripped off word for word including the original authors name.

    When the too big to fail Recording industry caught wind of something new to exploit they quickly found a way to incorporate a multicultural movement into a revenue stream.

    When Rap Rebelled in the late 80's and early 90's the industry lashed back by not putting people who rap about anything on, which is where most people seem to cominto the story.

    Whats the diff between Miley Cyrus and Lil Wane? you are correct Nothing!
     
  9. Gktime

    Gktime New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2017
    Posts:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    Well, at least some positivity sells. I'm not saying I disagree just trying to focus on the positive. For example, I read that Jay Z said that he heavily listened to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. That is a very positive album and considered by many to be a classic hip hop album.
     

Share This Page