5 billion dollars a year the music industry is a gold mine for those that are lucky enough to have a stake in it. At the forefront of all of this are the producers. Stars like Ke$ha, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake all need help writing their next big hit. A producer will help create the music to which then the vocalist will sing over. However they do not help with the writing of the lyrics. Artist will pay a large chunk of change to get with credited producers. These people represent the cream of the crop and the successes that can be attained in this industry. The producer has been an essential job in the music industry since the late 1960's. Their job then was to simply coach the artist or band to shape their sound to achieve the best recording. However these top producers work for some sort of record label. These labels are who are actually in charge of the music making process. They have the final say in what does and doesn't make it. Why is this? .
To further my knowledge on what goes on in this industry I decided to pay a visit to Sony Records in Nashville. As I walked up the stairs to the huge glass doors of the building I could just feel the power that this place had in not only the music industry but in modern culture. I opened the door and immediately was over whelmed with the wall of triple platinum albums. The silver sheen glistened with success. The lobby had not spared any expense to make it look like a 5 star hotel. Grand staircase, chandelier that was made out of violins and trumpets, and a two story glass water fall all did but point out that this was a recording studio. I wondered why all this was necessary so I asked. Scott, my tour guide, answered, "Aren't you more inclined to drive faster in a Ferrari than a Toyota?" Stunned by the one liner gold I quickly realized that this wasn't a place of music and creativity it was a business. Scott and I walked back to Studio A.