Diddy Slams Major Record Labels Over The Absence Of Black CEOs

Sean “Diddy” Combs has condemned the music industry’s passive efforts to promote black executives.

In the latest cover story of Variety Magazine, Diddy shared his candid thoughts on the music industry’s lack of investment into black executives — during a time of which urban music is the most dominant genre in popular culture.

“You have these record companies that are making so much money off our culture, our art form, but they’re not investing or even believing in us,” he said of white music executives capitalizing on the success of urban culture.

The multi-hyphenate mogul went on to add that despite the massive success of black music, major label owners often display a reluctance to promote a black President or Senior VP to CEO.

“For all the billions of dollars that these black executives have been able to make them, [there’s still hesitation] to put them in the top-level positions. They’ll go and they’ll recruit cats from overseas,” he continued.

“It makes sense to give [executives of color] a chance and embrace the evolution, instead of it being that we can only make it to president, senior VP. … There’s no black CEO of a major record company. That’s just as bad as the fact that there are no [black] majority owners in the NFL. That’s what really motivates me.”

For his part, Combs says he has developed plans to promote more inclusion of executive talent via his various media platforms.

“I feel like we’re in a new disruptive time, and when I announce what I’m doing with music it’ll be equally as disruptive as Bad Boy was,” he said. “My focus now is more on Revolt and on supporting other labels, other musicians. I want to go from being on the stage to actually being the stage — from being the entrepreneur to supporting other entrepreneurs, but still with that same Bad Boy attitude.”

“Right now, I look for executive talent, creative talent, just like I used to look for rap artists and singers. It’s about me going to a new level and empowering the next generations of Bad Boy and Diddy,” he concluded.

Do you agree with Diddy’s thoughts?