This chapter explores the interplay between community, capitalism, and cultural production within Detroit’s hip-hop underground. It focuses on the women-centered collective The Foundation (2009–2014) and its contemporary counterpart We Are Culture Creators (WACC). The Foundation championed women in hip-hop and intergenerational collaboration but faced insurmountable economic challenges. WACC’s transition from nonprofit to hybrid nonprofit–LLC highlights new avenues that arts organizations are pursuing in their efforts to secure funding. The study also highlights the socioeconomic complexities of Detroit’s revitalization during the city’s municipal bankruptcy, with gentrification and neoliberal capitalism often undermining grassroots creative arts’ efforts. The chapter situates Detroit’s hip-hop underground as a microcosm of broader tensions between cultural resistance, community building, and capitalist pressures. It also advocates for the reestablishment of connections between contemporary hip-hop innovations and educational as well as community-oriented practices, which were integral to the work of the Foundation.

Reality entertainment first appeared in the late 1980s, with the emergence of the TV entertainment genre – inaugurated by shows such as Cops and America’s Most Wanted; the daytime talk shows hosted by Geraldo, Oprah, and Donahue; and the tabloid news of A Current Affair. Yet what we now call “reality TV” emerged in dialog with another kind of entertainment that served as its foil and borrowed its techniques – what rappers Ice Cube and Ice-T called “reality rap.” While N.W.A.’s ‘Fuck Tha Police’ countered Cops’ vision of Black lives in America, subsequent reality rappers such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac Shakur embraced tabloid spectacle and the media’s obsession with Black criminality. Reality rap and reality TV, this chapter contends, were twin components of a cultural revolution that redefined popular entertainment as a truth-telling medium by borrowing journalistic tropes while dispensing with the professionalism and responsibility demanded of reporting.

This chapter examines the development of the music industries (including broadcasting) and the MU in the ten years post 1945. A 1946 survey of musicians is reported. The working practices of bandleaders, composers and semi-professional musicians is examined. The 1948 election of Hardie Ratcliffe as General Secretary of the MU is reported and the role of the Communist Part of Great Britain within the Union discussed. A 1946 agreement between PPL and the MU is shown to be of particular importance. The end of the “ban” on alien musicians entering the UK to work is reported.

The chapter spans the period between the Copyright Act of 1956 and the 1970 general election. It discusses the impact of skiffle and beat groups and the development of the recording industry. The position of the UK’s orchestras is outlined. Internal machinations within the Union are reported, including the election of a new General Secretary, John Morton, in 1970. The development of the Keep Music Live campaign is highlighted. The development of ITV, relationships with the BBC and advent of pirate radio are reported. The reciprocal exchange of musicians across the Atlantic is explained.

This chapter covers the modern era of the MU. It begins by noting internal reorganisation with the Union before examining its role in campaigning for reform of the licensing of live music and copyright. The Union’s attitude toward equalities issues is discussed before th chapter concludes by outlining its current role.

The book begins with reflections on the Musicians’ Union 2015 conference and the some of the perennial themes which such events have addressed. It then outlines the sources used for the book including previous literature, archives and interviews. The book’s theoretical paradigm – that musicians are best thought of as particular sorts of workers is then outlined. We then address a number of key themes which recur in the book including technology, the music industries, musical tastes, competition and gender.

This chapter outlines the AMU’s history immediately post 1918 and its moves towards merger with the National Orchestral Union of Professional Musicians (NOUPM) to form the Musician’s Union (MU) in 1921. It examines the resignation of Joe Williams and the problems faced by his successor as General Secretary, E.S.Teale and his successor, Fred Dambman. Changes within the music profession as musical tastes change are outlined. The advent of broadcasting is discussed and the BBC’s developing role as a key employer of musicians is highlighted. The development of the recording industry is discussed and the crisis in musical employment caused by the advent of the “talkies” in the cinema outlined. Problems caused for the Union by “alien” musicians working in the UK are noted.

This chapter outlines the history of the MU from the mid 1930s to the end of the Second World War. It includes sections on the state of the music professions, the Union’s internal politics, the introduction of a “ban” on foreign musicians entering the UK to work, relations with the BBC and PPL and the effect of war in the music profession.

The chapter reports on the impact of the election of Joh Morton as General Secretary on the Union and outlines developments during his years in office. Attempts to split the MU and attempts to make the Union more relevant of popular musicians are reported. The advent of commercial radio and the Union’s response to it are outlined. The 1977 Annan Report is outlined and the continuing importance of the Performing Right Tribunal stressed. Trade Unions reforms and a key Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on Collective Licensing are explained. A strike at the BBC is reported.