Say It Loud!: A Celebration Of Black Music In America Lessons for High School Music and Social Studies Classes Episode 2: Pursuing The Dream Lesson 1 of 5 The Music Industry

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Objectives


• Students will identify general business terms such as entrepreneur, corporation, marketing, demographic, promotion, distribution etc.
• Students will identify many careers within the music industry such as producer, A&R representative, recording studio engineer, etc.
• Students will connect achievements of noted artists with their roles in the music industry
• Students will identify many Black music industry leaders and their contributions

National Standards for Music Education

6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture

Materials

• VHS VCR player
• Television
• CD player
• Paper and pencil
• Videotape of Say It Loud! A Celebration Of Black Music In America, Episode 2: Pursuing The Dream
• A recent copy of Billboard magazine or similar music business periodical

Procedures

Part I

1. Tell students they will be watching the videotape Say It Loud! A Celebration Of Black Music In America, Episode 2: Pursuing The Dream.

2. Have students define “dream” on a piece of paper.

3. Select a few students to read their definitions aloud to classmates. (Accept all responses)

4. Have students write the name of their favorite recording artist on the piece of paper. Ask students if they consider the artist(s) to be (a) successful businessman or businesswoman.

5. Tell students to write down the names of important people featured as they view the program and note if they individual had a particular dream. Were they able to obtain their dream? If so, how?

6. Play program.

7. Discuss with students the styles of music they heard on the program. (Accept jazz, blues, hip-hop, rap, rhythm and blues, Motown, soul, disco, and pop.)

8. Have students read the list of noted individuals from the program. (Accept Quincy Jones, Babyface, Fats Waller, Will Smith, Louis Armstrong, Solomon Burke, Chuck Berry, Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole, Little Richard, LA Reid, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Prince, Queen Latifah, Berry Gordy, Russell, Simmons, Stevie Wonder, Gamble and Huff, Puff Daddy, Ice Cube, Sylvia Robinson, LL Cool J, Rick Rubin, Joseph Simmons, Lauryn Hill, Clive Davis, Michael Jackson, Suge Knight, Dr. Dre, Lionel Ritchie, Clarence Avant, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, Sylvia Rhone, and others.)

9. Discuss with students the career roles of the individuals mentioned. Were these individuals just performers or did they do other jobs within the music industry? (Accept, composer, lyricist, producer, A&R representative, etc.) Use The following definitions as a general guide:

• A&R -artist and repertoire
• Composer- a person who writes music
• Corporation- an association of employers and employees in a basic industry or of members of a profession organized as an organ of political representation in a state
• Crossover-music that appeals to a wide range of individuals
• Demographics- the statistical characteristics of human populations (as age or income) used esp. to identify markets
• Distribution- the natural geographic range of a recording
• Entrepreneur- one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise
• Lyricist- a writer of words set to music
• Mainstream- a prevailing current or direction of activity or influence
• Manager- an individual who supervises the activities of an artist or group
• Marketing- the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service
• Performer- one who carries out an action or pattern of behavior
• Producer- a person who supervises or finances the production of a stage or screen production or radio or television program or recording
• Promotion- the act of furthering the growth or development of something; especially : the furtherance of the acceptance and sale of merchandise through advertising, publicity, or discounting
• Recording studio engineer- an individual who is responsible for the technical aspects of the sound reproduction process

10. Ask students to define “entrepreneur.”

11. Ask students to describe the changes in the music business and the ability for artists to act as an “entrepreneur” over the past 4-5 decades. Did all individuals have the same opportunity to control their career? How has this changed?

Part 2

1. Ask students to describe the changes in the music business and the effects on Black artists over the past 4-5 decades. (Accept responses that were outlined in the program such as segregated audiences, chittlin’ circuit tours, transportation and hotel segregation, etc.) Discuss the impact of noted individuals that the students named. How did these people make a difference in the field of Black music—or in bringing new styles of music to the attention of mainstream America? Ask for names of record companies that many of the individuals represent. Accept such companies as: Motown, Philadelphia Records, Sugar Hill Records, Def Jam Records, LaFace Records, and Death Row Records.

2. To emphasize the prominent position and popularity of Black artists in present day, distribute copies of Billboard magazine. Examine the various charts with emphasis on the Black music genres.

3. Play an excerpt from a recording that is located on one of the Black music charts.

4. Ask students to name the title and the artist. Locate the position of the recording on a Billboard chart.

5. Discuss opportunities that exist in today’s music industry.12. Discuss the impact of the noted individuals that the students named . Which individuals have taken responsibility for more than just the performance aspect of their career. How?

This lesson was developed by Dee Spencer, professor of music at San Francisco State University and Willie Hill, president-elect of MENC: The National Association for Music Education and director of the University Fine Arts Center at University of Massachusetts-Amherst in collaboration with

and
MENC: The National Association for Music Education