Since centuries ago, music has been a fundamental element of cultural expression and one of the most important forms of entertainment for people around the world. Having said that, in our country alone we have seen an innumerable amount of record labels come into play starting from the 1950s, when the first labels were founded. Although there are many labels and large corporations involved in the music industry, there are very few people not involved in the music business who can say they are aware of the real truth behind such record labels. For decades we have seen hundreds of thousands of artists release the music we hear every day on the radio, but rarely do people think about the difficulties these artists face in being able to hear and appreciate their music and for them to create a living from it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One notable artist who was always very open about his struggles with record labels and creative freedom was Prince. Prince is a well-known talent and, to many, is known for his constant fight for freedom of expression within his label Warner Bros. Records. Prince's constant struggle began in the 1990s and he very often compared being signed to a record label to being a slave due to the severe nature of the label's creative restrictions. More often than not, Prince was asked about his encounters with labels and was always very open about it. There was also an instance where he wrote the word "slave" on his cheek, to represent his feelings towards his label and how its managers treated him. For example, Prince often found himself faced with deadlines and schedules that didn't fit his creative process, forcing him to produce music he wasn't proud of. And because of the contracts he signed, he would be sued and his music would no longer be sold if he didn't cooperate. Prince noted that it makes sense for young artists to sign with record labels because most of the time they don't have the resources needed to get their music heard and make a living when he stated, "Once we have our resources, we can provide what we need for ourselves” on NPR. Toward the end of his career, he teamed up with Jay Z and his independent streaming service to free himself and his music from the restrictive nature of his record labels an argument that denies modern corruption in the music business simply because it isn't seen. Because of how vital social media and online news sources have become, it is nearly impossible for a major corporation to hide the corruption that may be occurring at its. internal. It was quite common for artists in the late '80s and '90s to be open in their battles with labels and creative expression, but as time goes on this is rarely seen anymore. Young artists are always shown enjoying the splendors of being rich and famous, both in interviews and on their social media pages. However, in recent years, according to Forbes magazine, record labels have begun to create contract percentages that are less fair to artists in terms of earnings. For example, 360 deals are contractual agreements “that allow a record label to receive a percentage of earnings from ALL of an artist's activities rather than just album sales. With this type of contract, the label will collect a percentage of multiple revenue streams,such as publishing royalties, live concert fees, merchandise sales, endorsement deals, book and film deals, ringtones, private copying royalties, etc. In recent years these percentages have become less fair and have always included agreements that state that if you break the agreement they can legally revoke all profits made within the label. That said, many young artists don't come forward about the issues they face simply because they're afraid of losing their lives. A more prominent example of corruption in the music industry is the alleged racism against country/hip-hop star Lil Nas x. What many people don't realize is that much of the corruption in the music industry is due to racism. An artist named Lil Nas The success of the song greatly improved Lil Nas' life, but he faced a bit of controversy early in the process of turning his song into a hit. Billboard removed the song from the country list and many attributed it to racism. Some think that the industry was annoyed that a black American artist was breaking records in a genre that no other artist had ever done, Black or White (Reilly). This is something that artists will have to deal with more than ever due to how often gender norms are completely ignored in order for artists to truly express themselves. An argument used in opposition to racism in the music industry is the fact that it is not corporations that are racist against artists but against fans. There is little to nothing that record labels can do to prevent racism or discrimination against some artists, which is why it should not be a noteworthy point when saying that the industry is corrupt. For decades there have been people of different races who have entered the world of entertainment, be it television, sports or music, and who have faced discrimination, but most of the time it is from the people who engage in this entertainment who have problems with different breeds. However, one example of racism in the music industry by companies is towards K-Pop stars. K-Pop is Korean pop music that has grown rapidly around the world, but is having the most success in America. When it comes to any form of entertainment, if something goes viral there will be people who oppose it no matter what. But recently it has gone a little too far. K-Pop group BTS has taken America and its music world by storm, but many fans are angry at how they were treated at the 2019 Video Music Awards. The VMAs recently added a "Best K-Pop" category of which many fans are angry about. Objectively, K-Pop meets the criteria of any other form of pop music in America with its composition and upbeat rhythm. The only factor that separates K-Pop from American pop music is the fact that it comes from a different culture, which many fans believe is no reason to deny them nominations for categories like "Best Artist" or "Best of Pop " (NPR). Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Overall changes and improvements have been made to improve the lives of artists when they sign to labels, but that doesn't mean they are even remotely close to solving the corruption. Understandably there's not much that can be done on the music listener side other than examine the labels they support and the services they give their money to. The.