The Jacksons, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, the production team Holland/Dozier/Holland, Florence Ballard of the Supremes, Martha Reeves of the Vandellas, Gladys Horton of the Marvelettes, and others. But were their lawsuits really based on their own business ignorance earlier in their careers? Could be, but the bottom line is this- many would agree that Berry Gordy was a business man at the end of the day and although some may, or may not have agreed with his business practices, after 29 years in the music industry as the the founder and head exec of the Motown imprint, there’s no denying that he obviously knew how to play the game and cover his tracks successfully, which is something a lot of music execs can’t say- just ask Master P (no disrespect intended, just being honest).
The fact of the matter is that most of these artists had bad legal representation and at some point, or another, signed over their rights, but later realized that wasn’t a wise decision. Who’s fault is that?
ILOSM family do you think Berry was really screwing some of his artists who chose the option of getting upfront money? Or do you think it’s their fault for not being fully educated on the game of the music industry?
Look at some other very successful record label execs who have been accused of severely dogging their artists for money throughout the years…click the next pages.
So many record company execs have followed his “formula”.
Yep
So many record company execs have followed his “formula”.
Yep
Why can’t whole postings be on one page?
Why can’t whole postings be on one page?
The article never fully explained what tactics Berry Gordy used that were considered dirty. And there’s too much click and see which forces a reader to continue with the subject or just close the page.
The article never fully explained what tactics Berry Gordy used that were considered dirty. And there’s too much click and see which forces a reader to continue with the subject or just close the page.
In the case of Gordy, it wasn’t about the artists hiring their own crappy lawyers, the way Berry worked was that he offered you a contract and you signed it right there on the spot or the deal was off the table. There was no going home to look it over, there was no bringing in your own lawyer. He liked you and you have a few minutes to decide to turn your life over to him. Nothing more to discuss. There was even one guy who took the contract home, looked over it, still wanted to sign and Berry told him no. We all know the stories of how piss poor many of those artists were before Motown so they saw it as their only way out of the hood. I learned that from a book I read about MJ. The only person on Motown that seemed to flourish was Smokey and that’s because he wrote his own hits and wrote hits for others so they weren’t about to go messing with their cash cow.
In the case of Gordy, it wasn’t about the artists hiring their own crappy lawyers, the way Berry worked was that he offered you a contract and you signed it right there on the spot or the deal was off the table. There was no going home to look it over, there was no bringing in your own lawyer. He liked you and you have a few minutes to decide to turn your life over to him. Nothing more to discuss. There was even one guy who took the contract home, looked over it, still wanted to sign and Berry told him no. We all know the stories of how piss poor many of those artists were before Motown so they saw it as their only way out of the hood. I learned that from a book I read about MJ. The only person on Motown that seemed to flourish was Smokey and that’s because he wrote his own hits and wrote hits for others so they weren’t about to go messing with their cash cow.