At a time when the music industry was rapidly expanding and more and more record labels were putting out new music, these 1960s and 70s artists took the opportunity to use their newfound platform to share the darker side of the burgeoning business through their songs. Behind all the glitz and glam, these musicians argued, was a seedier underbelly that prioritized profit over people, period.
Though their experiences were not novel, these artists and bands from the 1960s and 70s found unique ways to describe the all-too-common phenomena of predatory business practices and the downside to commodifying creativity.
“You’re Dead” by Norma Tanega
Fans of the satirical vampire show What We Do in the Shadows will likely only need to hear a few seconds of Norma Tanega’s “You’re Dead” to recognize it as the show’s long-running theme song. And while Tanega’s 1966 track certainly fits with the show’s otherworldly characters, the folk singer-songwriter wasn’t thinking of vampires when she wrote it. (Unless, of course, you wanted to describe exploitative music biz execs as blood-suckers, in which case, vampires it is!)
“You’re Dead” is a beautifully sarcastic commentary on Tanega’s struggles in the rapidly ballooning 1960s folk scene in New York. Don’t sing if you want to live long, the song begins. They have no use for your song. You’re dead, you’re dead, you’re dead, you’re dead and out of this world. Tanega’s powerful take on the music industry criticized the business’ way of turning artists into products and their art into dollar signs.
Now your hope and compassion is gone. You’ve sold out your dream to the world, she sings. Stay dead, stay dead, stay dead, you’re dead and out of this world.
“What Have They Done to My Song Ma” by Melanie Safka
Melanie Safka’s 1970 track “What Have They Done to My Song Ma” (also sometimes listed as “Look What They’ve Done to My Song, MA”) was as much a singable folk tune as it was a brutally honest cry for help. In a 2018 interview with Joseph Fenity, Safka recalled being in the studio with her husband and producer, Peter Schekeryk. Safka was less musically proficient than Schekeryk, so he did most of the talking in the studio.
Safka said that she would come up with an idea in her head for a song only to have her husband—and the musicians listening to him—take the song in a more music industry-worthy direction. Even if it wasn’t the direction Safka felt it should go, she found herself unable to take back control of her vision.
Look what they’ve done to my song, Ma, she laments. It was the only thing I could do half-right, and it’s turning out all wrong, Ma. In another verse, she muses over whether her husband’s industry approach might be right. If the people are buying tears, I’ll be rich someday, Ma. Look what they’ve done to my song.
“So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” by The Byrds
Finally, wrapping up our round-up of 1960s and 70s songs about the music industry is The Byrds, a highly influential rock band in the 1960s, featuring iconic musicians like David Crosby, Gram Parsons, Gene Clark, and Roger McGuinn. They inspired countless other musicians, including the Beatles, Tom Petty, Big Star, and more. In 1967, the Byrds used that influence to release a cautionary tale about the trappings of the music industry: “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.”
So you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star? Then, listen now to what I say, the song begins. Just get an electric guitar, then take some time and learn how to play. They continue, Then, it’s time to go downtown where the agent man won’t let you down. Sell your soul to the company who are waiting there to sell plastic ware.
Some listeners took “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” as a dig at the Monkees specifically, but McGuinn denied the rumor. He said it was merely a commentary on the growing music industry and how it seemed everyone and their mother was trying to make it big in the business.
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