COLONIALISM & INSTITUTIONS
White Colonial Ideologies and the Institutionalization of Power
Copyrights 2025
The idea that major record labels will be devastated by the wave of artists reclaiming their copyrights is almost laughable, especially when considering what these labels currently own and control.
Written By:
Allen Johnston
Music Specialist
Big Joe Turner
The idea that major record labels will be devastated by the wave of artists reclaiming their
copyrights is almost laughable, especially when considering what these labels currently own
and control.
Major record companies have long relied on their back catalog as a built-in revenue stream.
Sales of CDs, digital streams, vinyl, and live performance recordings continue to sustain them
while revenue from new artists remains unpredictable. Over the decades, these corporations
have strategically structured the industry in their favor.
During the 1980s, major labels executed a plan that dismantled independent Black and White
retailers while securing dominance over distribution. They introduced the SoundScan system,
offering free computers to independent store owners and coalitions. This initiative gave labels
direct access to sales data, allowing them to pinpoint which catalog titles were consistent
sellers. With this knowledge, they could optimize manufacturing costs while maximizing profits.
Since they owned the copyrights, they essentially paid themselves through mechanical,
synchronization, and performance publishing rights.Recording contracts from that era—and even before—ensured that major labels retained nearlyall revenue streams from copyrights. Artists were left with only a fraction of publishing revenue, limited performance royalties, and sometimes a cut of merchandising. PA (musical composition) and SR (sound recording) copyrights for nearly every hit song before 1984 remain under the ownership or control of a major label or one of its affiliates. For instance, Sony Music might control the SR copyright of a song, hold at least 50% of the PA copyright through contractual agreements, and place the composition within its wholly owned publishing division. This setup allowed money to circulate internally, with one corporate division paying another. Additionally, many artists had taken advances against royalties, leading to labels claiming ownership over original songwriter shares as well.
Artists affected by these agreements include, but are not limited to: Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters, Big Joe Turner, The Temptations, Little Richard, Wilson Pickett, Fats Domino, The Dominoes, Sly & The Family Stone, Lloyd Price, Martha & The Vandellas, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Four Tops, The Isley Brothers, Jackie Wilson, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Kool & The Gang, The Supremes, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many more.
Even in the worst-case scenario, where some artists reclaim their rights, major labels will simply renegotiate with savvy copyright owners who have financial leverage. For everyone else, it will remain business as usual—offering advances in exchange for new contracts.
These catalogs retain immense value in the digital age, particularly in streaming, film and commercial licensing, and corporate partnerships. With their industry connections, financial muscle, and technological infrastructure, major labels remain well-positioned to continue profiting from these assets.
Black Business in Colonial America
As enslaved Africans gained their freedom in colonial America, they used the labor activities learned in slavery to start a new life. Across the cities and towns of this nation, free Blacks set up agribusinesses and took up as bricklayers, gunsmiths, shoemakers, nurses and innkeepers to form the initial steps of the Black business community.
By Karleton Thomas
As enslaved Africans gained their freedom in colonial America, they used the labor activities
learned in slavery to start a new life. Across the cities and towns of this nation, free Blacks set
up agribusinesses. They took up as bricklayers, gunsmiths, shoemakers, nurses, and innkeepers
to form the initial steps of the Black business community. Collectivism underlined the economic
activity of free Blacks in colonial America as they worked to establish independence in an
outwardly racist society successfully.
Those days are long gone, and blatantly racist laws, such as those barring credit to free Blacks,
no longer sit on the books of American cities. By comparison, the discriminatory laws of today
hold little weight when viewed next to laws in place during colonial America. Few, if any, Black
businesses of that time were allowed to grow outside of the community, but colonial-era Black
businessmen thrived when compared to those of today.
Many arguments have been made regarding the decline of the Black business community -
integration, angry white mobs, racist laws, etc. Though all contributing factors, none can fully
explain the demise of the Black business community. As markets opened up and Blacks were
able to walk through doors closed to previous generations, one would expect burgeoning Black
business metropolises to follow, but despite our best efforts, that never happened.
Today, most Black businesses fail within four years. For all the businesses being started by
Black entrepreneurs today, 87% will gross less than $15,000. Most can be categorized as
lifestyle businesses - entities run by its founder for the benefit of its founder. That’s a hard sell in
a community but despite this, the age of individualism looms on. It wasn’t the angry mobs or
racist laws that first slowed and then stalled progress, it was the varying motivations developed
amongst the Black community. Now, instead of a few options, Blacks were able to chart
individual pathways designed for their sole benefit. This produced outstanding, singular results,
but for many Black entrepreneurs the lack of community has proven to be an insurmountable
obstacle.
Our formerly enslaved, African ancestors practiced collectivism because pulling together to
ensure a chance at survival. Collectivism does not make much sense today but the principals
live on in cooperative business practices. A cooperative business model is one that responds to
the needs of all stakeholders; employees, customers, suppliers, the local community, the
environment and future generations, as well as investors. The adoption of the cooperative
business model as the framework for current and future Black business communities presents
two huge benefits: the recirculation of Black dollars and low unemployment.
The Black dollar and its effect or lack thereof has been well documented across academic
journals. At one point, it was reported the average lifespan of the Black dollar in the Black
community was six hours compared to 28 in Asian communities. That fact was proven to be
false but when the majority of businesses in Black communities are owned by individuals who
do not live or hire from that community - the truth is not far away. It is safe to assume that over
$.50 of every dollar spent leaves the community.
When a business in the Black community is owned by someone who lives and hires from the
community - we all benefit. Cooperative business models present a number of workforce
development opportunities for free Blacks who have been denied entry to the traditional job
market. As more cooperatives are formed, unemployment in those areas will dramatically
decrease, so will crime, drug use, and dependence on government programs. Grocery stores
wholly owned by the community can employ 100’s of employees with an invested interest in that
venture's success. They would live and work in the same area - tending to and protecting their
future.