Collegiate Times

If

 one were to delve into the world of modern politics, he or she would undoubtedly discover that politicians are receiving money in the form of campaign contributions to support a cause. This is known as a pay-for-play scheme and is far too common in today’s society. It’s a disturbing trend, to say the least. 

What’s even more disturbing is that this trend has found its way into another facet of American life: the music industry. 

Most people have heard of the “song” by “singer” Rebecca Black, titled “Friday.” The entire song, including the music video, is nothing short of a train wreck that has no doubt set the music industry back 50 years.

Initial reactions to the song have been mixed. Despite more than 60 million views, the video has more than one million “dislikes,” making it one of the most hated videos on the Internet. 

Who could blame people for not liking the song? Besides the nasally singing and heavy autotune, the lyrics are something out of a kindergarten poetry contest. Actually, that probably does a disservice to the work of the six-year-olds. 

While it is easy to vent frustrations over the song at the 13-year-old girl who lends her (awful) voice, it’s not that simple. 

Some recording studios are taking advantage of children, and their parents, who are looking to get their 15 minutes of fame. The biggest culprit is ARK Music Factory, located in Los Angeles.

The best way to describe what ARK does is a pay-for-play scheme that takes advantage of parents with money, who are looking be the parents of stars.

Many children in show business are driven to sing or act by parents whose dreams of stardom were quashed. They are looking to live vicariously, and monetarily, through their children.

The music industry is the biggest victim. With preteen pop songs rising to the top of the charts from artists such as Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber, recording companies are looking for the next big thing.

Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson, owners of the aforementioned ARK, are going about finding artists in a different way. Instead of finding children who can sing, they are finding parents who have the money to get a song produced for their child. It is hard to argue with the business model they have put together. They are raking in the dough and are now known worldwide, even if it is in a negative light.

However, the song, as well as many others performed by young girls under the tutelage of Jey and Wilson, was written by the owners of the company. The terrible autotune and the juvenile lyrics are all the production of two men who know how to make a song as well as UVa knows how to beat Virginia Tech in football.

In the end, the public derision gets directed mostly at these young singers who have no business singing outside their middle school choir. The blame for these ear-sores should not fall on these exploited girls, but rather on the adults who believe this is how a recording company should work. Let us all take a page out of the book of the immortal Ice T: “Don’t hate the player. Hate the game.”

A version of this article appeared in the Apr 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.