Nile Rodgers claims David Bowie would have failed in the modern music industry
Chic founding member Nile Rodgers has claimed David Bowie would not have been given the time to be a success in the modern music industry.
Before becoming a household name, Bowie released an eponymous album in 1967 which was a commercial failure. However, the singer-songwriter was still able to carve out an iconic career in the music industry, which Rodgers doesn’t believe would be possible in 2023 due to record labels wanting instant results.
Furthermore, Bowie faced more heartache in the 1970s as a series of albums failed to hit the expected commercial heights. Although the records were revered, the Chic guitarist believes major record deals would have stopped backing him, and in turn, this would have prevented Bowie’s chart dominance in the ’80s.
Rodgers was speaking in front of a select committee at the House of Commons regarding the economics of streaming in the music industry. He remarked: “They gave him all that time to try and make a hit, he called me up and we made [‘Let’s Dance’]. [The labels] took on this financial responsibility and they would carry the artists they believed in that at some point in time would finally break, those days are truly over.”
Dr Hyojung Sun, who produced a report on the subject, also said: “We still have a long way to go before we can say the industry has been reset.” Furthermore, Prof David Hesmondhalgh claimed that “streaming is a source of income for relatively few people” due to the way companies such as Spotify distribute their revenue.
The report estimates that streaming services keep 30-34% of revenues from a stream, labels take 55%, and the rest of the income is shared between the artist, songwriters, and publishers. In their defence, labels claim their revenue share is fair because of their investment in A&R and developing talent.
However, Rodgers disagrees. He told those in attendance: “I really hate the fact that they keep using that argument that is completely archaic. I hate to use words like ‘lie’ – but it’s a lie.”
Meanwhile, Spotify recently revealed plans to reduce their workforce by 17%, cutting around 1,500 jobs. “I recognise this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions,” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek shared regarding their own cuts, “To be blunt, many smart, talented and hard-working people will be departing us.”
The platform also recently decided to discontinue its services in Uruguay, citing the country’s new copyright law mandating higher pay for artists.
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