Sex Sells: Music & The Business of Sex

Music and Sex

Before we get into the business of sex and its relation to music we will first discuss the long running relationship between music and the act of sex itself. Music and sex have maintained a powerful relationship throughout history. It has been proven through scientific research that listening to music while having sex increases the likelihood for a pleasurable experience. Not only that, but music influences our behavior and can make us want sex more than if we were not under its tantalizing spell.

“According to Neuropsychologist Dr. Rhonda Freeman, music affects three parts of the brain – the pleasure system, the bonding system and the limbic system for processing emotions.”

A crucial combination of effected areas when coupled with sex. These correlations are perceived predominantly as positive by scientists and nymphomaniacs alike. However, wherever there is good there are people who will corrupt it.

The Business of Sex

The sex industry is a complex organism. As the oldest trade in human history it has evolved over the decades into a giant with many arms. Sex being among the most powerful of human instincts, its value in the human psyche is unmatched. 

The business of sex takes on many forms and is marketed to us in many different ways. Marketing experts have utilized this power to sell virtually every product that has been introduced to the masses. As time goes on it will only be utilized more.

In music sex is immeasurably affective when marketing songs and new artists. So much so in fact that it is not uncommon for new independent acts to have a budget in the thousands just to make their video ‘sexy.’ 

For most mainstream artist, sex is everything to their brand.

In turn this causes a ripple effect to the wide range of audience who consume the content. According to a post on psychologytoday.com subliminal sexual cues actually result in increased happiness and motivation in the viewer as well as an increased want to have sex. This plays a huge role in developing an artists fanbase and selling tickets. Unfortunately this fact opens the door for more perverse and diabolical intentions.

Sex is big business. In Atlanta sex work results in about $290 million a year alone, by far the highest earners in the U.S. If you consider that Atlanta is currently the music capital of the U.S. then it’s not hard to see why. World wide however the numbers are much more startling. Commercial Sexual exploitation is a $99 Billion a year industry. A very big pie that a lot of people want a piece of.

Sex Trafficking

Mentioned above is the phrase Commercial sexual exploitation, this is a term related to sex slavery by means of human trafficking. It is reported that 200,000 American children are at risk of being trafficked into sex slavery each year. According to the Office on Violence Against Women (OVAW) severe human trafficking is either: 

‘‘(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force,

fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act

has not attained 18 years of age; or

(B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining

of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or

coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.’’

The sex trade is extremely lucrative, and artists, particularly male artist, have a disturbing history with it both popular and local.

OVO artist and close associate of Drake, Baka Not Nice, was arrested in 2015 on sex trafficking and prostitution charges. Popular battle rapper Serious Jones was charged in January with human trafficking, pimping, assault, and a slew of other charges January 2020. Recently hip-hop power couple TI and Tiny have been alleged in a shocking sex trafficking scandal where at least 15 girls have spoken out claiming to be victims.

Male artists make perfect ambassadors for Sex trafficking

Unfortunately, male artists make perfect ambassadors for sex trafficking rings. The reality of the situation is that the lifestyle and images they project to the public attract the young, impressionable, and naive. 

The perfect victims.    

Male artists also have a history of questionable morals at best. The recently pardoned Kodak Black is still facing charges for sexual misconduct which he was indicted for in 2017. In 2015 Social media phenom Tekashi 69 was charged with sexual misconduct after filming a 13 year old female preforming sexual acts. 

Why I wrote this

This article was written with the purpose of bringing awareness to the relationship between music and sex in its totality. With the current climate of the entertainment industry, we at Thrive Indie believe it is imperative that our platform is used to shed light on the reality of the state of music and the devices at work to keep the industry going. We have made it our duty to provide indie artists and music professionals with the information to take their careers to the next level. We are committed to demystifying the complexities of the industry and bringing ‘the real’ into perspective. The good, the bad, and the ugly.