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(Credits: Far Out / U.S. Department of State / Island)
Wed 11 December 2024 9:59, UK
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Records, and Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records, have been encouraged to financially support a permanent exhibition dedicated to Black British music history. The proposal was first made in a petition backed by the public, artists, and musicians.
A number of well-known names have already signed the petition, such as George the Poet, Sonia Boyce, and Jazzie B. It calls for a new home for important moments in music history and an exhibition dedicated to African and Caribbean performances and recordings, acknowledging their history and the huge part they played in establishing a musical culture in Britain.
Per the petition, the exhibition should include “contributions to the evolution of genres that have reshaped British culture, while safeguarding rare artefacts, recordings, memorabilia, and untold stories for future generations.”
Sociologist Professor Paul Gilroy stated that executives who have made a significant amount of money from Black British and Caribbean music should put up money to finance the exhibition. Given that it would focus on how such music existed within the UK and how it became popular nationwide, it makes sense for those who have benefitted from the development of this music to help protect the pieces that led to its establishment.
After also signing the petition, Gilroy said (via The Guardian), “I don’t understand why the resources are all being squeezed out of the state, when actually there’s private sector resources,” he said, “People like Richard Branson, people like Chris Blackwell, whose company has made enormous amounts of capital out of Black British music production and Caribbean music production.”
Gilroy continued, “I think the people who’ve done so well out of the corporate side of Black music in this country ought to be paying for a building and a museum and an architect. They should be making a temple.”
Virgin and Island Records have made their fair share of profit from Black British music while simultaneously putting it on the cultural map. Virgin Records was one of the first labels to back reggae music throughout the UK; they ran a dedicated imprint called Front Line in the 1970s, which was incredibly popular, so much so that Branson was able to sell the label for $1 billion in 1992. Equally, Island Records was the home of Bob Marley throughout his career until he passed away in 1981.
The Black Music Research Unit were responsible for creating the petition. Ran by academic and co-curator of the Beyond the Bassline exhibition at the British Library, Mykaell Riley argues that the success of temporary exhibitions in the past shows an appetite amongst the public for something more permanent.
“The exhibition then ended with the majority of people saying, so you’re going to tour, right?” Riley said when discussing the success of previous exhibitions, “Or what’s happening next? What happens to all the artefacts, what happens to the story?”
Neither Branson or Island Records are yet to respond to the petition.
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