Week 7 Major Paper
Week 7 Major Paper: Music Industry 20/20
By Destini Mekel Miles
GSCM588 – Managing Quality
Keller Graduate School of Management
Dr. Jayanta Bandyopadhyay
December 14, 2014
Contact Information: destinione@gmail.com / (713) 634-8418
Introduction As a music lover, I have always studied music artist and their songs/storytelling to piece together what I believed to be a mere glimpse into their lives. However, researching the industry, attempting to gain insight on industry norms and decisions made on behalf of management disturbed me. The establishment of one of the most influential independent (referred to as Indie) labels shed a picture on the evident control money and muscle affords the parent companies (i.e. the major label). The musical expression and the business behind the release of such prove to be as crippling to contractors (i.e. artist/performers) as many of them in modern day are translating through their music, actions, and social media platforms. The file in suit actions of management isn’t only crippling to contractors but also to the independent label itself and the consumers.
Out of the many established Indie labels, I decided to research a trailblazer label in one of my favorite genres of music: Hip Hop. It only made sense to research Def Jam Recordings. In respect to the core of a Hip Hop song (i.e. verses that are often measured by “16 bars”), paired with the wow-factor of the artist (i.e. the lyrics), I respectfully assign the pseudonym 16 Lyrics for Def Jam throughout the duration of this paper. As Hip Hop appreciators and fans, when we reflect on the music of Run DMC, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and Jay-Z to name a few, we must recognize the vehicle in which these artist used to jumpstart their careers was 16 Lyrics.
In 1982, Rubin was a college student at NYU, studying music. He would DJ and record local artist using Def Jam as his studio name. Since 1981, Simmons had been managing his rapping brother, Joseph Simmons
By Destini Mekel Miles
GSCM588 – Managing Quality
Keller Graduate School of Management
Dr. Jayanta Bandyopadhyay
December 14, 2014
Contact Information: destinione@gmail.com / (713) 634-8418
Introduction As a music lover, I have always studied music artist and their songs/storytelling to piece together what I believed to be a mere glimpse into their lives. However, researching the industry, attempting to gain insight on industry norms and decisions made on behalf of management disturbed me. The establishment of one of the most influential independent (referred to as Indie) labels shed a picture on the evident control money and muscle affords the parent companies (i.e. the major label). The musical expression and the business behind the release of such prove to be as crippling to contractors (i.e. artist/performers) as many of them in modern day are translating through their music, actions, and social media platforms. The file in suit actions of management isn’t only crippling to contractors but also to the independent label itself and the consumers.
Out of the many established Indie labels, I decided to research a trailblazer label in one of my favorite genres of music: Hip Hop. It only made sense to research Def Jam Recordings. In respect to the core of a Hip Hop song (i.e. verses that are often measured by “16 bars”), paired with the wow-factor of the artist (i.e. the lyrics), I respectfully assign the pseudonym 16 Lyrics for Def Jam throughout the duration of this paper. As Hip Hop appreciators and fans, when we reflect on the music of Run DMC, LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and Jay-Z to name a few, we must recognize the vehicle in which these artist used to jumpstart their careers was 16 Lyrics.
In 1982, Rubin was a college student at NYU, studying music. He would DJ and record local artist using Def Jam as his studio name. Since 1981, Simmons had been managing his rapping brother, Joseph Simmons
References: AstoriaJams. (2007, February 15). What does “owning the master” mean exactly? (Blog). Gueraseva, S. (2005). Def Jam Inc.: Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and the extraordinary story of the world’s most influential hip-hop label Lean Enterprise Institute. (2009). Principles of Lean. Retrieved from http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/Principles.cfm Library of Congress. (2013, February 28). H.Con.Res.16 - Supporting the Local Radio Freedom Act