Pharrell is one articulate dude, if you haven't heard him speak already. When he sat down with Hardknock TV, he had a lot to say about music as an art form and music as an industry. The interview, which will be posted below, is full of illuminating and well-wrought thoughts about his ever-changing industry. He says:
"We’ve allowed lawyers to become CEOs of businesses that are all about content, and that doesn’t make sense. Unless the lawywer has a good ear, but for the most part, they’re gonna be thinking about things fiscally. And so that’s when you see certain record companies putting out music like they’re putting out soap, or macaroni and cheese." He continued saying, "They make these very small improvements but put the same thing out. And then you see these kids that are like, 'We’re not having it.'That’s what this is about. That’s what music is about. That’s what us as a species are here for — to evolve and make things better."
He praises his peers like Kendrick Lamar and, in particular, Lorde, who he refers to as his, "two of my favorite artists." On the subject, he says:
"You’ve seen it everywhere from the likes of the Kendrick Lamars to Lorde. Two of my favorite artists at the moment. They just didn’t care. Put a song up on Soundcloud, shot a video. It’s like ‘Okay, I may sign with you guys or not.’ And I love that. Because she’s 16-years-old. So, she to me is like a shining example of where we’re headed.”
It seems that it would only be natural to be enthused about artists holding the leverage, and one could argue that Pharell has navigated the music industry quite well, himself.
Check out the entire illuminating interview, below.