In discussions of the record label’s impact on rhythm & blues, one main topic of discussion has been whether changes in the industry helped make rhythm & blues possible. On the one hand, some will argue that the evolution of the record industry played a big part on the rise and success of rhythm & blues music. On the other hand, others will say that the rhythm & blues success can only be credited to the artists and their musical contributions to the genre. I agree that changes in record labels did play a role in making rhythm & blues possible, but it was the artists who took advantage of these changes that were the key players in making rhythm & blues such a successful form of music. This is notable in the case of Ray Charles, where the label
…show more content…
It is difficult to get a clear glimpse of just how much influence the record labels had over their artists in the 1940s and 1950s. An article written by Dave Cool gives a good overview of the pros and cons that come with signing to a major label and signing to an independent label. The most evident pros that come with signing to a major label include the funding, network and reputation. Meanwhile, the cons highlight the profit-maximizing mindset that major labels take, leading to a less personal and financially unfavorable record deal. With the independent deal, the pros come in the form of a smaller team, which often focus on artistic creativity, and a larger share of the financial gains for the artist. On the other hand, the cons are the smaller share of label funds that can limit the artist’s budget, which is related to the labels smaller size (Cool). Again, this article is a very current look at record label …show more content…
In Pareles and Weinraub’s article on Ray Charles life they point out that, “Mr. Charles left Atlantic for ABC-Paramount Records in 1959 when it offered him higher royalties and ownership of his master recordings… With increasing royalties and touring fees, Mr. Charles expanded his group to become a big band” (Pareles). Apart from the ability to expand his band, the better deal with ABC meant that he had even more freedom to experiment with his music. In Richie Unterberger’s biography of Ray Charles he writes, “One of the chief attractions of the ABC deal for Charles was a much greater degree of artistic control of his recordings… In 1962, he surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country & western music” (Unterberger). Charles did not settle with just the rhythm and blues pioneering, but he continued to play with his sound to continue evolving musically. The album in question is none other than Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and it was highly popular despite being released in a time where rhythm & blues and soul were both struggling to score highly on the charts (Unterberger). This just further proved that Charles would continue to change and influence the music industry as he got more and more artistic
It is difficult to get a clear glimpse of just how much influence the record labels had over their artists in the 1940s and 1950s. An article written by Dave Cool gives a good overview of the pros and cons that come with signing to a major label and signing to an independent label. The most evident pros that come with signing to a major label include the funding, network and reputation. Meanwhile, the cons highlight the profit-maximizing mindset that major labels take, leading to a less personal and financially unfavorable record deal. With the independent deal, the pros come in the form of a smaller team, which often focus on artistic creativity, and a larger share of the financial gains for the artist. On the other hand, the cons are the smaller share of label funds that can limit the artist’s budget, which is related to the labels smaller size (Cool). Again, this article is a very current look at record label …show more content…
In Pareles and Weinraub’s article on Ray Charles life they point out that, “Mr. Charles left Atlantic for ABC-Paramount Records in 1959 when it offered him higher royalties and ownership of his master recordings… With increasing royalties and touring fees, Mr. Charles expanded his group to become a big band” (Pareles). Apart from the ability to expand his band, the better deal with ABC meant that he had even more freedom to experiment with his music. In Richie Unterberger’s biography of Ray Charles he writes, “One of the chief attractions of the ABC deal for Charles was a much greater degree of artistic control of his recordings… In 1962, he surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country & western music” (Unterberger). Charles did not settle with just the rhythm and blues pioneering, but he continued to play with his sound to continue evolving musically. The album in question is none other than Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and it was highly popular despite being released in a time where rhythm & blues and soul were both struggling to score highly on the charts (Unterberger). This just further proved that Charles would continue to change and influence the music industry as he got more and more artistic