Blog #16 Freak Offs & The Fall of Hollywood

I’m sure you have seen the news all week. Diddy has been taken into custody and had the full book of the law thrown at him. Rightfully so as well, I won’t recount the charges but if you have read into it at all you will know just how depraved and despicable his crimes were.

This whole saga has me thinking though about how much Hollywood and mainstream traditional entertainment has gone to shit. It seems like every few months there is the major but inevitable downfall of a big player in entertainment. Diddy’s trial will likely expose many other influential figures.

At least on TikTok, it seems like this really is the downfall for not just Diddy but Justin Beiber, Usher, Jay Z, Kevin, Hart, Will Smith, and so many other huge names. Of course, none of this is 100% proven but it’s really strange. I’m a huge Jay-Z fan but based on how closely he associates with Diddy it is not looking great for HOV. It’s such a shame hearing awful things about someone who has made so much art you love… Is this how Michael Jackson fans feel?

Social media, the #MeToo movement, and people relying on traditional entertainment less have all made it easier for people to speak out against figures like Diddy. Hollywood will always be a place that will attract desperate talent and those who are ready and waiting to exploit that desperation. I’m just hoping that as old power players begin to get exposed and we shift our attention away from traditional media we see less widespread abuse like this.

I think Hollywood and the entertainment industry as a whole will be pretty unrecognisable in the next couple of decades. Honestly, it already seems somewhat distant compared to even 5 years ago. People have simply lost passion for these big film franchises and with social media and creative tech being so accessible the large entertainment companies are growing obsolete.

Diddy made his millions from Record Sales. If an artist wanted to become famous, get rich, and get their music into the world they had to go through him. Anyone can release and market music now, the influence and budgets
of these big labels are of course still tempting but significantly less attractive.

One of Diddy’s charges was Racketeering which is essentially organised crime. The music industry has been strongly influenced by organised crime for over a century. Back when the industry was centred around Vinyl records, nightclubs and Jukeboxes it was very easy to manipulate the charts and industry for your gain. Young talented people are also always somewhat easy to influence and control.

Whilst they definitely have a lesser influence many shady, controlling, and manipulative practises are still all commonplace. Digitalisation has certainly helped the music industry escape the grip of organised crime, unfair contracts, and exploitation. However, platforms like Spotify are owned by existing major record labels.

It will be very interesting to see what will unfold, with Diddy but also with the industry as a whole. Here is hoping we can see more unproblematic musicians and producers who care more about making good art than they do about getting their Freak On.

Thanks for reading, enjoy your week.