R&B, Rhythm and Business

Book excerpt: Given than hip hop music alone has generated more than a billion dollars in sales, the absence of a major black record company is disturbing. Even Motown is now a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group. Nonetheless, little has been written about the economic relationship between African-Americans and the music industry. This anthology dissects contemporary trends in the music industry and explores how blacks have historically interacted with the business as artists, business-people and consumers.