Race & Music
This is the only genre from the United States judicial system cites lyrics as a way to convict and imprision musicians in the court of law.
What is Hip-Hop?
This new technological file, which promises to bring value and collectibility back to music, is very reminscient of the concept of buying .mp3 files, albeit with some added features (e.g. revshare).
What is a Non-Fungible Token (NFT)?
Starting in 1938, this now illegal practice was extremely common amongst major record labels as a way to guarantee a slot on the radio and orchestrate "the radio hit."
What is Payola?
Two years ago after the murder of George Floyd, many in the music industry boycotted this all-encompassing music category, citing it as institutionally racist and connected to decades of segregation in the industry.
What is "Urban" Music?
This platform saved the music industry by ushering in a new consumption model and way for record labels and musicians to generate revenue from music: unlimited streaming.
What is Spotify?
This rapper today markets himself as being able to write, produce, and engineer all their own music and, after their debut album went platinum with zero features, has become an example for how to be a successful independent artist in the music industry.
Who is Russ?
Even though MTV started in 1981, they refused to play music from black artists for 2 years until they finally agreed to play this artist, who transformed the trajectory of MTV and music for all people since.
Who is Michael Jackson?
DAILY DOUBLE: This platform ushered in a legal alternative for downloading singles and a new standard for music consumption: $0.99 per single.
What is iTunes?
Two years ago, Billboard banned this common industry practice of selling albums and no longer counts these type of sales towards its Billboard charts.
What is the Merchandise Bundle?
This network of clubs and performance venues is the only safe spaces for African American musicians to be accepted and perform due to intense racial segregation in the United States in the early-mid 20th century.
What is the Chitlin Circuit?
This technology transformed the music experience by allowing the listener to completely control the order of a song for the first time (e.g. reverse, skip, repeat, etc.).
What is the Compact Disc (CD)?
In the early 2000s, even major labels took advantage of this music marketing practice: intentionally pre-release an album for free to test if the artist can garner street buzz (and if not, blame it on this).
What is an Album Leak?
In the early 1900s, music labels packaged and promoted Jazz, Blue and Gospel under this category as a way to exploit and profit off of black music.
What is a Race Record?
This person is credited for creating the "first sound recording" in 1877, which revolutionized music consumption for centuries to come.
Who is Thomas Edison?
While it's almost unnoticeable now, in 1985 the FCC created this label as a way to mark music as "improper." Yet, counter-cultural genres (e.g. hip-hop, punk) leveraged the label as a way to appeal to the "rebel lifestyle" of the younger generation.
What is the Parental Advisory Sticker?