Why the Music Industry Is Broken (It’s Not the Artists' Fault) | Jesse Boykins III

Labels used to have a marketing plan for their artists. Now the marketing plan is the artist: post about the album five times a day for six months, then post the presale link again.

Jesse Boykins III writes the songs, then directs the worlds they live in. Five albums of his own, a Grammy nomination for co-writing Steve Lacy's "Playground", an executive producer credit on Jessie J's album, and he's been working with Steve Lacy since Steve was 15.

In this conversation I break down with Jesse why big artists can't sell tickets anymore and why it's not their fault, what artist development actually means and the five album test that proves it, why Steve Lacy hasn't dropped in three years, why Frank Ocean probably has a hundred albums we'll never hear, and why so many brilliant creatives never finish anything. We also get into the director side. Why the performance beats the perfect shot, why he'll throw out the shot list on set, what he does when a client says no, and the movie that made him want to make movies.

If you're an artist, director or creative trying to build something that lasts, this one is for you.