Full Staff Opinion
There’s a soundtrack that comes with a college education, as a quick look at just about any first-year’s iPod will prove. For many of us at The College Reporter—in fact, especially for us at The College Reporter—that soundtrack is laden with the poppy rhythms, nonsensical lyrics, and glitter-gasms from our venerable muse, Kesha. And, as many other true devotees will have surely noticed, the college soundtrack has been suspiciously light on Kesha, leading us to wonder how we’ll possibly survive our next crush, night on the town, and subsequent hangover. Where, oh where, dear reader, has our little Kesha gone?
Unfortunately, she’s gone to court. Allow us to explain: Kesha is required by contract to work exclusively with a producer known as Dr. Luke on the record labels of Sony and Kemosabe. The problem? According to Kesha, Dr. Luke drugged, raped, and sexually and emotionally abused her from the time she signed her contract at the age of 18, and now, understandably, she doesn’t want to keep working with him. To make matters worse (as if they weren’t bad enough already), a judge ruled last week to uphold Kesha’s contract, which means that if she wants to continue making music, she has to do so with the man who victimized her for years.
While there’s certainly a failure of the legal system here, perhaps the real problem lies within the media industry. Sony has been conspicuously silent throughout the case and has not ended any of its business with Dr. Luke, even though most rational actors try to distance themselves from alleged serial rapists. But that would fly in the face of the media’s tradition of protecting the careers of artists who assault women yet remain financial assets—Google “Chris Brown” for more details.
If the bottom line for Sony and Dr. Luke is the bottom dollar and not the emotional well-being of one of their artists, to say nothing of simple morality, then perhaps the public can take action where the court has failed. As Professor Tibbs so eloquently pointed out in his Common Hour last week, consumers can vote with their dollars and their feet to take action against recording companies. You don’t like that Sony treats Kesha like this? Neither do we! So don’t buy their music. Show them that justice, not the potential for a payout, should be their priority.
And Kesha: We at The College Reporter just want you to know that your love is, and always will be, our drug.