What We Can Learn from Motown

[marv2]

https://www.sxswedu.com/news/2017/what-we-can-learn-from-motown/

[Motown Eddie]

Thanks for sharing Marv! Great artcile shows that the seeds of Motown's success.

[marv2]

You are very welcome Motown Eddie.

[jobeterob]

That's a good article.

[jobucats]

This was indeed a great article. I still find it mind boggling as to how busy Motown was [[especially in the 60s) with its output of top quality recordings and artist management. Just the recording aspect itself amazes me. Constant recording was going on. Did anyone ever sleep? LOL . The financial aspect of recording baffles me. Just the arrangements/scores/recording of non-Motown material for those specialty albums, such as Supremes Sing Rodgers and Hart, Four Tops On Broadway, etc, must have cost fortunes. One wonders if the return was most of the time financially worth it OR was the return seen in the further projection of the artist/artists. And to think that so many recordings never saw the light of day until just recently with the out-of-the-vault music made available!

It's just amazing. This was a well run "machine."

[marv2]

This was indeed a great article. I still find it mind boggling as to how busy Motown was [[especially in the 60s) with its output of top quality recordings and artist management. Just the recording aspect itself amazes me. Constant recording was going on. Did anyone ever sleep? LOL . The financial aspect of recording baffles me. Just the arrangements/scores/recording of non-Motown material for those specialty albums, such as Supremes Sing Rodgers and Hart, Four Tops On Broadway, etc, must have costs fortunes. One wonders if the return was most of the time financially worth it OR was the return seen in the further projection of the artist/artists. And to think that so many recordings never saw the light of day until just recently with the out-of-the-vault music made available!

It's just amazing. This was a well run "machine."

Motown was like the musical culture of the household from roughly the mid to late 60s. We may not have bought every single release back then, but you would have been hard pressed to go into just about anyone's home and not find a Motown record of some sort. I can remember as a kid seeing "The Temptations Sing Smokey" and "The Supremes At the Copa" everywhere, in everyone's house it seemed.

[arr&bee]

I think that from about[63]onward as you say marv,motown was everywhere.

[marv2]

I think that from about[63]onward as you say marv,motown was everywhere.


It sure was and combined with all of the other great soul sounds out during that, I feel we were the luckiest generation. Music for the soul................

[144man]

Unfortunately, we learned that nothing - no matter how good it is - can last forever. Thank heavens we have been left with a wonderful legacy.

[ralpht]

Considering what is being dished these days, I couldn't agree with you more,144man.

[detmotownguy]

This was indeed a great article. I still find it mind boggling as to how busy Motown was [[especially in the 60s) with its output of top quality recordings and artist management. Just the recording aspect itself amazes me. Constant recording was going on. Did anyone ever sleep? LOL . The financial aspect of recording baffles me. Just the arrangements/scores/recording of non-Motown material for those specialty albums, such as Supremes Sing Rodgers and Hart, Four Tops On Broadway, etc, must have cost fortunes. One wonders if the return was most of the time financially worth it OR was the return seen in the further projection of the artist/artists. And to think that so many recordings never saw the light of day until just recently with the out-of-the-vault music made available
It's just amazing. This was a well run "machine."

Wasn’t Motown basically a 24/7 business in its heyday. To accomplish that there must have been some decent mgt and dedicated employees.

[marv2]

Wasn’t Motown basically a 24/7 business in its heyday. To accomplish that there must have been some decent mgt and dedicated employees.

Dedication would be an understatement in my opinion. I believe the people of Motown had a lot of personal pride and a very strong work ethic. Think about it. They started with nothing in regards to an record/entertainment company in Detroit and all of them together built something that was appreciated all over the World!