NOLA MusiCon’s Post

One Would Have Thought That in 2024, the Music Industry Would Have Grown Up and Stopped Being a Den of Iniquity Despite the progress and global reach of music, the industry continues to reveal deep flaws. Beyoncé, for example, was completely snubbed at the 2024 Country Music Awards, despite her album Cowboy Carter topping the country charts. This exclusion highlights a larger issue of systemic gatekeeping within country music, where Black artists are often overlooked, regardless of their success. Many hoped Beyoncé’s album, which sought to reclaim the genre’s Black roots, would open doors, but the industry continues to resist true inclusivity. Similarly, Tyla, a South African artist, won Best African Music Performance at the 2024 Grammy Awards, even though her music is closer to amapiano and Afro-pop, not Afrobeat. This misclassification mirrors past missteps, like awarding The Police as a reggae group when Bob Marley was around. Such decisions not only show a lack of understanding but also insult the artists truly defining those genres. Lastly, nepotism remains a glaring issue in major labels. Damien Lucien’s appointment as president of Atlantic Records—mainly due to being the son of Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music—exemplifies this. His rapid rise, despite limited experience, underscores how connections often take precedence over talent or hard work. For many, the independent route looks more attractive than ever, as the industry’s flawed hierarchy becomes clearer. #MusicIndustry2024 #BeyoncéSnub #TylaGrammy #NepotismInMusic

I never imagined being referenced in the same headline as Beyonce!   But then I also never thought of myself as part of the story of Black Country Music. But turns out I am by way of my nature as an activist and as a staunch advocate for removing barriers to social and economic justice for those who have been historically excluded from the profits, but who have always been central to the story of American culture. That was the case when I met Black Country Music legend, Cleve Francis, in the mid 90s. He was the one from whom I learned that the banjo came from Africa, and about Deford Bailey, known as the “Harmonica Wizard”, who is one of the first and most influential performers at the Grand Ole Opry. What I learned from Cleve made me proud, and at the same time, incensed that, yet again, we had been erased not just from history, but from the whole dang multi-billion-dollar industry that was built on our musical innovations, and had buried us deep beneath the foundation. So together, Cleve and I founded the Black Country Music Association with a mission to activate on not just telling our story, but also to provide a platform for artists to convene, support and collaborate to find and engage audiences thirsty for our original style of music. A sound that emanated from our own soulful blues birthed on slave plantations.     After three decades of experience as a social justice warrior in music and the arts, a business owner, a business community leader, and consultant to many, I have come to realize that now, at this time, 2024 demands more.   There are new rules. DEI, which undergirds measurable growth and success proven by its impact on company bottom lines across industries in the global marketplace, has become so successful that to remain so we need to gird our loins, as “Nigel” would say. (Shout out to Stanley Tucci in The Devil Wears Prada) DEI needs to put on its Harbison and Thebe Magugu and stomp.   New rule #1: Be like Beyonce.   Bring it! We know where we have been, how far we have come, and there is no turning back. It’s time to be fierce, fearless, and relentless in reaching and even surpassing our goals, and remember that we must stay in formation as we are stronger together.   New rule #2: Own it! It’s not about labor. It’s about ownership.   Work sustains your life. Assets raise the quality of it. Ownership empowers you to be able to define what your legacy will be, embed it in your family and community, and lay the foundation for future generations. Invest in your legacy.   New rule #3: As Barack Obama says: Don’t boo. Vote!   We have two forms of power to make transformational change: our dollar and our vote. So spend your money with businesses that support YOU and your values. And vote for people who support YOU and your values. And not just every four years, but in every local election where you live, work, play and pray, where rules are made.   #PathBlazing #DEIgoesJEDI    

I had the pleasure this week to sit on a panel to discuss Early Music in New York, past, present, and future and I thank the Early Music Foundation and Early Music America for the privilege. I touched on several issues that still plague the field with respect to ethnic diversity and that of black and brown musicians, among other things. Yes, there are more ethnically diverse players in the field now, but there is more work to be done to make sure there is representation in the field across the board. Today I had the pleasure of attending the Black Orchestral Network 2024 Summit and, low and behold, this was also the topic of discussion with respect to managing initiatives to increase diversity in every aspect of the field of classical music. The discussion focused on how to create equitable auditions, how to build community and financial support by increasing board, donor, and staff diversity, how to identify ways in which all of us can work together to break the stigma that comes with “white fragility,” and how to find ways in which we can reach a benchmark to celebrate black creative expression in the field rather than perpetuating the idea that this should be noted as extraordinary. Chi-chi Nwanoku, Founder of Chineke!. double bassist, broadcaster, writer, and mentor, spoke about the Berlin Conference of 1884, at which European Nations discussed how to divide up the continent of Africa among them. She brought to our attention that those nations sitting at the table reaped the benefits while those African countries that were not invited might consider themselves on the menu. All that to say, we need to have more change agents at the table alongside musicians of color to make the case for a more equitable field. We also need to respect the fact that musicians of color did not choose this field to right the wrongs of discrimination but chose the field because of a passion for making music. To work efficiently toward our goal, we need to see a larger and more diverse pool of advocates involved in every aspect of our field to move the DEI initiative forward, maintain it, and retain it as a high priority. https://lnkd.in/e4m-FhpF

June is also Black Music Month. Here's how it all got started. https://lnkd.in/eed7nBZs #blackmusicmonth #diversityequityandinclusion #diversityequityinclusion #diversityequityinclusionbelonging

With more taste & flavour than sausages…

94 categories: Grammy time last week   The Grammys were awarded last week. That's a US music award, honoring the most important artists over the last 12 months. Simplified, the winners are determined by a process of nominations from record companies and others, screening sessions of 350 experts, a first round of voting to arrive at nominations (5 per category), followed by a second round of voting of ~12.000 members to finally award the Grammy. Currently, there are 94 categories in 11 fields from Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music to the General Field, the latter including Record of the Year or Best New Artist. And yes, of course you can argue about the merits of Tayler Swift to become the first artist with four awards for Album of the Year …   But from a data perspective, it is even more interesting to look at music awards in other countries and compare the respective processes. In Germany, there used to be the Echo, awarded in more than 100 categories (before being ended in 2018 as a result of controversial awards for songs said to promote antisemitic and homophobic views). Especially in the most popular Pop categories, the Echo was awarded based on sales figures – not creative performance.   In the UK, the Brit Awards winners were long suspected to reflect the goodwill of the music industry, so the nomination and voting process was adapted over time to better reflect the diversity and breadth of the music industry with currently around 1,200 annually refreshed members of a voting academy. In France, there are different awards from Diapason and Victoire de la Musique to the Grand Prix du Disque. The latter is awarded by an academy consisting of 50 permanent members, possibly reflecting the more elite system in France.   Bottom-line: there is no single “correct” way to determine the Album of the Year. For any individual music lover, this will always be a strictly personal choice neither determined by the number of streams nor an academy or panel of experts … #music #media #datadriven

"Many non-listeners stereotype country music as being white, politically conservative, militantly patriotic and rural. And you can certainly find artists and songs that fit that bill. But the story of country has always been more complicated, and debates about race and authenticity in country are nothing new; they’ve plagued country artists, record companies and listeners for over a century.   ... Instead, the controversy is about her “countryness,” and whether a pop star can authentically cross from one genre to the next. Lucky for Beyoncé, it’s been done plenty of times before. And her songs are arriving at a time when more and more Black musicians are charting country hits. Cross-racial collaboration Americans have long viewed country music – or, as it was known before World War II, hillbilly music – as largely the purview of white musicians. This is partly by design. The “hillbilly” category was initially created as a counterpart to the “race records” aimed at Black audiences from the 1920s to the 1940s. But from the start, the genre has been influenced by Black musical styles and performances." #musicindustry #music #countrymusic #diversity #culture #societyandculture #media #americafirst #usa

Grateful for this mention and the work of the Music and Entertainment Council MEC — Thank you Mayor Skip Henderson !!! 🎹💫🎼🎸🎧🎤🥁🎸 There are some pressing things happening in our State Legislature ‼️ Music is EConomy and Forever!! I am in support of House Bill 549 and Senate Bill 396 (HB549 and SB396) We need a statewide Music Office!!! 💫☀️ Establishing a statewide music office within the Department of Economic Development recognizes the significant economic impact of the music industry in Georgia.❤️ Over 70,000 Georgians employed in music: The bill acknowledges the vast number of individuals employed in various music-related roles statewide, underscoring the need for focused support and promotion.✅ Addressing a Gap in Current Structure: Currently, there is no specific office within the Department of Economic Development focused solely on music, unlike the existing Office of Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment. Having a dedicated point person is essential.🔥

Dr. Christa Garvey, a professor of music and oboe, believes protest songs are a way of life; they provide an alternative way of understanding the world. Dr. Garvey takes this idea a step further in her new course, HNRS 149 Music and Social Change. To read more about Music and Social Change, check out the article here: https://lnkd.in/evs5Bmw9

**It Took Me 26 Years to Get a Major Business Deal in Sweden for My Record Label** It took me twenty-six years to secure a major business deal in Sweden for my record label—something I took for granted in the UK and the U.S. where I could share my music with the world. Before this, all my music deals were either U.S. or UK-based. In Sweden, there was complete silence. They don't acknowledge you or even respond with a polite letter; they ignore you as if you don’t exist in the music industry here. At college in Philadelphia, I would send my music demos to all the major record companies, and the standard “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” reply would arrive a few days later. But in Sweden, you send a demo and there's no acknowledgment of its receipt—no "yes" or "no" letter at all. Back in the day, I was invited to New York to meet music legends like Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records, Walter Yetnikoff and Mickey Eichner from Sony, and Joe Smith from Elektra Records and Warner Brothers. These were giants of the music industry who gave people a chance. But in Sweden, not one record executive invited me to their office until just two months ago—26 long years later. The UK signed me when I was still a law student, so I often wonder how Black music executives survive in Sweden. Aside from Dr. Alban, the 'It's My Life' star from the '90s, there aren't many others of significance. This country’s industry seems to operate on an apartheid-like system, deciding who is worthy of an opportunity. The only reason I got a deal here is because I created a package specifically designed to break into the Swedish market, and it finally caught the attention of one company in Stockholm. But if you don’t have your own money, you’ll never get into the music industry in Sweden. Dr. Alban is a dentist by profession, and both he and I have used our professional incomes to finance our music businesses. This is wrong—very wrong—and it's part of the systemic racism suffocating Swedish society. #SwedishMusicIndustry #MusicBusiness #RacismInMusic #BreakingBarriers #MusicJourneys #BlackExcellence #MusicIndustryStruggles #MusicExecutives #UKvsSweden #DrAlban