Sheryl Crow felt “demoralised” to find out how the music industry works.
The 60-year-old singer shot to fame when she was given the chance to tour with late global superstar Michael Jackson – who died in 2009 at the age of 50 following a tumultuous life in showbusiness – in 1987 and admitted that while she found the experience “inspiring”, she felt exposed to things she didn’t necessarily want to see.
She said: “When I toured with Michael Jackson, literally six months before, I was a school teacher. By the end of 18 months, I was definitely worn out. I was seasoned. I had experienced sexual harassment and seen things I didn’t really want to see. You can’t take away the story of a young man who was damaged and sugarcoat it. Watching him do incredible moves that no one had ever seen before was definitely inspiring. I think learning how the music business work was demoralising.”
The ‘If It Makes You Happy’ hitmaker is discussing her story as part of new documentary ‘Sheryl’ and explained that while she initially had reserves about charting her life in showbusiness when first approached, it has been “liberating” to tell her own story for the first time.
“I was approached about doing a documentary actually at the beginning of the pandemic and I absolutely did not want to do it but when it was all said and done it has been quite liberating to tell the story on my own terms. Certainly, the high highs have been GRAMMY Awards and singing with incredible artists from Eric Clapton to Pavarotti to meeting presidents.”
What are the biggest scams in the music industry?
“95% of people working in the music industry don’t understand music publishing. The 5% who do run the business.”
Stories of record labels strong arming radio stations to play a certain artist’s music.
Managers stealing from bands.
Execs dont really care about music. They place money over the artists integrity and music.
‘SHERYL’ is available to stream now.
Author Profile
- Mark Boardman is an established showbiz journalist and freelance copywriter whose work has been published in Business Insider, Daily Mail, Bloomberg, MTV, Buzzfeed, and The New York Post, amongst other media. Often spotted on the red carpet at celebrity events and film screenings, Mark is a regular guest on BBC Radio London and in demand for his opinions on media outlets such as Newsweek, Daily Express, and OK! Magazine, as well as Heart radio, Capital FM, LBC, and Radio 2. His TV credits include ITV News, This Morning, BBC News, The One Show, Sky News, GB News, and Channel T4. Mark is a keen traveller having visited 40+ countries, and a devout sports fan who also attends as many gigs as he can across the capital when not rubbing shoulders with the stars. Email Mark@MarkMeets.com
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