Much of the popular music made today - and much of what this Academy teaches - rests on musical forms created by Black musicians. Blues, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, funk, disco, hip-hop, house and techno all have their roots in Black communities, particularly in the United States, and their influence runs through almost every genre. This chapter, offered as additional reading, traces that history and the business lessons that come with it.
The musical foundations
- Blues - developed in the American South from African-American work songs, spirituals and field hollers. Its forms, scales and expressive language underpin rock, R&B, soul and much more.
- Gospel - the vocal power, call and response, and harmonic richness of the Black church have shaped generations of singers and producers.
- Jazz - born in New Orleans and developed across America, it brought improvisation, swing and harmonic sophistication into popular music.
- Rhythm and blues and rock and roll - in the late 1940s and 50s, Black artists created the sound that became rock and roll.
- Soul and Motown - Motown, founded by Berry Gordy in Detroit in 1959, became one of the most successful Black-owned businesses in America and a model of artist development, with its own house band, songwriters and production system. Stax in Memphis built a grittier southern soul sound.
- Funk - James Brown and others put rhythm and "the one" at the centre, creating grooves that hip-hop would later sample endlessly.
- Disco - rooted in Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ club communities.
- Hip-hop - created in the Bronx in the 1970s, now one of the most popular genres in the world.
- House and techno - house emerged in Chicago clubs in the 1980s, with DJs such as Frankie Knuckles; techno emerged in Detroit, pioneered by Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. Both reshaped electronic music globally.
The business history
Alongside this creative history runs a business history that every music professional should understand.
- Unequal contracts - many early Black artists signed deals that paid flat fees with no royalties, or tiny royalty rates, while others profited from their recordings for decades.
- Credit and authorship - songwriting credit was sometimes taken by managers, label owners or producers who did not write the songs.
- Cover versions - in the 1950s, white artists' cover versions of songs by Black artists were often promoted more heavily on segregated radio, and earned more.
- Segregated markets - "race records" and separate charts limited how Black artists were marketed and paid.
- Sampling - hip-hop's use of earlier recordings raised new questions about credit and compensation, sometimes for the very artists whose original deals had been unfair.
Why it matters for you
- Know the roots of the music you make. Understanding where a sound comes from makes you a better producer, and shows respect for the people who created it.
- Credit properly. Credit writers, performers, producers and sampled artists accurately.
- Read contracts. Many of these injustices were contractual. Understand what you sign, and what you ask others to sign.
- Own your work where you can. The fight over ownership of masters and publishing continues today.
Further exploration
Documentaries, books and archives about Motown, Stax, the Bronx origins of hip-hop, and the Chicago and Detroit club scenes are a rich way to go deeper. Listen to the original records, not just the samples.
Do this now
- Choose one genre above and listen to five foundational recordings from it.
- Pick one sample-based track you love and trace the original recording and its artist.
- Research the story of one Black artist or label owner whose business decisions shaped the industry.