And all that jazz…

03 Nov And all that jazz…

“I was trying to sell jazz, but they wanted blues. It was the biggest lesson I ever learned in business.”

Those are the words of Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, the most iconic record label of all time.

Gordy’s reflection on his failed Detroit record store that predated Motown is one of many brilliant observations made in Hitsville – The Making of Motown, a 2019 film made by talented British film makers Fulwell 73, about the label’s amazing rise.

Providing more business lessons than dozens of TED talks combined, Gordy’s musings on trying to sell one type of product when his customers wanted another is a lesson we can all learn.

It is all about understanding your audience.

Gordy’s core market in downtown Detroit were black migrants from the deep south who’d travelled north in search of work in USA’s 1950s booming motor town – often men who’d travelled alone ahead of families they were missing.

“They wanted the sadness of blues – ‘I love my baby but my baby don’t love me’ – not the cool jazz I thought they’d like,” recalled Gordy.

These were not the sharply dressed cats who, like Gordy, crept out at night to frequent Detroit’s numerous jazz clubs, from where Gordy would later pluck the highly skilled free form musicians who created the distinct and magical ‘Motown Sound’.

That was to come – as would be Motown’s unstoppable rise with an enviable roster of talent including Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Gladys Knight and vocal groups like The Supremes, Four Tops, Temptations, Isley Brothers, Jackson Five, The Commodores and more.

Gordy’s failure to listen led to the rapid closure of his store, which resulted in him trooping alongside his could be core customers onto Detroit’s car assembly tracks, where he learned how production lines work (Motown was, above all else, a magical musical production line), the importance of ‘quality control’ and how to polish raw material and develop talent.

Four years later Gordy founded Motown, which within a decade became the most successful, best known record label of all time.

Above all else – and Motown truly was a whole lot more than a mere record label via its most iconic imprint, Tamla  – Motown connected with its audience better than any label before or since.

Motown’s emboldened Sound of Young America turned a slogan into product – a blend of pulsating dancefloor rhythms with achingly wonderful love songs to soothe the pains of growing teens. Baby, baby, baby – where did our love go?

In truth, Motown combined jazz with blues and a splash of rhythm – not the worthy sound of soul emanating from Stax down south – but bang on the money for the worldwide youth music buying public.

Question is: who is your core audience and are you trying to sell them jazz instead of blues?

© Chris Green