The Battle for Black Music explores the history of racial injustice in the music industry

From executive producers Idris and Sabrina Elba, along with Supercollider’s Greg Sanderson and Catalyst’s Julie Bristow, for national public broadcasters CBC and BBC, the new three-part documentary series Paid In Full: The Battle for Black Music examines the systemic racism faced by Black artists in the music industry from its early days to the era of digital streaming.

Despite extraordinary successes, abusive practices persist in the music industry, with exploitative contracts and copyright arrangements often limiting artists’ independence and financial gain, and exacting devastating personal costs.

The series is narrated in Canada by music icon Jully Black, and features interviews with black music industry titans Cadence Weapon, Chaka Khan, George Clinton, Monie Love, Nile Rodgers, Gloria Gaynor, Ice T, Master P and Smokey Robinson, as well as music experts and industry insiders. The series is narrated in the UK by British actress and playwright Zawe Ashton.

In Canada, all episodes of Paid In Full: The Battle for Black Music will be available to watch on CBC Gem starting Saturday, September 21.

In the UK, the first episode will air on BBC Two on Saturday 21 September and will be available to stream as a box set on BBC iPlayer. The second and third episodes will air on Saturday 28 September.

Paid In Full: The Battle for Black Music documents the extent of the historical injustices faced by black artists in the music industry, including the disparity in income they received despite creating records that shaped the structure and culture of popular music—from jazz and rock ‘n’ roll to soul and rap.

The first episode delves into the stories of pioneering artists like Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, who used their music to challenge societal norms, and tackles the harsh realities faced by legends like Bessie Smith, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry, who struggled to be paid fairly despite their groundbreaking achievements. The second episode highlights the emergence of black-owned labels like Motown, Stax Records, and Def Jam, which shaped the industry while facing their own challenges. Despite celebrating black culture, these labels sometimes adopted exploitative practices reminiscent of their larger white-owned counterparts.

The series concludes with an exploration of the impact of streaming in the digital age. While some Black artists are successfully establishing their own labels and artist stables, others are struggling with unfair new types of exploitative contracts and minimal pay from streaming platforms. Paid In Full: The Battle for Black Music offers a look at the triumphs and challenges of Black artists fighting for recognition, autonomy, and fair pay—in a music industry where the odds are stacked against them.

Commissioned by CBC and BBC, Paid In Full: The Battle for Black Music is produced by Supercollider, Green Door Pictures and Pink Towel in association with Catalyst. Executive producers are Greg Sanderson for Supercollider, Julie Bristow for Catalyst, Idris Elba for Green Door Pictures and Sabrina Elba for Pink Towel. Guy Evan is a producer and director of the series, Alison Duke is a director, Tom Pollard is a producer, David Upshal is a showrunner, Margot Daley is a co-producer. Based on a concept by Roy Ackerman.

For CBC, Sally Catto is general manager, entertainment, factual and sport; Jennifer Dettman is executive director, unscripted content; Sandra Kleinfeld is senior director, documentaries; and Michelle McCree is director of production, CBC Docs. For the BBC, the series was commissioned by BBC head of pop music Jonathan Rothery and commissioning editor Rachel Davies. The series is distributed internationally by Abacus Media Rights.

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