The Dream Goes Off On Record Labels, "They Treat Artists Like Slaves" [Pics]

The Dream left Def Jam at the top of last year and 

recently formed his own record label, Contra-Paris, 

through Capitol Records. During an interview with 

Billboard, The Dream spoke on the evil in the music 

business and blames labels for only caring about their 

stock interests and, in doing so, treat their clients 

terribly.

“When the Atlanta Braves were owned by Ted Turner, 

he was very passionate and did whatever it took to do 

something good–and eventually he made money,” 

said The Dream. “Labels used to be the same way. 

Now they’re corporations, and it’s only about their 

stock.

For me, that’s 

where the evil 

started…

artists are 

treated like 

slaves. We 

have terrible 

contracts, we 

have 

streaming 

services that 

pay one-tenth 

of a cent per 

play, we have 

no laws to protect us.”

The talented artist also had interesting takes on race 

in the music world. According to The Dream, white 

artists are at a supreme advantage when it comes to 

making money and having longevity in music. “If you 

got a hit and you’re white, there are no limits to what 

you can do,” says Terius Nash. “If you’re black and 

you have a hit today but can’t do it again tomorrow, 

then your ass is out of here. When the industry uses 

you up, that’s it. You’re gone. It’s a constant battle for 

our culture. We can’t say no to radio, we can’t say no 

to Spotify, and we can’t have a concert because 

nobody will come.

And the 

whole time, 

everybody is 

taking our 

culture to 

enhance the 

pop side of 

things. By 

the way, the 

pop side 

doesn’t 

mean you 

have to be 

white. Bruno 

Mars is pop. 

Nobody lists 

to Bruno 

Mars like 

he’s a black 

artists. 

Which I’m 

sure for him, 

he’s like, 

‘Thank 

God.’ 

There are urban artists and then there are pop artists, 

and urban artists get things taken from theme. We 

create the swag, and everybody knows it.”