Thread by @FunkButcher

Shall we talk about Black female vocalists on House music tracks used for authenticity but never making the visuals for the marketed video or worse yet credited as the featuring act?! 🤷🏾‍♂️

Albeit paid session singers, providing top line and sometimes even lyrics for tracks but receiving zero visibility EVEN though they have aspirations as solo acts themselves.

Brothers and sisters of all races. I tell you. The fuckry runs deep in this shit.

Music videos and visuals are tricky. Especially as an independent label that I own. I learned two things very quickly. What’s the industry standard and also what am I ALLOWED to do...

The singer on a track I’ve produced. Is entitled to..... wait for it..... anything I fucking want to give them!! This whole industry spiel of “your only allowed 50%” is crap. You can set whatever percentage of the writing credits you want to give the act. That’s what I was told.

But I’ve always split things 50/50 even if I produced the record and I’ve got another two acts on there. I’ve done this before. I will still split the writing the ways. So 33% each. You can do that. So that’s the first thing. You can be accommodating as you like...

Sorry I must add this is coming from a true independent perspective. So marketing a record. I grew tired of literally hearing loops of black female vocalists in House music but they’re not credited on the record.

The hardest thing to do in House Majid is to get a dark skinned Black woman in the music video as the lead vocalist. They will use cartoons before they use the singers real image. Again this is incredibly sad and unfair.

To make a Black, and I stress dark skinned woman, a household name in the UK music industry has to be the epitome of Mount Everest in terms of conquests. Because of the bullshit around what’s marketable.

My attitude has been I don’t care what they (being the consumer) want or like. They like the damn record. Make them see who sang on the track. To actually feel compelled to make that compromise to the detriment of Black female talent is horrible and I will never do.

But at every stage, every tier of the game you need someone who will not compromise based on money, or it being a means to an ends. Black Women who sing haven’t reached the heights of stardom in the Uk music industry and its got nothing to do with talent whatsoever!!

They wasn’t backed and supported at the creative level to present themselves in their true form in the visual marketing and press releases. You see them at the raves doing the PAs etc. But then they’re ushered away.

Not a slight on anyone but if we all came here to learn today. We need to really see what things we’ve presented as “norm” and change them forever.

WE (you see I’ve included myself also) haven’t done right by these singers for years. Artists have listened to the advice of creative directors and labels and dressed and packaged campaigns based on aesthetic predominantly white audiences will feel comfortable with.

Man I see little white kids with blonde hair and blue eyes with KANTÉ on their back and I got happy AND mad as hell. Because I realise. If you put the talent there REGARDLESS people will Stan for it. I can’t even blame the consumers there. That’s cowardice on the industry part.

The industry strong armed artists to believing if you want mass appeal you have to package the campaign like this. They won’t accept a Black dark skinned woman as your lead.

Unless the Black Woman has explicitly expressed that she doesn’t want to appear as a featured act and is happy to be paid JUST as a session vocalist. I can’t see why they would willingly not tie themselves into that marketing machine and receive that exposure too.

Been happening for more than a little while now. Don’t need to be an expert to see the owner of the voice is NOT the person in the video.

Glad you’re all listening. So hopefully already I think times are a changing ❤️

Please read... rollingstone.com/music/music-ne…

So I haven’t checked my emails today and I’ve just seen that @Mixmag have reached out to me to write a more length piece and on this subject. They’ve also kindly given me the opportunity to involve a Black Female writer to expand on this. Which I think is a great idea.

If you know a Black Female writer perfect for this peice and has a good knowledge of the music industry can you get at me ASAP please. DMs are always open ❤️

Imagine if @Mixmag did a #BlackOutIssue now THAT would be something😉. Could fit more Black female voices then and more stories about the Black experience in music.

Then after another @Mixmag issue called “Music Responds to Racism” and prominent people throughout the electronic music world give solutions of how they aim to make the environment better for Black electronic artists.

Credit to @Mixmag though for your immediate response✊🏾❤️. Out of all the other publications your commitment was the most immediate and heartfelt.

No talk just action 💪🏾

But please can we do this properly. This is too important a moment just for a dibby dibby feature lol.

Good Morning!!

We won’t stop. Once again of ALL the electronic music publications you are aware of ONLY @Mixmag have explicitly reached out in response to this thread to help change the narrative. I know you saw it. @AnnieMac RT’d and also @caitlinmoran 🤷🏾‍♂️...thank you both❤️✊🏾

But this highlights again the wilful dismissal to a solution which literally will change working practices top to bottom. Stop looking at it as an admission of guilt. I don’t care about a sorry if it’s NOT followed by a commitment to rid Racism from the whole music industry.