Gail Mitchell
Billboard Magazine
5700 Wilshire Blvd
Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Dear Gail,
I want to thank you for the column entitled “Why Hasn’t the Hip Hop Boom Pushed More Black Executives To The Top?” This has been a question asked a dozen times over the past decade. I addressed this same issue in a piece I wrote for another publication entitled “Black Music Looking in The Rearview Mirror” (https://goo.gl/SUkSZ6). In fact the real question should be “Why were the black music executives the sacrificial lambs during the music industry’s difficult years?” Black music (Hip-Hop, R&B, Gospel, Jazz, Reggae) always maintained its prominence in the marketplace.
However, the internal mechanisms at labels changed to ensure white executive dominance/growth by putting more emphasis on “Rhythm Crossover” or “Rhythmic” radio (Hip Hop songs marketed to white/Latino audiences) via stations like New York’s Hot 97, Los Angeles’ Power 106 and their clones in major cities across the country who made their core music Rap/Hip-Hop. Thus, giving rise to non-black executives who were then given the nod as the “experts” in the Hip Hop arena since they marketed music to those stations. Meanwhile, in order for those songs to reach those formats, originally, they had to “prove themselves” by becoming hits in the Urban radio arena worked predominately by black executives. While music is the universal language and colorblind, as are the audiences that listen, the marketers of the music inside of the labels unfortunately aren’t. Someone listening to Power 106 doesn’t know or care what department markets the music or the categories assigned to the stations; only those inside the music companies care. During my years as a Vice President at Island, Arista and later Senior Vice President at Capitol Records, I recall the internal battles about budgets to promote black artists to black radio while the seemingly unlimited budgets to promote the same artists to “Rhythm Crossover” was “just the cost of doing business.”
The black music division used to be the one-stop for black artists of all genres generally to enter a label and training ground for executive development. The division consisted of A&R, Marketing, Promotions, Sales departments, all managed by people of color but not exclusive to them. These autonomous cost centers made millions for the labels. We knew the music, we understood the culture, we knew the idiosyncrasies of the artists, their management and we had the relationships in the marketplace to get the desired results. Plus white executives really didn’t want to be bothered except for those tasked with working the “Crossover” stations. They were happy trying to revive rock music and breaking boy bands and girl groups with the occasional breakout artist, meanwhile, music from the streets of L.A. N.Y, Houston, St. Louis, Atlanta and New Orleans was dominating the scene.
Yet these divisions were dissolved under the guise of “inclusion” or we are “one company” because they were threatening the norm by outshining their (white) counterparts. I recall at one label hearing a white executive say “I’m tired of working this black sh$#.” I’m not bilingual but I learned all of the bad words from the different cultures while growing up in New York City. It was perceived as the tail wagging the dog. Did you notice how the black labels, LaFace, Uptown, Motown, Bad Boy and others, with the exception of Cash Money, were bought, then shelved almost systematically? Yes, all of the owners got paid and Motown is so iconic it remains an imprint but it was a small price to pay to regain dominance. The Def Jam of today sure doesn’t look like the Def Jam of Russell Simmons & Lyor Cohen.
Then it happened! I always believed, the week Eminem sold over a million units in his opening week was the beginning of the end. They had found their modern day Elvis! This made white label executives look closer at who was buying the music that they really didn’t understand or care for. When they found out the large percentage of music buyers came from the suburbs they felt “We got this.” What they failed to realize or ignored was that black people live in the suburbs too. The narrow mindedness led them to believe that inner-city sales were all black and suburban sales were all white. The integration of America was paying off, at least musically. Then young white A&R executives began signing hip hop artists. With checkbook in hand, they had the opportunity to engage the artists at the beginning of their relationship with the label. However, knowing a few key slang words, change of dress (hat to the back, jeans and hoodies) won’t take you far. You can fake the funk only for so long. The industry had reverted to the 60’s and 70’s, digital singles were the new 45’s and co-opting black culture was in full effect just like in the 60’s & 70’s.
Clive Davis, as President of Columbia Records, commissioned “A Study of The Soul Music Environment” (commonly referred to as the Harvard Report). This was designed to help the majors understand and duplicate the success of independent black record labels like Motown and Stax Records. Now we have the modern day version with the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative Project. However, I must ask, “Does the industry really need to study how to be inclusive?” Or is this a feel-good exercise to say “we are trying.” We’ve seen this movie before. We saw it in the early 70’s (joint venture deals between majors and independent black labels), the 80’s (Black Music Divisions), the 90’s (Presidents of Black Music). The few exceptions are Ed Eckstein, President of Mercury Records and Sylvia Rhone, first as CEO, EastWest Records America, then CEO, Elektra Records, President, Motown Records, now President, Epic Records. These were the real glass ceiling breakers, who were responsible for the entire company, not just the black side. Later we had L.A. Reid (Arista/Island-DefJam/Sony) and now Jon Platt (Chairman/CEO, Warner Chappell Music Publishing). Lest we forget Doug Morris’ indie label Universal Records who hired Jean Riggins as President of Black Music and on the strength of Erykah Badu, Nelly, Lost Boyz & Cash Money Records morphed into a major. Later Clive would do likewise, launching J Records with Alicia Keys, Olivia, Angie Stone, Jamie Foxx, Rueben Studdard and other black artists becoming a major force with former MCA Records President Black Music, Ken Wilson leading the promotional efforts.
So the 10-20 year cycle is upon us again for major change. The truth is there should have been replacements for the LeBaron Taylors, Varnell Johnsons, Harold Childs, Tom Drapers, Jheryl Busbys, Jean Riggins and dozen other mavericks who broke the executive barriers within record companies. These people didn’t just have titles but the ability to affect change and they did, maybe too much. The career cycle of a black executive is at least 10 years less than his white counterpart. Ironically many of my white counterparts are still in the mix while dozens of black executives who had the capacity to run the whole ball of wax (had it not been for the formula), are on the sidelines.
The industry had an unwritten but evidently defined black executive formula: 1 SVP (usually promotions, sometimes SVP/GM ) 1-3 VPs (1 Promotions, 1 Marketing and 1 Publicity,) 2 National Directors, 2 product managers. Sometimes the VP was substituted with a Sr. Director position especially, in Marketing and Publicity. Even when the authority normally associated with the title was stripped, the titles were kept to maintain the facade of “Nothing’s changed.”
As Chairman of the Living Legends Foundation, Inc.©, a registered non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization which has been in existence for 27 years and is comprised of some of the most influential men and women executives in black music over the last 30 plus years, we are uniquely qualified and willing to help. We can show the labels how to be more inclusive. We can also help groom the current group of young black executives. So if the industry is sincere in correcting this corporate injustice, let’s have a conversation. We’ve lived it, we’ve been successful doing it, so call us and let’s get it right this time.
Respectfully yours,
David C. Linton
Chairman
Living Legends Foundation, Inc.