JAY-Z WARNS RECORD LABELS TO ‘BE SMARTER’
JAY-Z is warning record label executives of an impending crisis in the in= dustry, insisting music bosses need to be "smarter" in order to survive.
The rapper, who is the former CEO of Def Jam Recordings, helped found R= oc-A-Fella Records and recently launched new music management/publishing = venture Roc Nation.
But the Big Pimpin’ hitmaker is convinced the music industry is changin= g, with increased digital sales and falling number of CD purchases, and h= e’s urging record label chiefs to rethink their business plans.
He tells BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat, "Records are not selling as many as th= ey were before and you’ve still got to go out and pay the Bentley bill, p= eople have to be smarter about how they A and R (artist and repertoire), = and what they put out, record companies need to catch up to that, someone= needs to send them the memo.
"I remember the first year I was at Def Jam we put out 56 artists. Ther= e’s not 56 great artists in the world, and this is one company. One compa= ny operating for like, 80 artists in a year. That’s just too many." (LR/W=
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