THE MUSIC BUSINESS AND RAP: BETWEEN THE STREET AND THE EXECUTIVE SUITE

• Published in: Cultural studies (London, England) Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 488 - 508
• Main Author: Negus, Keith
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis Group 01-07-1999; Methuen
• Subjects: African-American music; Blacks; Business Society Relationship; Commerce; Consumption; Corporations; Culture; Entertainment Industry; Music; North Americans; Occupations; Organization; Organizational Behavior; Popular Culture; Production; Rap music; Recording Industry; Sociology of music; Sound recordings; United States: Culture
• ISSN: 0950-2386; 1466-4348
• DOI: 10.1080/095023899335194

This article focuses on the organizational practices of the music industry to contribute a neglected dimension to our understanding of rap as a commercial activity and cultural form. It initially situates the production of rap within the context of the corporate strategies and business practices of musical entertainment companies, stressing how rap production is located within the context of corporate 'black music divisions' and the major labels' relationships to smaller companies. At the same time, the study considers how musical production is shaped by broader culture processes and practices that are not directly within the control or understanding of the company. As corporate organization intersects with and attempts to make sense of surrounding culture, I argue that the actions of recording companies are a direct intervention into and contribution to the way in which the social world is rationalized and fragmented and through which different cultural experiences are separated and treated unequally. This argument is focused on the theme of 'the street' and 'executive suite' through which I suggest that, while it is important to acknowledge the struggles of rap artists and entrepreneurs for both recognition and independence from the corporate world, it is also important to highlight deliberate attempts to maintain a distance between the corporate world and the genre culture of rap. This article seeks to contribute to our understanding of the articulations between musical genre, occupational practices and broader cultural formations, highlighting a significant series of connections and relational practices which connect production and consumption and the articulations through which corporate organization is linked to broader cultural formations.