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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Hit Men summary
Fredric Dannen
Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business
19 mins
Brief summary
Hit Men delves into the secretive and ruthless world of the pop music industry, exposing the powerful figures and manipulative tactics that drive success and shape the landscape of American music in the late 20th century.
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Hit Men
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An industry revolution
It’s the late 1960s, and the music industry is undergoing a massive transformation. Rock and roll, once dismissed as a teenage craze, is growing into a powerful cultural movement. Albums are becoming more important than singles, and a new generation of socially conscious listeners are rallying around artists like Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead.
Amid this shift, Clive Davis began his rise in the music world. As a young lawyer-turned-executive at CBS Records, he was one of the few who understood the growing impact of rock music. In 1967, when he took the reins of CBS – a label primarily known for easy listening and show tunes – Davis boldly steered it into the rock revolution. His vision transformed CBS into the most successful and influential record company by the early 1970s.
Davis often pointed to the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival as the moment that opened his eyes to the potential of rock. After being blown away by Janis Joplin and other performers, he sent his legal team to San Francisco to sign the best new acts. Within a year, CBS had secured deals with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Santana, Chicago, and others.
These signings paid off quickly. Big Brother’s album “Cheap Thrills” went gold, and the second albums from Santana and Chicago became hits. Blood, Sweat & Tears, another band Davis brought on board, sold in massive numbers. By 1970, CBS’s profits had tripled, and their market share had grown significantly.
Feeling confident, Davis embarked on an aggressive strategy of signing major artists from other labels. He landed deals with Neil Diamond, Pink Floyd, and Herbie Hancock, including a massive $4.25 million contract for Diamond. Davis believed CBS’s distribution network could handle the expense, and he was right. The company kept growing. Over time, Davis's ego grew as large as the stars he worked with.
Not everyone was happy with his methods, though. Davis’s habit of spending big on advances and perks annoyed CBS’s accountants, and his combative attitude wore down his staff. Rumors circulated that his instincts for picking hits were not always as sharp as he claimed.
By 1973, tensions between Davis and CBS management, particularly with new president Arthur Taylor, were escalating. After years of growth, CBS Records hit a rough patch, and the pressure on Davis mounted. In May of that year, his time at CBS came to a sudden end when he was fired over allegations of financial misconduct, charges he denied but that led to further legal trouble.
With Davis gone, CBS Records faced a period of uncertainty. To restore stability, the company turned to an unlikely leader – Walter Yetnikoff, a quiet lawyer with a very different style from Davis.
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What is Hit Men about?
Hit Men (1991) takes you inside the gritty and glamorous world of the music industry during the 1970s and 1980s, where power struggles, billion-dollar deals, and shady backroom negotiations shaped the sounds of the time. You’ll meet legendary record execs, witness fierce rivalries between labels, and get an unrivaled view of the high-stakes games behind your favorite hits.
Who should read Hit Men?
- Music nerds interested in the history and impact of record labels
- True crime fans fascinated by corporate intrigue and manipulation
- Anyone who loves investigative journalism uncovering corporate corruption and greed
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