Topic: Record Contracts

Major record labels use predatory five-album contracts to keep artists in perpetual debt, effectively functioning as high-interest loans. Sanders notes that even successful artists like Biggie Smalls and MC Hammer faced bankruptcy despite their fame. Labels use this financial leverage to prevent artists from making political statements or questioning official narratives like 9/11.

Musician Ben Folds wrote the song "One Down" about the frustration of needing to fulfill a specific number of songs to end a restrictive record contract. Historically, artists like Lou Reed released experimental or "noise" albums to satisfy these quotas, though modern contracts have closed the loopholes that allowed such tactics.