Pro Green VS Major Labels

If you work in or around the music business, it's pretty much a dead cert that you're a terrible human being. Like, IDK, for example, one time I sent my friend, who's a rival music hack, the address to a Chinese takeaway instead of a press junket, so I could get the exclusive interview. What I'm trying to say is, it's an industry where everyone gives zero fucks about each other, so why people get so shocked when they get butt-fucked by it, is beyond me.

Enter; London rapper Professor Green, who recently went on a Twitter rant about his grievances with his label EMI, claiming they were a bunch of incompetent, thieving monsters. Here are the highlights:

His rant was obvously met with a lot of fan support that I can't be bothered to screenshot, with the vast majority in the vein of "YOU TELL 'EM! DON'T GET BULLIED BY THESE BIG COMPANIES!" Fans that would, I'd imagine, have largely been exposed to his music via a large press and marketing team. And yeah, rallying against The Man can be quite admirable; I don't think anyone who works for a massive company has never not had a moment where they think their bosses are exploitative dickholes. 

But the obvious grievance from Joe Public here is that, y'know, a label is not the average boss. For most unconnected people who live outside of London or New York, aiming for a spot at a major is an impossibility. It's the equivalent of rocking up at The New Yorker and being like; "Look guys, here are some local newspaper clippings and a blog I once wrote, as proof that I'm totally going increase your readership by 100,000%. So can you pay me enough money to move out of my shitty town and go somewhere journalists are needed. Also, can you cover the cost of a pen?" So obviously, they have no time for major label employees. They probably imagine all of them don't work much; but, Pro, I bet they do. Because these days, if they don't, they'll lose their job.

It's just hard to feel compassionate when massive artists start to operate on the fallacy that they're indisposable. I'm just sayin', one minute you could be Dane Bowers, getting number ones, a platinum selling album and touring with Janet Jackson. The next you're Dane Bowers getting busted selling meow-meow at cage fighting events. Major labels aren't there to nurture artists, they're there to nurture artists so they can make lots and lots of money from them. 

So my advice to Pro if he were to listen to a voice of reason, rather than the team of yes-men EMI have probably subtly infiltrated his life with? Stop stirring up vanilla non-controversy, dump your label and go it alone if it's so fucking soul-destroying.