Race and the Music Industry
by jtugman
Link: http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/01/20/whiteboysclub
The problem that the music industry faces in this article, is one that many industries suffer from: racial diversity (or lack thereof). Regardless of how many prominent music industry figures are black, management at the highest level is predominantly white. This may be the cause Caucasians receiving a financial and educational advantage over blacks, but more likely than not, it is a product of african-american artists lacking the essential skills to manage a billion dollar industry.
What sets major music industry tycoons that are african american like Jay-Z, Will.I.Am or Carter (to quote the article) from others is the resources that they possess. All three of these acts have a fully fleshed out management teams behind them including PR specialists, financial advisors, and agents. This is on top of sponsorships and pre-existing branding. From this they are able to make incredibly intelligent business decisions in the industry that most other african americans can’t.
This doesn’t excuse the lack of african-american’s in the music industry. The music industry is just like other entertainment industries like film or TV. There are many influences in these industries that originate from a location or person that is african in some way. However, this does not mean that they are able to climb the executive corporate ladders as fast as as a caucasian who may have less experience in the industry but a Princeton MBA.