Lack Of Passion And Caring About Music At Majors

In an interview with the Village Voice, DJ Premier shared his thoughts on the record industry. Mainly, what has changed in it since he first came out. What Premier says isn't surprising. But it's worth sharing. Is the passion gone?

"I'm 44-years-old so I remember when the majors had passion and cared about music. That's gone now…"

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"which is why they crumbled so tremendously. They want to blame the internet but that's not the main culprit–it's the lack of passion for what you're signing. And there's things like putting an age limit on rappers, like you can't be 44-years-old and sign to a major label.

Come on! When you've got an upcoming 18-year-old, the difference is they haven't experienced the lifestyle of hip-hop when it was fresh and new. The kids today that are born into hip-hop don't appreciate the history: "Those artists are old so I don't listen to them!" But if you're not gonna care about the history of something that's a culture, then you're gonna lose down the line. I see that every day. I see when they've gotta tour just to pay bills–I've been through it. I've had money and lost money. My experience is 23 years in the business and there's nothing I can really be schooled on unless it's something higher than I've experienced." (Read on.)