From left: Kacey Musgraves, George Michael, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” album cover and P!nk.
Matthew Billington
Is it as universal a song subject as love, as timeless as dancing or partying, as relatable as heartbreak or misery or anger? Not quite — but for the actual recording artists behind the songs, it’s the one topic that they’re pretty much guaranteed to have a surfeit of experience in, the one that they can be trusted as an authority on to at least some degree: the music industry itself.
For as long as the music industry has existed, artists have been writing, recording and performing songs about the business that birthed them. Some of them are explicitly biographical, some of them written more in abstract. Some of them offer direct commentary, some of them just present the facts (as the artist sees them) and lets the listener come to their own conclusions. Some of them are highly critical and pissed off about the state of things, some of them… well, we wouldn’t say we can name a ton of songs that are all about how swell things currently are in the music biz — at least that aren’t being bitterly sarcastic about it — but there are some that are less explicitly fire-and-brimstone, anyway.
And as a staff of writers and editors who spend our lives covering all the happenings of the music industry, we have to admit that these songs hold a somewhat special place in our hearts (particularly the ones that mention Billboard by name, natch). We might not share the exact experiences of the artists themselves — sometimes we may even come from the exact other side of their experience — but we’ve seen enough of the business to at least know and understand what they’re talking about, and often to be able to lend a sympathetic ear to their plight. And if the song happens to be a jam even apart from its insider insight, even better, of course.
Here are the Billboard staff’s picks for the 100 greatest songs ever written about the music industry, ranging from classic rock staples to ’90s hip-hop cautionary tales to pop club-slayers from this very year. Some of them tell entire stories about the industry, some of them only memorably glance at in passing, some are told wholly in allegory — but all of them leave you just a little bit wiser and a little more understanding about this thing of ours.
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M, “Pop Muzik” (1979)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? Robin Scott-fronted U.K. outfit M’s breakthrough hit captured the buzzing excitement around pop music at the turn of the ’80s, as new wave and synth-pop were turning the rock establishment upside down. If parts of it came off a bit rueful, the band still knew of what it spoke: “Pop Muzik” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1979.
Most Telling Lyric: “New York, London, Paris, Munich/ Everybody talk about pop muzik” — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
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Elton John, “Bitter Fingers” (1975)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? Before Elton John and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin wrote and released some of the most definitive albums and songs of the 1970s, they worked at Liberty Records’ London office, churning out assembly-line tunes for other artists that never hit — days they recount not so nostalgically in this Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy highlight.
Most Telling Lyric: “So churn them out quick and fast/ And we’ll still pat your backs/ ‘Cause we need what we can get/ To launch another dozen acts” — FRANK DIGIACOMO
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Charles Kelley, “Leaving Nashville” (2016)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s The Deal? In this song from Lady A member Kelley’s debut solo album, he shatters the glamorous misconceptions about life as a Nashville songwriter, bringing to light the profession’s heady highs of hit songs, No. 1 parties and brushing elbows with celebs, but also its crushing lows of watching as business “friends” fade away if the hit songs stop coming.
Most Telling Lyric: “One day you’re the king, the next, you’re not/ It’s handshakes and whiskey shots, boy, and throwing up in parking lots all by yourself” — JESSICA NICHOLSON
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Boston, “Rock and Roll Band” (1976)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? Co-writer and guitarist Tom Scholz admitted the story in “Rock and Roll Band” — a broke bar band playing for the love of music is suddenly discovered by a label executive — is “pure fantasy,” since Boston had never even performed live when the song was written. Nevertheless, the tale of an aspirational rock band is a memorable one and helped turn Scholz’s searing guitar licks into a sing-along rock anthem perfect for ‘70s FM radio.
Most Telling Lyric: “We barely made enough to survive/ But when we got up on stage and got ready to play, people came alive.” — GLENN PEOPLES
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Lupe Fiasco, “Till I Get There” (2011)
Type: Where’s the Single?
What’s the Deal? Lupe compares his A&Rs and executives to therapists and doctors attempting to diagnose him with an illness while actually trying to influence the direction of his music and have him sacrifice artistic integrity for records boasting more commercial appeal.
Most Telling Lyric: “Doctor, doctor please, the fame ain’t painless enough/ That’s cause you ain’t famous enough/ You got a little game but your name ain’t ringin’ enough.” — MICHAEL SAPONARA
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Bon Jovi, “Burning Bridges” (2015)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? After 32 years, Bon Jovi parted ways with Mercury Records in 2015 — and there was no love lost on Jon Bon Jovi’s part in this biting, bitter kiss-off to the label that had made megamillions off the band’s back over three decades.
Most Telling Lyric: “Here’s one last song you can sell/ Let’s call it ‘Burning Bridges’/ It’s a singalong as well/ Hope my money and my masters/ Buy a front row seat in hell” — MELINDA NEWMAN
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Nine Inch Nails, “Happiness in Slavery” (1992)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal?: As NIN notes on its website, 1992’s Broken EP was “recorded in secret to avoid interference from [record label TVT],” with whom frontman Trent Reznor had been feuding. “That’s where a lot of the rage on Broken came from,” he told Rolling Stone at the time, clarifying that the people who controlled his career “are f—king assholes.” That wrath – as well as the despair of being stuck in the system — was evident in every single cutting word of EP climax “Happiness,” which peaked at No. 13 on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart in 1992.
Most Telling Lyric: “I don’t know what I am I don’t know where I’ve been/ Human junk just words and so much skin/ Stick my hands through the cage of this endless routine/ Just some flesh caught in this big broken machine” — ANNA CHAN
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Rachel Stevens, “Some Girls” (2004)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Co-written by U.K. super-producer Richard X and top 40 scribe Hannah Robinson, the dazzling “Some Girls” tells the story of a pop aspirant’s “dreams of No. 1,” who contorts herself to please a big-talking industry insider, with worryingly unclear returns. (In real life, the song got to No. 2 on the Official UK Singles Chart.)
Most Telling Lyric: “Hey! Stop!/ You made a promise to make me a star/ You made a promise I’d get to the top!” — A.U.
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Bacilos, “Mi Primer Millón” (2002)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Released in 2002, the up and coming Colombian trio’s cheekily titled “Mi Primer Millón” (My First Million), captured the aspirations and optimism of Latin acts in the wake of the Latin Explosion of 1999 and 2000. Bacilos’ lyrics were autobiographical, but they could have been talking about any of the many acts who flocked to Miami from around the world in search of fame and fortune. While the title is self-explanatory, the song’s straightforward narrative, full of wanna-be ambitions and name-dropping, captured the zeitgeist of a nascent Latin music industry.
Most Telling Lyric: “As soon as we get there we’ll call Emilio [Estefan]/ I have a friend, he’s friends with a friend, who has a direct line to the heaven of so many stars.” — LEILA COBO
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10cc, “The Worst Band in the World” (1975)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Snobs only familiar with 10cc’s soft-rock hits might actually be tempted to lob this title at them, but the British outfit’s oeuvre is far weirder and artier than their hit “Love” songs let on. “The Worst Band in the World” is a warped, prog-pop mini odyssey that sends up an industry lousy with self-entitled, vacuous rockers gladly appealing to the lowest common denominator.
Most Telling Lyric: “Up yours, up mine/ But up everybody’s, that takes time/ But we’re working on it.” — JOE LYNCH
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The Replacements, “Left of the Dial” (1985)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? The Replacements’ classic college-rock anthem is an elliptical series of lyrical snapshots from the mid-’80s era where underground bands had to reconcile their punk attitudes with their commercial aspirations — with many, including the ‘Mats, ultimately concluding that they were more at home on radio frequencies top 40 would never touch.
Most Telling Lyrics: “Weary voice that’s laughin’, on the radio once/ We sounded drunk, never made it on” — A.U.
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Arctic Monkeys, “Who the F–k Are Arctic Monkeys?” (2006)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? When the Arctic Monkeys gained a ton of mid-’00s media attention as the saviors of rock music for their early singles and debut album, lead singer Alex Turner was quick to state, “Don’t believe the hype.” With a bit of sleazy guitar and Turner’s thick Sheffield accent here, the band delivers a seething rebuke of a music industry they’ve already discovered is mostly the smoke and mirror of fancy marketing, rather than artistic integrity.
Most Telling Lyric? “Not lining up to be Play-Doh/ Oh, in five years’ time will it be/ ‘Who the fuck’s Arctic Monkeys?’” — TAYLOR MIMS
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Ben Folds, “One Down” (2001)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? As the story goes, Folds was on probation with his music publisher and obligated to deliver a specific number of songs. “One Down” finds the clever tunesmith in need of exactly 4.6 songs, and eager to quickly meet his quota. Ironically, while Folds detailed a rote, unglamorous side of the songwriting business, he also penned a fantastic song here.
Most Telling Lyric: “I don’t like wasting time on music that won’t make me proud/ But now I’ve found a reason to sit right down and s**t some out.” — GLENN PEOPLES
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Yard Act, “We Make Hits” (2024)
Type: Origin Story/Where’s the Single?
What’s the Deal? Yard Act have their cake and eat it too on this goofy, groovy track — simultaneously announcing their grand commercial ambitions and poking fun at “two broke millennial men” for harboring them. “I’m gonna keep flinging shit until enough of it sticks,” James Smith sings. “Break down the walls/And if it’s not a hit, we were being ironic.” Best joke of all: the downtempo disco cut is pretty catchy.
Most Telling Lyric: “We signed to a subsidiary of Universal, Inc., ‘Cause the water keeps on rising/ And we know there’s no surprising anyone with eyes and ears ’round here — that we’re all gonna sink.” — ELIAS LEIGHT
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Traffic, “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys” (1971)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? The slow-burning, 11-plus-minute FM rock staple mostly deals in abstraction — the title phrase was a note left for writer/drummer Jim Capaldi by actor Michael J Pollard, which Capaldi thought captured his “tremendous rebel attitude” — but industry predators certainly seems to be one of the things it’s rebelling against, given lyrics about being “take[n] for a ride” and being “stripped of everything, including my pride.”
Most Telling Lyric: “The percentage you’re paying is too high priced/ While you’re living beyond all your means/ And the man in the suit has just bought a new car/ From the profit he’s made on your dreams” — A.U.
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Brandy, “Should I Go?” (2004)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? A Coldplay-sampling deep cut from Brandy’s Afrodisiac, “Should I Go?” sees Brandy at an almost unnervingly vulnerable place in her career, unsure of where she fits in a crowded, post-filesharing industry (“Premature release of these albums online/ Makin’ it hard for real entertainers to shine”) and considering checking out from it altogether, before deciding, “Move over, this is my time/ B-Rocka’s back on the grind.”
Most Telling Lyric: “I’m standing on the edge of the industry/ Wondering if it’s all that important to me” — A.U.
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Stealers Wheel, “Stuck in the Middle With You” (1973)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Gerry Rafferty wrote Stealers Wheel’s biggest hit about an insufferable industry cocktail party he attended, mostly as lark — but the rollickingly claustrophobic tale of being stuck among “clowns to the left of [him], jokers to the right” was too funny and irresistible to be ignored, eventually reaching the Hot 100’s top 10.
Most Telling Lyric: “Trying to make some sense of it all/ But I can see it makes no sense at all/ Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor?/ ‘Cause I don’t think that I can take anymore” — A.U.
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Grupo Marca Registrada & Tapy Quintero, “Artista Independiente” (2022)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? The two Mexican acts spin the tale of a rugged lone ranger within the industry in “Artista Independiente,” chronicling his life journey wrapped in guitar strings and bold lyrics. Imagine darting from California to who-knows-where, dodging life’s curveballs but never dropping the ball on street smarts? It’s about juggling the hard knocks with hard work, all with a bit of swagger and zero apologies, embodied by the gruff determination of regional Mexican music.
Most Telling Lyric: “Somos gente con la gente que le gusta trabajar/ Como artista independiente ¿me pueden catalogar?” (We are people with people who like to work/ As an independent artist, can you catalog me?) — ISABELA RAYGOZA
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Lacy J. Dalton, “16th Ave” (1982)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Nashville has always been renowned for its songwriters, and in this 1982 hit — penned by one of Nashville’s top tunesmiths, Thom Schuyler — Dalton pays loving tribute to the boys who make the noise on 16th Ave., which was in the heart of Music Row when all the music companies were concentrated in a few short blocks for decades.
Most Telling Lyric: “’Cause they walk away from everything/ Just to see a dream come true/ So God bless the boys who make the noise/On 16th Avenue” — M.N.
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Nick Lowe, “I Love My Label” (1978)
Type: Where’s the Single?
What’s the Deal? Although the pub-rock hero and onetime Brinsley Schwartz frontman had written deliberately awful songs to free himself from his record deal with United Artists, it was “Let’s Go to the Disco” that pulled off the feat. Recorded later as an “advertising jingle,” as he later called it, for the great British indie Stiff Records, “I Love My Label” is characteristically sarcastic, damning the business with faint praise.
Most Telling Lyric: “We’re one big happy family/ I guess you could say I’m the poor relation of the parent company” — STEVE KNOPPER
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MGMT, “Congratulations” (2010)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? MGMT’s 2009 sophomore album Congratulations is essentially a nine-song therapy session about the success of the duo’s 2007 debut Oracular Spectacular and its era-defining singles “Time to Pretend” and “Kids.” Congratulations’ tongue-in-cheek titletrack is a psych-rock ode to the fame, wealth, privilege, expectations and general unease created by the debut — although when Congratulations peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, it technically became an even bigger hit.
Most Telling Lyric: “But I’ve got someone to make reports/ That tell me how my money’s spent/ To book my stays and draw my blinds/ So I can’t tell what’s really there/ And all I need’s a great big congratulations” — KATIE BAIN
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Harry Chapin, “W.O.L.D.” (1973)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s The Deal? This bittersweet story song, about a DJ who chased his radio dreams at the expense of his marriage, cracked the top 40 on the Hot 100 in 1974. “W.O.L.D.” (the call letters are a sly allusion to how the DJ was starting to feel old) is said to have inspired the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, which debuted four years later.
Most Telling Lyric: “The bright good morning voice who’s heard but never seen/Feeling all of 45, going on 15.” – PAUL GREIN
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Grand Funk Railroad, “We’re an American Band” (1973)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Written and sung by Grand Funk Railroad drummer Don Brewer, this iconic and anthemic rock standard about life as touring rock group reportedly was born out of an endless summer tour that saw that group crisscrossing the country and meeting the likes of blues legend Freddie King and super groupie Connie Flowers, celebrating the colorful fabric of the USA and its insatiable appetite for rock and roll in the early ’70s.
Most Telling Lyric: “We’re comin’ to your town/ We’ll help you party it down/ We’re an American band” — DAVE BROOKS
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Bruce Springsteen, “Last Man Standing” (2020)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? When Springsteen’s friend George Theiss died in 2018, The Boss became the last living member of his first band, The Castiles. With mortality on his mind — “Last Man Standing” appears on Letter to You, the 2020 album that Springsteen released at the height of the pandemic — the rock superstar describes his early days trying to make it in the industry, memorializing what he told Apple Music were “some of the deepest learning years of my life”.
Most Telling Lyric: “Knights of Columbus and the Fireman’s Ball/ Friday night at the union hall/ Black leather clubs all along Route 9/ You count the names of the missing as you count off time” — F.D.
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Kendrick Lamar, “For Sale? (Interlude)” (2015)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? Over a deceptively pleasant bed of smooth jazz, K.Dot spits about Lucy (last name: Fur) offering up dollars, mansions and a better life for his family in exchange for a little thing called a soul. Portraying record contracts as a deal with the devil is nothing new, but in Lamar’s hands, “For Sale? (Interlude)” is an engrossing, detailed and unsettling takedown.
Most Telling Lyric: “Lucy got paperwork on top of paperwork / I want you to know that Lucy got you / All your life, I watched you /And now you all grown up, then sign this contract if that’s possible.” — J.L.
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Bread, “The Guitar Man” (1972)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Don’t let this song’s jaunty vibe fool you: “The Guitar Man” warns of the bleaker side of the musician-fan relationship, whether it’s a listener twisting a song’s meaning in search of a personal connection to an artist that isn’t there, or a faded star still chasing the high of performing in front of a dwindling crowd long after their 15 minutes has lapsed.
Most Telling Lyric: “Then the lights begin to flicker and the sound is getting dim/ The voice begins to falter and the crowds are getting thin/ But he never seems to notice, he’s just got to find another place to play” – KATIE ATKINSON
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Barry Manilow, “Studio Musician” (1977)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s The Deal? This tender ballad about musicians who put their own dreams on hold to play for hire is close enough to Manilow’s own story – he composed jingles and arranged for others before he broke through with “Mandy” – that you may have assumed that he wrote it. Actually, the song was written and first recorded by a pre-fame Rupert Holmes, but that factoid just underscores the premise of “Studio Musician” – there are more people involved in a song than the one who is out front.
Most Telling Lyric: “I’m a man of the moment/ Pop is my stock-in-trade/ Singles, jingles and demos, conveniently made/ A studio musician whose music will die unplayed.” – P.G.
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Lana Del Rey, “White Dress” (2021)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? In “White Dress,” Lana Del Rey reminisces about a simpler time in her life that preceded her rise to fame. As a 19-year-old waitress, Del Rey describes feeling confident about her future despite (or perhaps because of) her naïvety about the music business. In the song’s famous refrain, she talks about going “Down [to] Orlando” for the “Men in Music Business Conference,” a fictional industry trade show. In “White Dress,” Del Rey captures the excitement, innocence and uncertainty of an artist’s early career – the time just before anyone was watching.
Most Telling Lyric: “Look how I got this/ Just singing in the street/ Down at the Men in Music Business Conference/ I felt free cause I was only nineteen/ Such a scene” — KRISTIN ROBINSON
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Sturgill Simpson, “Mercury in Retrograde” (2019)
Type: Meet the Press/F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? A spacey, grooving rhythm belies a Simpson roast where no one escapes the flame, as journalists, bus-crashers, fake friends and haters all get a turn on the spit.
Most Telling Lyric: “Light a match and burn it all down/ Head back home to the mountain/ Far away from all of the pull/ Of all the journalists and sycophants building their brands…” — CHRISTINE WERTHMAN
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Sugarloaf, “Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You” (1974)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? It’s the supposedly true story of Sugarloaf trying to get a record deal and being treated very shabbily — but revenge is sweet. After the label A&R dude passes, they end up having a smash (1970’s No. 3 hit, “Green-Eyed Lady”) and they are the ones not taking his calls. Even sweeter: “Don’t Call Us” went to No. 9 in 1975.
Most Telling Lyric: “You said, “Hello” and put me on hold/ To say the least, the cat was cold/ He said, “Don’t call us, child, we’ll call you” — M.N.
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Rush, “The Spirit of Radio” (1980)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal: Rush’s 1980 classic rock radio staple is a commentary on how radio was then becoming a less artistic and more commercially driven enterprise, with the song also simultaneously emulating radio itself. Shifting styles (rock, new wave, the reggae of the final third and a style of drumming Neil Peart identified as punk) are meant to conjure flipping between stations, with the shimmering opening riff designed to sound like the static of the airwaves itself.
Most Telling Lyric: “One likes to believe in the freedom of music/ But glittering prizes and endless compromises/ Shatter the illusion of integrity” (But also, “Oooooooof SALESMEN!”) — K.B.
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Liz Phair, “And He Slayed Her” (2010)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? After vaulting to indie rock stardom on Matador Records in the mid-’90s, Phair ran into all-too-common problems with the label brass in her tortured stint at Capitol Records at the turn of the century. Phair’s loss is our gain, as the incident resulted in a dark revenge fantasy inspired by then-Capitol CEO and president Andy Slater’s (read the song title slowly) refusal to let out of her contract. “He was just holding on to me because he could,” she told Pitchfork in 2008. “It just sucked, and I was depressed.”
Most Telling Lyric: “What kind of life did you think you were gonna live/ When everyone in town put a price on your head?” — G.P.
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Richard Marx, “Don’t Mean Nothing” (1987)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? With lyrics that should be posted on every city limits sign in Los Angeles, Richard Marx’s debut single slyly excoriated the disingenuousness and moral rot at the industry’s foundations, a cautionary tale he made extra head-spinning by delivering via brightly hooky power chords its dark themes, about how nothing in Hollywood means anything until your check clears.
Most Telling Lyric: “And you want to scream, but you gotta keep it all inside/ When you’re trying to make a living/ There ain’t no such thing as pride” — K.B.
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Neil Young, “This Note’s for You” (1988)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? Long before artists clamored to become the soundtracks to sodas and alcoholic beverages, many artists treated corporate sponsorships as an integrity-killer. With “This Note’s For You,” a bluesy tune backed by a punchy horn section, Young skewered his contemporaries for selling their music to corporations. He doesn’t single out artists, but Young name-drops Pepsi, Coke, Miller, and Budweiser and its canine mascot, Spuds MacKenzie — driving the satire home with a classic ad-skewering music video that became a surprise video of the year winner at the 1989 VMAs.
Most Telling Lyric: “Ain’t singing for Pepsi/ Ain’t singing for Coke/ I don’t sing for nobody/ Makes me look like a joke.” — G.P.
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Camp Cope, “The Opener” (2018)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? In 2018, the post-#MeToo music industry was finally starting to grapple with questions related to sexism and abuse of power in the music industry that had too long gone unchecked. Aussie female punk trio Camp Cope had both one of the most vicious and most tender songs on the topic with the heartbreaking “The Opener,” which mock-quoted men in the industry who claimed to have their interests at heart but were most interested in keeping them in their place: “Yeah, just get a female opener, that’ll fill the quota.”
Most Telling Lyric: “It’s another whole male tour preaching equality/ It’s another straight cis man who knows more about this than me” — A.U.
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Babasónicos, “Soy Rock” (2001)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? Babasónicos’ fiery anthem cuts deep into the music industry’s commodification of artists and their art. With a rebellious tone and unapologetic lyrics, the song challenges the constraints and commercial expectations placed on musicians. It’s a defiant declaration of independence from the pressures to conform to industry standards, and instead, embracing a pure, unadulterated form of self-expression: rock!!!
Most Telling Lyric: “Soy muy puta y no trabajo para vos” (I am a bitch and I don’t work for you) — I.R.
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Jay-Z, “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” (2001)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? On the lead single from his 2001 masterpiece The Blueprint, Jay-Z details how he defied the odds despite his surroundings — and very publicly reminds major label executives that he didn’t do it all for nothing, either, calling the industry “shady” and offering that they probably hate him for “raising the status quo up” in hip-hop.
Most Telling Lyric: “Pay us like you owe us for all the years that you hoed us/ We can talk, but money talks, so talk more bucks” — JOSH GLICKSMAN
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Guns N’ Roses, “Get in the Ring” (1991)
Type: Meet the Press
What’s the Deal? Axl Rose’s missive against the early-’90s rock journalism for “spreading lies” about him and his band (you better believe he names names) might’ve further damaged his already-hurting media rep, and probably cost Use Your Illusion II a star or two in a couple publications. But it’s one of the best first-hand cautionary tales rock ever produced about the dangers of reading your own press — and hey, at least Axl was (very) willing to fight his own fight, rather than just siccing his fan army on his foes.
Most Telling Lyric: “Printin’ lies, startin’ controversy/ You wanta antagonize me/ Antagonize me motherf–ker/ Get in the ring motherf–ker/ And I’ll kick your b–chy little ass!” — A.U.
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Billy Squier, “The Stroke” (1981)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? Despite the title, Billy Squier’s signature hit isn’t about self-love — it’s his label that’s doing the stroking, and the only release that comes at the end of it is the one with their pre-approved tracklist, cover art and radio-ready lead single.
Most Telling Lyric: “Put your right hand out, give a firm handshake/ Talk to me about that one big break/ Spread your ear pollution, both far and wide” — A.U.
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Eagles, “New Kid in Town” (1976)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? “We were basically saying, ‘Look, we know we’re red hot right now but we also know that somebody’s going to come along and replace us,’” Eagles’ Don Henley said about the gossipy heartbreak ballad that became the group’s first Hot 100 No. 1 hit off Hotel California in early ’77. Pretty telling: If even the friggin’ Hotel California-era Eagles couldn’t be secure about their place in the music industry, clearly no one in the biz would ever feel totally safe.
Most Telling Lyric: “You’re walking away and they’re talking behind you/ They will never forget you ’til somebody new comes along” — A.U.
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Kelly Rowland, “Dirty Laundry” (2013)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? While Beyoncé was ruling the world as the preeminent solo star of the 2000s, her old Destiny’s Child groupmate Kelly Rowland was struggling — not just failing to produce similar-sized hits of her own, but falling under the thumb of an abusive man who “turned me against my sister.” The harrowing “Dirty Laundry” posits that ultimately, the dirtiest piece of business in the music industry is that when you’re not producing hits, nobody cares what kind of hits you’re taking in your private life.
Most Telling Lyric: “Meanwhile this n—a putting his hands on me/ I swear y’all don’t know the half of this industry” — A.U.
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Alan Jackson, “Gone Country” (1994)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? Following the country boom created by Garth Brooks, Clint Black and others in the early ‘90s, carpetbaggers from Los Angeles and New York swarmed to Nashville, figuring it couldn’t be that hard to make it in Music City. The pairing of legendary songwriter Bob McDill and the twangy Jackson on this cynical, humorous take on the influx went straight to No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart in 1994.
Most Telling Lyric: “She’s been readin’ about Nashville and all the records that everybody’s buyin’/ Says, “I’m a simple girl myself, grew up on Long Island” — M.N.
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Taylor Swift, “The Lucky One” (2012)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? In a fascinating, future-forecasting early deep cut, Taylor Swift tells the story of a nameless former music icon who became disillusioned with the glare of the spotlight and decided to cut out before her time, with her money and her dignity still i tact. In the final verse, Swift realizes she may soon face a similar choice in her own career: “Now my name is up in lights/ But I think you got it right.”
Most Telling Lyric: “They tell you that you’re lucky, but you’re so confused/ ‘Cause you don’t feel pretty, you just feel used/ And all the young things line up to take your place” — A.U.
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Mojo Nixon, “Bring Me the Head of David Geffen” (1997)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Part punk, part rockabilly, this angry barn-burner from 1997 takes aim at mega music mogul David Geffen for single-handedly killing the soul of rock and roll by promoting events like Woodstock 94, encouraging Pepsi to sponsor Michael Jackson and orchestrating a deal between Budweiser and Rolling Stones. Legend has it that the song was originally set for release in 1995, only to be axed by Geffen at the time — a claim shot down by Geffen, via a spokesperson, with a Mariah Carey-style diss: “He doesn’t even know who Mojo Nixon is.”
Most Telling Lyric: “Hell’s gonna freeze over/ Hotel California/ Don’t say I didn’t warn ya/ Even Don Henley’s got to bend over” — D.B.
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Chappell Roan, “California” (2023)
Type: Where’s the Single?
What’s the Deal? Chappell Roan’s explosive popularity didn’t occur overnight; it was a decade in the making – and not one without adversity. Her talent was indisputable, but as a teen starting out in the music business, she wasn’t receiving immediate pop star-level success, which ultimately led to her first major label, Atlantic Records, dropping her. The result? This melodic, heartfelt bop describes her feelings of disillusionment with California and the fight for fame within the music industry.
Most Telling Lyric: “’Cause I was never told that I wasn’t gonna get/ The things I want the most/ But people always say, ‘If it hasn’t happened yet/ Then maybe you should go’” — RYLEE JOHNSTON
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Gillian Welch, “Everything Is Free” (2001)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? You could forgive anyone within the industry for freaking out at the turn of the century when the sale of music suddenly became lawless, as filesharing turned the entire biz into the Wild West. Americana singer-songwriter Gillian Welch handled it more delicately than most, using the moment of professional panic to a heartbreaking (but dignified) consideration of a life where music simply isn’t her job anymore: “I’ll just stay at home and sing a little love song/ My love and myself/ If there’s something that you want to hear/ You can sing it yourself”
Most Telling Lyric: “But everything is free now/ That’s what they say/ Everything I ever done/ Gonna give it away” — A.U.
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Depeche Mode, “Everything Counts” (1983)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? As Depeche Mode grew in popularity over the course of the ‘80s, they found the grabbing hands grabbing all they can to be getting ever grabbier — resulting in this venomous dollars-and-cents synth-rock banger about their artistry and life’s work being reduced to numbers in the graph (THE GRAPH!) on the wall.
Most Telling Lyric: “The handshake seals the contract/ From the contract, there’s no turning back” — A.U.
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Alanis Morissette, “Right Through You” (1995)
Type: Origin Story/F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal: A relative deep cut from the map of the female emotional landscape that was Alanis Morissette’s 1995 masterpiece Jagged Little Pill, “Right Through You” shreds the misogynistic label bros she encounters amid her rise. Morissette’s disgust over their sexual harassment and dismissive condescension is matched by the sweetness of the revenge she exacts, when she becomes a star and they “scan the credits for” their “name, and wonder why it’s not there.”
Most Telling Lyric: “You took me out to wine dine sixty-nine me/ But didn’t hear a damn word I said” — K.B.
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The Clash, “Complete Control” (1977)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal?: When CBS released “Remote Control” as a single from The Clash’s self-titled U.K. debut against the band’s wishes, they responded with this furious, muscular punk screed about labels, managers, cops and the media. And they made sure it was on the U.S. version of their self-titled album, which came out two years later after the U.K. version.
Most Telling Lyric: “They said we’d be artistically free/ When we signed that bit of paper/ They meant, ‘Let’s make a lots of money/ And worry about it later.’” — J.L.
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Raspberries, “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” (1974)
Type: Where’s the Single?
What’s the Deal? “Overnight Sensation” is about as starry-eyed a pop record about going for the gold as you’ll ever hear, a veritable dream fantasy sequence on seven inches of wax. But the Raspberries had actually already scored their hit record, yeah two years earlier with the power-pop all-timer “Go All the Way:’ listen closely to Eric Carmen’s you can already hear a little fear and bitterness mixed in with the wistfulness as he quotes a radio exec: “So bring the group down to the station/ You’re gonna be an overnight sensation.” He already knows it’s not really that simple, nor that easy to repeat.
Most Telling Lyric: “I fit those words to a good melody/ Amazing how success has been ignoring me/ So long” — A.U.
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Sonic Youth, “Kill Yr Idols” (1983)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: Meet the Press
What’s the Deal? Noisy, bratty, discordant and sorta unprecedented, Sonic Youth were hardly media darlings from Day One — partly, perhaps, due to this exhilarating Year Zero screed against bands who actively courted the approval of critics in general and “dean of rock critics” Robert Christgau in particular. (Original title: “I Killed Christgau With My Big F–king D–k”.”)
Most Telling Lyric: “I don’t know why/ You wanna impress Christgau/ Ah let that shit die
And find out the new goal.” — A.U. -
Chance the Rapper feat. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne, “No Problem” (2015)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? If you followed Chance the Rapper’s monumental rise in the mid-2010s in any capacity, it would have been hard to miss his proud status as an independent artist — something he wastes little time touting in what was then his biggest hit to date as a lead artist, also enlisting 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne for some extra muscle against those persistent, pesky major labels.
Most Telling Lyric: “If one more label try to stop me/It’s gon’ be some dreadhead n—as in your lobby” — J.G.
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George Harrison, “When We Was Fab” (1987)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? Nearly two decades after the Beatles’ breakup, George Harrison flashed back to the group’s heyday with this seemingly wistful hit about the good ol’ days that was actually less dewey-eyed and more eye-rolling about the circus of it all — including sneering references to the press, the police, and (of course) the taxman.
Most Telling Lyric: “Long time ago when we was fab/ Back when income tax was all we had” — A.U.
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Dr. Hook, “The Cover of ‘Rolling Stone'” (1972)
Type: Meet the Press / Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? This song humorously captures the rock star life, celebrating all the excesses and privileges that fame brings and the superficial thrill that musicians often chase — having their faces grace the cover of a famous music magazine. The lyrics satirize the rock ‘n’ roll scene of the ‘70s, poking fun at the obsession with public image, media attention, and the validation of one’s success through print covers.
Most Telling Lyric: “Wanna see my smilin’ face on the cover of the Rolling Stone.” — I.R.
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Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Into the Great Wide Open” (1991)
Type: Where’s the Single? / Origin Story
What’s the Deal? Petty’s poetically plainspoken way with a lyric lends the story here of Eddie, who moves to Hollywood after high school with dreams of rock stardom, the feeling of a fable. And like any timeless fable, this one has a lesson — one that’s all the more cold when juxtaposed with the sunny, strummed chorus — that playing from “the heart” often isn’t enough to make it in the industry; hits rule the day, and for plenty of artists, thinking otherwise is tantamount to being “without a clue.”
Most Telling Lyric: “They both met movie stars, partied and mingled/Their A&R man said I don’t hear a single/The future was wide open” — REBECCA MILZOFF
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The Rolling Stones, “The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man” (1965)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? When the Rolling Stones were music industry pups (yes, there was such a time), England’s Newest Hitmakers found themselves drowning in a sea of self-important biz players with tacky suits and bad toupees. They wrote this harmonica blues number specifically as a send-up of George Sherlock, a (you guessed it) promo man from the label who chaperoned their tour of the West Coast.
Most Telling Lyric: “I’m sitting here thinking just how sharp I am/ I’m a necessary talent behind every rock n’ roll band.” — J.L.
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Ye, “No More Parties in LA”
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? While tapping Kendrick Lamar during the height of his “Alright” success, Ye outperforms the fellow A-list rapper by condemning the unhinged lifestyle of the rich and famous (that he also very much was living as a rap superstar) over Madlib’s intropective production.
Most Telling Lyric: “A thirty-eight-year-old eight-year-old with rich n—a problems/ Tell my wife that I hate the Rolls so I don’t never drive it/ It took six months to get the Mayback all matted out/ And my assistant crashed it soon as they backed it out.” — HERAN MAMO
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Margo Price, “This Town Gets Around” (2016)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? When Margo Price got her big breaking signing with Jack White’s Third Man Records, she came fully equipped with a spectacular country record filled with the hard-fought stories of how she created it. “This Town Gets Around” is a deceivingly delightful, floor-stomping romp about how two-faced and sleazy the Nashville music industry really is.
Most Telling Lyric: “As the saying goes, it’s not who you know/But it’s who you blow that’ll get you in the show” — T.M.
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The Beatles, “You Never Give Me Your Money” (1969)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? Written by Paul McCartney, this patchwork Abbey Road track addresses the band’s financial and logistical struggles following the death of longtime manager Brian Epstein. The bassist has also said that he had the group’s polarizing replacement manager, Allen Klein, in mind while penning the first part, in which he plainly criticizes his subject’s empty promises.
Most Telling Lyric: “You never give me your money/ You only give me your funny paper/ And in the middle of negotiations/ You break down.” — HANNAH DAILEY
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Common, “I Used to Love H.E.R.” (1994)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? Common dupes listeners into thinking he’s talking about a former lover, but he’s actually speaking on the hip-hop industry, and how much the game has changed by the mid-’90s — with artists straying further away from the pillars of what the genre was built on, and caving to the pressures of labels, public perception and mainstream appeal.
Most Telling Lyric: “Once The Man got to her, he altered her native/ Told her if she got an image and a gimmick/ That she could make money, and she did it like a dummy.” — M.S.
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Kesha, “Fine Line” (2023)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? “Fine Line,” the stunning lead single from Kesha’s fifth studio album, 2023’s Gag Order, finds the pop star alluding to her legal battle with Grammy-nominated, Billboard Hot 100-topping producer Dr. Luke — and also finds her furious, frustrated and “so godd–n sick of fighting.” (In 2014, Kesha sued Luke for emotional distress, sex-based hate crimes and employment discrimination. Luke has denied all allegations, and he countersued the same year for defamation. He and Kesha released a joint statement announcing their settlement in June 2023.)
Most Telling Lyric: “This is where you f–kers pushed me/ Don’t be surprised if shit gets ugly/ All the doctors and lawyers cut the tongue outta my mouth/ I’ve been hidin’ my anger, but bitch, look at me now” — KYLE DENIS
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John Fogerty, “Vanz Kant Danz”
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? Fogerty’s multiple legal battles with the owner of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s label, Fantasy Records’ Saul Zaentz — which stretched over five decades — inspired this song and resulted in more litigation. Originally titled “Zanz Can’t Dance” (early copies of the album carry this song title), it was one of two ferocious diss tracks aimed at Zaentz on Fogerty’s smash 1985 solo album, Centerfield. Zaentz, who died in 2014, sued for defamation, which prompted the title change.
Most Telling Lyric: “Vanz can’t dance, but he’ll steal your money/ Watch him or he’ll rob you blind” — F.D.
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Willie Nelson, “On the Road Again” (1980)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? An unusually rose-tinted look at touring life, Willie Nelson is all smiles on this road-tripping classic as he hits the highway with his guys, “Goin’ places that I’ve never been/ Seein’ things that I may never see again.” And he must’ve really meant it, considering he’s barely slowed down his gigging in the four-plus decades since.
Most Telling Lyric: “The life I love is makin’ music with my friends/ And I can’t wait to get on the road again” — A.U.
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Warren Zevon, “Even a Dog Can Shake Hands” (1987)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? Rock’s wryest wit embarked upon a satiric Sherman’s march through the L.A. music biz on this Springsteen-esque rocker about how industry insiders will take your money, your time and your happiness. And if there’s anything left, the fans will probably want that.
Most Telling Lyric: “Abandon all hope, and don’t rock the boat/ And we’ll all make a few hundred grand.” — J.L.
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Residente, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 49” (2022)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? In his session with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, Puerto Rican rapper Residente delivers a scathing reprimand of Latin urban music and the entire Latin industry for a riveting 8:39. The intentions are clear from the first bar: “I’m uneasy as I watch over the urban genre,” Residente begins, ominous, but innocently enough, before launching into an unprecedented critique of — among other things — lazy lyrics, social media boasting, Billboard awards, payola, Auto-Tune, songwriting credits and his own colleagues. In this blistering rant, no one was spared.
Most Telling Lyric: “Today I‘ll f–k the fame industry, until I break the springs in my bed.” — L.C.
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RAYE, “Ice Cream Man” (2023)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Taken from her award-winning debut LP, My 21st Century Blues, “Ice Cream Man” is Raye’s appropriately chilling musical account of her sexual assault at the hands of a unnamed music producer, who was “coming like the ice cream man/ ‘Til I felt his ice-cold hands.”
Most Telling Lyric: “But when I got there, should’ve heard what he was saying/ Tryna touch me, tryna f–k me, I’m not playing/ I should have left that place as soon as I walked in it/ How goddamn dare you do that to me, really?” — K.D.
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The Byrds, “So You Want to Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star” (1966)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? On The Byrds’ fourth album, Younger Than Yesterday, Jim McGuinn and Chris Hillman turned a practical, how-to guide based on the band’s near-overnight success into 2:05 of sublime psychedelic rock. Learn to play guitar, get the hair and pants just right, get an agent and “sell your soul to the [record] company,” they sing. And if you make the charts, “the girls’ll tear you apart.”
Most Telling Lyric: “Price you paid for your riches and fame/ Was it all a strange game? You’re a little insane.” — G.P.
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Graham Parker and the Rumour, “Mercury Poisoning” (1979)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s The Deal? These days, Parker blows a kazoo in concert. In the late ‘70s, he blew his top over what he felt was Mercury Records’ inept promotion of his band, which had blown up in the United Kingdom but was little more than critics’ darlings in the United States. When the band moved to Arista, Parker recorded this unforgettableparting shot, which his new label put out as a promotional single but never officially released.
Most Telling Lyric: “The company is crippling me/ The worst trying to ruin the best, the best/ Their promotion’s so lame/ They could never ever take it to the real ball game” — F.D.
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Wu-Tang Clan, “Protect Ya Neck” (1992)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? The GZA is the last man up for the Wu’s game-changing lead single, and he’s already sick to death of labels with “short arms and deep pockets” having no clue what to do with the nine-man Clan, unleashing some fiendish rhymes at their expense: “First of all, who’s your A&R?/ A mountain climber who plays an electric guitar?/ But he don’t know the meanin’ of dope.”
Most Telling Lyric: “The Wu is too slammin’ for these Cold Killin’ labels/ Some ain’t had hits since I seen Aunt Mabel/ Be doin’ artists in like Cain did Abel/ Now their money’s gettin’ stuck to the gum under the table” — A.U.
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Prince, “Emancipation” (1996)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? Prince famously lashed out at his longtime major label, Warner Bros., by changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol, scrawling “SLAVE” on his cheek and selling his many new songs via a toll-free number or the newfangled Internet. “Emancipation,” the title track for a three-CD set on his new NPG Records, was the funky mission statement for this phase of the Purple One’s career: “I hope the business is heading towards emancipation for its contracted performers,” he told the Miami Herald in 1997. “Then the music will change toward the truth.”
Most Telling Lyric: “My back was broken and my spirit ill at ease/ And now it seems just like the autumn leaves” — S.K.
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Charli XCX with Lorde, “Girl, So Confusing” (2024)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? It’s rare that fans get to watch pop stars squash their beef in real time, but it’s unheard of to listen to them do it on a song together (read: they worked it out on the remix). On this updated version of “Girl,” Charli and Lorde explain the stress-induced self-sabotage that led each to speculate about the other’s feelings, while simultaneously calling out the industry-generated misogyny that led to the misunderstanding in the first place. In a business that can prioritize competitiveness and pettiness amongst its star players, these two turned it around and pointed the finger in the right direction.
Most Telling Lyric: “People say we’re alike, they say we’ve got the same hair/ It’s you and me on the coin the industry loves to spend.” — STEPHEN DAW
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Sex Pistols, “EMI” (1977)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal: After EMI got spooked by some rowdy behavior and dropped the Sex Pistols only three months into a two-year contract, the band responded with this middle-finger salute that made it clear to their former label that punk wasn’t a facade — it was a lifestyle.
Most Telling Lyric: “And you thought that we were faking/ That we were all just moneymaking/ You do not believe we’re for real/ Or you would lose your cheap appeal?” — C.W.
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A Tribe Called Quest, “Check the Rhime” (1991)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? As they trade nostalgic lines in this call-and-response anthem, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg lay out a roadmap for rookie rappers: Stay true to yourself (“Just remain your own or you’ll be crazy sad and alone”), protect hip-hop’s underground roots (“Rap is not pop, if you call it that then stop”), and, well, we’ll just let Tip share the ultimate “industry rule”…
Most Telling Lyric: “Industry rule number four-thousand-and-eighty: Record company people are shady/ So kids, watch your back ’cause I think they smoke crack/ I don’t doubt it, look at how they act.” – K.A.
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George Strait with Alan Jackson, “Murder on Music Row” (2000)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal: “Murder on Music Row” decries the pop sounds proliferating country radio (and the corresponding shoving aside of more traditional country artists and instrumentation) as a result of the Nashville music industry’s profit-maximizing urges, comparing the shift to a criminal getting away with murder. Jackson and Strait performed the song during the 1999 CMA Awards, and the song resonated with fans, ultimately reaching No. 38 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Tracks chart in 2000.
Most Telling Lyric: “The almighty dollar and the lust for worldwide fame/ Slowly killed tradition and for that, someone should hang” — JESSICA NICHOLSON
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David Bowie, “Fame” (1975)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? An iconic critique of the tantalizing yet deceptive nature of fame, “Fame” unfurls the paradoxes and pressures of celebrity status, delivered with Bowie’s characteristic wit and biting insight. Its edgy funk groove drives home the idea that while fame may elevate you, it also enslaves you — making it a double-edged sword that shapes behavior and personal relationships — all the while the folks who are supposed to be working for you yell “nein, it’s mine!” when it comes to your money.
Most Telling Lyric: “Fame (fame) what you like is in the limo/ Fame (fame) what you get is no tomorrow/ Fame (fame) what you need you have to borrow.” — I.R.
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Reel Big Fish, “Sell Out” (1997)
Type: Where’s the Single?
What’s the Deal? Let’s face it: Outside of a No Doubt here and a Sublime there, ska never really served up big hits or bigger bands. But the Fish caught one with “Sell Out” — maybe the most gleefully ironic hit of the era, given its lyrics about doing what the record company wants just to reap the fleeting rewards of getting out of that fast food job, soul or happiness be damned.
Most Telling Lyric: “Sell out with me, oh yeah/ Sell out with me tonight/ The record company’s gonna give me lots of money/ And everything’s gonna be alright” — DAN RYS
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Eminem, “The Way I Am” (2000)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? As Eminem’s following ballooned into the stratosphere at the turn of the century, he made sure to let everyone know that he wouldn’t be sending any thank-you notes: On this Marshall Mathers LP single, he takes aim at everyone from bystanders bothering him on a day-to-day basis to parents blaming him for his lyrical content to label executives to prominent names on the radio circuit.
Most Telling Lyric: “I’m so sick and tired of being admired/That I wish that I would just die or get fired” — J.G.
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Billy Joel, “The Entertainer” (1974)
Type: Where’s the Single?
What’s The Deal? In 1975, this spunky pop song became Joel’s second top 40 hit on the Hot 100. The song captures the anxieties of a performer whose place in the pop hierarchy was not yet secure. He was a name, but not yet a star, and he knew that if his record didn’t sell, he could be “put in the back in the discount rack like another can of beans.”
Most Telling Lyric: “And I won’t be here in another year/If I don’t stay on the charts.” – P.G.
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Queen, “Radio Ga Ga” (1984)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? With MTV becoming the cultural talking point (and often punching bag) of the early ’80s, Queen decided to pay tribute to their beloved radio on this 1984 heater. Reminiscing about the format’s golden years and its importance in defining culture throughout the 20th century, Mercury’s voice shifts as he laments the status of the “goo goo” and “blah blah” he can’t avoid on the airwaves. Considering the song would go on to inspire the name of one of the next century’s defining pop stars, it’s safe to say that Queen’s “Ga Ga” point was well-taken.
Most Telling Lyric: “We hardly need to use our ears/ How music changes through the years” — S.D.
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LCD Soundsystem, “You Wanted a Hit” (2010)
Type: Where’s the Single?
What’s the Deal? LCD’s whole schtick was hyper-self-awareness and doing things for love over fame, so when the fame came after 2007’s Sound of Silver they were well-prepared to (lyrically, at least) spit in its face — and this one off 2010’s This Is Happening, thumbing their noses at a record company desperate for something to bring to radio, is true-to-form, right down to its un-radio-friendly nine-minute run time.
Most Telling Lyric: “Yeah you wanted a hit/ But tell me, where’s the point in it?/ You wanted a hit/ But that’s not what we do” — D.R.
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Heart, “Barracuda” (1977)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? The Wilson sisters took aim at their first label – and the sleaziest parts of the music industry as a whole – by comparing greedy execs to the slippery, predatory title fish in this driving rocker. The song’s best trick is Roger Fisher’s propulsive riff, which manages to create the feeling of a bloodthirsty attacker lying in wait for its chance to strike.
Most Telling Lyric: “You lying so low in the weeds I bet you gonna ambush me/ You’d have me down, down, down, down on my knees/ Now wouldn’t you, Barracuda?” – K.A.
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Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Workin’ for MCA” (1974)
Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? Lynyrd Skynyrd’s second album, Second Helping, holds this tale of the group’s seven-year journey “from the Florida border up to Nashville, Tennessee” and contract with MCA and producer Al Kooper, a “Yankee slicker with a big ol’ Southern grin” who made promises of “lots of money” — although the band only got $9,000 for its initial deal. Not a radio hit, but it’s biting riff-filled Southern rock at its finest.
Most Telling Lyric: “But I’ll sign my contract baby, and I want you people to know/ That every penny that I make, I gotta see where my money goes” — G.P.
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HAIM, “Man From the Magazine” (2021)
Type: Meet the Press
What’s the Deal? Since they were kids, the Haim sisters have been playing multiple instruments, performing live and writing their own material. So, if a music journalist or man at the music shop doesn’t have time to treat them like the talented musicians that they are, they are figuring out which door will get them out fastest. Over expertly played acoustic guitar, HAIM lays out on “Man From the Magazine” that as far as interviews go, they are done with being hit on, underestimated and (most importantly) being told that’s just the way things go.
Most Telling Lyric? “Man from the magazine, what did you say?/ Do you make the same faces in bed?/ Hey, man, what kind of question is that?” — T.M.
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Joni Mitchell, “Free Man in Paris” (1974)
Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? Mitchell captures the eternal industry of conundrum of simply not being able to please everybody all the time in this 1974 gem about her friend David Geffen, who felt the relief in escaping the “star maker machinery” during a trip to Paris in the pre-internet era, when it was still possible to actually get away.
Most Telling Lyric: “Lately I wonder what I do it for/ If l had my way/ I’d just walk out those doors” — K.B.
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P!nk, “Don’t Let Me Get Me” (2001)
Type: Origin Story
What’s the Deal? On her second album M!ssundaztood, P!nk took creative control, steering her music, lyrics and image in a direction that embraced her messy fearlessness and contradictions. While the main target of this self-loathing empowerment anthem (if there is such a thing) is P!nk herself, the industry catches a few strays, with L.A. Reid (then president/CEO at Arista) getting his own questionable shoutout.
Most Telling Lyric: “L.A. told me, ‘You’ll be a pop star/ All you have to change is everything you are’.” — J.L.
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Drake, “No Friends in the Industry” (2021)
Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? A Certified Lover Boy sleeper, Drake details how the lines became blurred between his real friends and some rap peers who he feels have crossed him — and the 6 God won’t allow that to happen again, as Drizzy reassesses his relationships in the industry.
Most Telling Lyric: ”No friends in the industry/ I had to draw the line between my brothers and my enemies, a fact/ N—-s love to start the beef, don’t wanna keep it rap” — M.S.
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Dire Straits, “Money for Nothing” (1985)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s The Deal? This Hot 100-topping smash perfectly captured the state of the music business in 1985, when getting your video on MTV was the be-all and end-all. The song is written in the voice of a couple of working stiffs looking with envy at the pretty-boy rock stars on MTV (and who among them was prettier than the song’s co-writer and featured vocalist, Sting?).
Most Telling Lyric: “That ain’t workin’/That’s the way ya do it/Money for nothing/And your chicks for free.” – P.G.
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Kacey Musgraves, “Good Ol’ Boys Club” (2015)
Type: F**k This Industry / State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? A female country star who has achieved superstardom largely by skirting Nashville norms, Kacey Musgraves takes on the “boys’ club” mentality of the male-dominated country music industry — where it’s all “cigars and handshakes,” “favors for friends” and “who you know… not how good you are” — on this rueful Pageant Material highlight.
Most Telling Lyric: “Another gear in a big machine don’t sound like fun to me/ I don’t wanna be part of the good ol’ boys club.” — K.D.
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Pavement, “Cut Your Hair” (1994)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? The post-grunge alt-rock gold rush of the mid ’90s certainly was a sight to see — particularly for a bunch of ambitious slackers like Pavement, who offer ambivalent reportage about the recent crush of crossovers throughout their classic almost-hit “Cut Your Hair”: “Music scene is crazy/ Bands start up each and every day/ I saw another one just the other day/ A special new band.” They may have been laughing at the new insiders, but they were also trying to sneak a foot in the door themselves.
Most Telling Lyric: “Songs mean a lot/ When songs are bought/ And so are you” — A.U.
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AC/DC, “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock ‘N’ Roll)” (1975)
Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? Set to one of Malcolm Young’s most immortal steel-beam rhythm-guitar riffs, with a delightfully unexpected bagpipes detour, “It’s a Long Way to the Top” vividly chronicles a violent, treacherous path up the music-business ladder. Out of respect to singer and co-writer Bon Scott, the band hasn’t performed the song since his death in 1980.
Most Telling Lyric: “Gettin’ had/ Gettin’ took/ I tell you, folks, it’s harder than it looks” — S.K.
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Elvis Costello, “Radio Radio” (1978)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? Inspired by the BBC’s ban of the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen,” a disillusioned Elvis Costello penned this searing polemic against the fools in charge of radio, “tryin’ to anesthetize the way that you feel.” The song’s chorus, which sarcastically proclaims the format the “sound salvation,” was catchy enough that it actually got good airplay in the U.K. at first, though “when they listened to the lyrics of the verse instead of just the chorus, radio play stopped overnight,” Costello recalled in 1982.
Most Telling Lyric: “So you’d better do as you were told/ You better listen to the radio” — A.U.
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Britney Spears, “Piece of Me” (2007)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: Meet the Press
What’s the Deal? While in the chaos of her turbulent 2007, Britney Spears churned out the most defiant record of her career, “Piece of Me,” the second single off her cult classic Blackout. For the track, the pop titan reunited with “Toxic” producers Bloodshy & Avant for a clapback aimed at paparazzo, tabloids and an industry that has discounted her contributions for years. The result? A biz-threatening manifesto with the Auto-Tune amped up, sly backing vocals from Robyn and a narrative that still rings true almost two decades since its release.
Most Telling Lyric: “I’m Miss Bad Media Karma/ Another day, another drama/ Guess I can’t see the harm in workin’ and bein’ a mama/ And with a kid on my arm, I’m still an exceptional earner/ You want a piece of me?” — JAMES DINH
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Jackson Browne, “The Load Out” (1977)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: Behind the Scenes
What’s the Deal? What happens to the rock star when the show’s over? More often than not, they just pack it up and keep it moving — as Jackson Browne outlines in surprisingly devastating detail on piano ballad “The Load-Out,” making a once-full empty concert hall sound like the loneliest place on earth, and the road that follows a kind of existential purgatory. The alienation described seems so profound that when, on the Running on Empty album (and often on classic rock radio), the song makes a more-upbeat segue into a cover of Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs’ “Stay” — with Browne essentially begging his crowd to “stay just a little bit longer,” and the fans audibly responding — the relief is palpable.
Most Telling Lyric: “We got time to think of the ones we love/ While the miles roll away/ The only time that seems too short/ Is the time that we get to play” — A.U.
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The Chicks, “Not Ready to Make Nice” (2007)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: F**k This Industry
What’s the Deal? After The Chicks (f.k.a. Dixie Chicks) were blackballed from the country music scene for criticizing then-president George W. Bush in 2003, other artists in the genre were warned not to speak out for fear of getting “Dixie Chicked.” So, it seems fair that the Texas trio would return to radio (but not country) with a scathing pop ballad about how they aren’t quite ready to forgive the industry for how they were treated.
Most Telling Lyric: “I made my bed and I sleep like a baby” — T.M.
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GZA, “Labels”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: Sign Your Name
What’s the Deal? After a negative experience at Cold Chillin’ Records — previously alluded to on the Wu’s “Protect Ya Neck” — a now-solo-operating GZA issued an enduring warning to the entire hip-hop community about the predatory tendencies of record labels, sending shots at essentially every major label and imprint in the process.
Most Telling Lyric: “Tommy ain’t my motherf–kin’ boy!/ When you fake moves on a n—a you employ/ We’ll all EMIRG off your set, now you know godd–n/ I show Livin’ Large n—as how to flip a Def Jam” — K.D.
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George Michael, “Freedom ’90” (1990)
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo Type: State of the Biz
What’s the Deal? Don’t let the catchy, new wave hooks fool you — The Buggles crafted a timeless portrayal of a successful artist facing the upheaval created by a new technology. The band’s lone hit was incredibly prescient: What was happening in 1979 has occurred again and again — file-sharing, streaming, TikTok and artificial intelligence — and continues to both stymie older artists and open doors for young ones. MTV cemented the song’s all-time status when the fledgling cable music channel made “Video Killed the Radio Star” the first video it played upon launching in 1981.
Most Telling Lyric: “They took the credit for your second symphony/ Rewritten by machine on new technology.” — G.P.