David Bowie would have given up his career in the current music industry, says producer Nile Rodgers

David Bowie would have given up before releasing a hit if he had started his career in today’s music industry, according to Neil Rodgers. The guitarist of chic produced Let’s Dance (1983) with Bowiethe album that shot him to fame in the 1980s.

In the view of Rodgersno record company would give the rock chameleon time to produce a successful album, after trying and failing to secure commercial success in the 1970s. Nile further stated that today’s record labels are failing to nurture unique talent instead of focusing on profit.

They gave him all this time to try and make a hit, he called me and we did it [Let’s Dance]. Record companies took this financial responsibility and carried the artists they believed would at some point break through. Those days are gone.

Rodgers made the comments to a committee that investigates the economics of streaming and artists’ remuneration. In 2021, the musician made a series of recommendations that called for an industry-wide “reset” to make streaming fairer for artists and songwriters. At the event, however, academics Prof. David Hesmondhalgh It is Dr. Hyojung Sun found that progress since 2021 has been slow and limited.

Sun told the committee: “We still have a long way to go before we can say the industry has restarted.” Hesmondhalghin turn, added that, in reality, “streaming is a source of income for relatively few people” due to the way the profit is distributed.