R & B: Rhythm and Business: The Political Economy of Black Music

Who profits most from the spectacular success of black music? For generations, African-Americans have created and driven varied musical genres: gospel, blues, jazz, r&b, rock & roll, funk, hip hop, etc. Black musical creativity has, in fact, fueled the modern music industry. Yet, of the country's ten largest black businesses, not one is a record company.

Given that 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 relationship between African-Americans and the music industry. Here, for the first time, is a collection of voices and perspectives that provides a nuanced investigation into this sorry history of economic theivery.

In R&B, Public Enemy's Chuck D, author Norman Kelley, and other journalists and musicians combine forces to examine how black music has been developed, marketed, and distributed within the structure of American capitalism. The anthology dissects contemporary trends in the music industry, and explores how blacks have historically interacted with the business as artists, business-people, and as consumers. R&Balso considers how the changes and developments within the music business—from the frontier of digital technology to the consolidation of the giant music conglomerates—might affect the future roles of African-Americans in the industry.

"Want a scathing social and political satire? Look no further than Norman Kelley's second effort featuring 'bad girl' African-American PI and part-time intellectual Nina Halligan—it's a romp of a read..."—Publisher's Weekly (starred review) on The Big Mango

Norman Kelley lives in Brooklyn, and is the author of the Nina Halligan political mystery series, which includes The Big Mango (Akashic) and Black Heat (Amistad/HarperCollins).