the TrueFans AMP— Issue 115

“Motown was about music for all people— white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.”
— Berry Gordy

In This Issue... 19 pages (long one, about 30ish minutes to read) You'll Get... 

• Recommends— The Max Martin Evolution from Hit Songs Deconstructed 

• Your BIZ— A Survival Guide for Musicians in the Age of AI a TED Talk from  Harvey Mason Jr.  

• The Greatest Songwriters of All Time— Before There Was Pop, There Was  Motown 

• in partnership with Inspiring Quotes 

• For Fun— 20 of the Best Motown Song Lyrics from Inspiring Quotes 

• Feature Article— Motown: The Icebreaker That Changed the Sound— and the Soul— of Popular Music by John Fogg 

• PS from PS— Announcing TrueFans CONNECT™

Here’s the playlist

• Recommends— The Max Martin Evolution from Hit Songs Deconstructed 

Hit Songs Deconstructed says they're excited to announce the release of The Max  Martin Evolution, a new free report that explores the trends behind Max Martin’s  Billboard Hot 100 Top 10s across three decades, and how his music has evolved over  time. And... we're excited to tell you about why they're so excited! 

Max Martin’s influence on modern pop is unparalleled. This 100+ page report traces his  journey from the teen pop explosion of the 1990s at Cheiron Studios, to the pop-rock  reinvention of the 2000s, the electropop dominance of the early 2010s, the minimalist,  persona-driven pop of the mid-2010s, and into his most recent collaborations in the  2020s. 

From …Baby One More Time to Blinding Lights and beyond, Max Martin has shaped  the sound of pop for three decades. With 27 Billboard Hot 100 #1 hits and 79 Top 10s,  he stands among the most successful Songwriters and producers of all time. 

The Max Martin Evolution explores his journey through the Cheiron Studios teen-pop explosion of the 1990s, the pop-rock reinvention of the 2000s, the electropop dominance of the early 2010s, the minimalist, persona-driven pop of the mid-2010s, and his most  recent collaborations in the 2020s. 

Packed with charts and visuals, this report traces his remarkable career and reveals how he’s both adapted to— and often defined— pop’s ever-changing landscape. 

To create this report, Hit Songs Deconstructed manually analyzed every Max Martin  Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit from the 1990s through 2024. The result is a detailed look  at how core elements, such as primary genres, sub-genres and influences, lyrical themes, structure, and other defining traits, have evolved throughout his career. 

Enjoy this deep dive into the work of one of the most prolific and impactful Songwriters and producers of all time! No strings. Yours for no charge. Tap here: The Max Martin  Evolution to go there. 

• Your BIZ— A Survival Guide for Musicians in the Age of AI by Harvey Mason Jr.— from Mason's TED Talk condensed for the TrueFans AMP™ 

Harvey Mason Jr. knows the music business from both sides of the console. A hit  Songwriter and producer for legends from Beyoncé to Justin Timberlake, and now CEO  of the Recording Academy (the GRAMMYs), Mason has spent decades living where art and technology collide. In his recent TED Talk, he didn’t sugarcoat his feelings about  Artificial Intelligence in music: 

“I’m scared to death.” 

That fear isn’t paranoia— it’s experience. Mason’s been using AI tools for nearly a  decade and understands both their promise and their peril. He’s seen how they can  enhance creativity, but also how fast they could replace it. His mission now: to ensure  human artistry survives and thrives in the age of algorithms. 

He calls his framework “A survival guide for human creators”. It's built on four steps: Understand. Adapt. Advocate. Compete. 

1. Understand 
If you’re going to survive as a Music Artist creator, you have to understand what you’re  facing. 

Mason tells the story of his studio team running weekend tests with generative AI—  only to return terrified. “We’re screwed,” they told him. “It takes us weeks to make a  song. AI does it in seconds.” 

That moment, Mason says, showed why knowledge is power. Understanding AI— what  it can do, how it learns, where it falls short— is the first defense.  

You can’t compete with what you don’t comprehend. 

2. Adapt 
Adaptation isn’t new for Music Artists. When Mason’s father— a professional drummer — first saw a drum machine, he thought his career was over. But instead of rejecting it,  he bought one, learned to program it, and became the first drummer ever to use a drum  machine on a record. 

That story is the heart of Mason’s message:  

Technology doesn’t end artistry— it challenges it to evolve. 

Just like Pro Tools, Auto-Tune, and laptops reshaped production, AI is simply the next  instrument. Learn it. Master it. Make it sing your song. 

3. Advocate 
Understanding and adaptation aren’t enough. Music Artists must speak up for their  rights. As Recording Academy CEO, Mason has met with lawmakers, copyright  officials, and tech leaders to push for legislation protecting human creativity. 

He testified before Congress, sharing musicians’ fears and needs. The result: real  progress, including state-level laws and a federal bill in motion— the No Fakes Act,  designed to safeguard artists’ voices, likenesses, and work from AI misuse. 

Mason’s point:  

Creators can’t sit this one out. Advocacy isn’t optional— it’s survival. 

4. Compete 
Finally, Mason calls on artists to do what they’ve always done best— compete by being human. 

“We have to innovate. We have to create from the heart, from the soul. We  have to tell stories that only we can tell— because we’ve lived, and loved,  and lost.” 

AI might generate soundalikes, but it can’t write Songs in the Key of Life, Nevermind, or Kind of Blue. What computers fear most— uncertainty, chaos, emotion— is exactly  where human genius lives. 

Mason’s closing challenge is pure TrueFans philosophy:  

Be more human than ever. 

Create what algorithms can’t. Compete with heart. 

the TrueFans AMP™ Takeaway 
Harvey Mason Jr.’s talk isn’t about resisting technology— it’s about reclaiming  authorship of the future. AI will reshape music, but it doesn’t have to erase Music  Artists.  

Understand it. Adapt to it. Advocate for yourself. And above all, compete— by  creating music only a living, feeling, breathing artist could make. 

That’s how TrueFans are born and raised. 

• The Greatest Songwriters of All Time— Before There Was Pop, There Was  Motown 

“Motown was about music for all people— white and black, blue and green, cops and  the robbers. I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.” 
— Berry Gordy 

When we talk about the architects behind the Motown sound, it feels a little odd to call  one person “the greatest.” In truth, Motown’s legacy rests on the genius of collaborative  songwriting teams— song-poets and poet-producers, visionaries, partners in melodic  crime. They were all family. 

“Everyone that was over 13 was my parent. Diana [Ross] was my momma. The  Marvelettes were all my parents, The Contours… ‘You can’t have a candy bar now,  you gotta study now, do this now.’” 
— Stevie Wonder 

From the polished pop of the 1960s to the socially conscious soul of the 1970s, these  writers didn’t just pen hits— they built the blueprint for modern pop, R&B, and soul. 

Here are some of the leading Motown Songwriter titans who deserve a spot on your  “Greatest of All Time” list. 

Holland-Dozier-Holland: The Hit Machine 
There is perhaps no songwriting team more synonymous with Motown’s golden era than Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland. At its peak, HDH produced an  almost factory-level powerhouse of hits for Diana Ross & the Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha & the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, and many others.  

What made HDH extraordinary was their ability to combine relentless melodic drive with emotional simplicity. Their songs often have a deceptively simple structure—  infectious hooks, syncopated rhythms, tight vocal arrangements— yet each has a  psychological pull. Brian and Lamont would often handle production and arrangement  while Eddie focused on lyrics and vocal direction.  

They were also mold-shifters. They didn’t stick to one formula forever; they were  strategic in their placement of songs, shifting sounds just enough to remain fresh without abandoning that “Motown formula.”  

Standout songs: 

• Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Stop! In the Name of Love, You Can’t Hurry  Love, You Keep Me Hangin’ On — Supremes 

• Reach Out I’ll Be There, I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) — Four Tops • How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) — Marvin Gaye 

One telling story: Where Did Our Love Go was originally written for the Marvelettes,  but they refused to record it. HDH held onto it, reworked it, and gave it to the Supremes — and the rest is history.  

HDH’s influence is so foundational that many modern Songwriters cite their sense of  economy— how little you can say with so much impact— as a model worth studying.  Their catalog was broadcast or performed millions of times and has become part of the  soundtrack of modern America.  

Smokey Robinson: The Poet-Painter 
While HDH may have been the industrial engine, Smokey Robinson was Motown’s  heart— and its conscience. He was both artist and Songwriter, and his voice and lyrical  sensibility infused a gentle poetry into the label’s catalog. 

Smokey’s strength lay in transforming everyday emotional detail into universal truth.  Songs like My Girl, The Tracks of My Tears, and Ooo Baby Baby feel intimate and  personal— as if he's writing a love letter directly to you. 

Though Smokey also wore the performer’s hat, his writing elevated every artist he  worked with. In many ways, he set the emotional standard: vulnerability, sincerity, and  melody married with metaphor. 

He also served as a mentor and sounding board for younger writers, helping to steady  the balance between commercial ambition and artistic heart. 

Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong: The Evolutionaries 
By the late 1960s and into the ’70s, Motown needed to evolve. The world was changing— socially, politically, musically— and so too did Motown’s songwriting. Enter  Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. 

Barrett Strong, initially a Motown performer (he sang Money (That’s What I Want), one  of Motown’s earliest hits), reinvented himself as a lyricist and collaborator. Norman Whitfield, by then an in-house producer, joined forces with Strong to push Motown into  new territory.  

Their collaboration had no fixed formula. One writer described it: 

“I was into the style of music he liked, and he was into the style of music I  liked.” 

They helped steer Motown into psychedelic soul, funk, and socially conscious anthems.  Songs like Cloud Nine, Ball of Confusion, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone, and War pushed the label beyond romantic love into commentary and  complexity.  

With Whitfield’s production boldness and Strong’s lyric instincts, they proved that  Motown would not be stuck in the ’60s— it could evolve without losing its soul. 

Ashford & Simpson: The Love Song Architects 
Few songwriting duos have the chemistry of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.  Their forte was romance— relationships, longing, fidelity, and all the emotional warp  and weft between two people. 

They delivered some of Motown’s most enduring love classics: 

• Ain’t No Mountain High Enough— Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
• Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing— Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell 

Later, they extended their reach beyond Motown to writing for other legends, always  with that blend of lyric intimacy and melodic memorability.

Their songs are emotional engines— not overblown, but deeply felt. Their backgrounds  in gospel also shone through in their phrasing, backing vocals, and the conversational  push-pull of their lines. 

Berry Gordy: The Visionary Writer-Producer 
It’s impossible to talk about Motown’s songwriting without acknowledging Berry Gordy himself. Before he was the king of Hitsville U.S.A., he was a Songwriter and a  hustler with an ear for what would move people. 

Early hits like Money (That’s What I Want) and Do You Love Me? came from his pen or  hands-on direction. He understood that songwriting was not only art but business. His  serial mindset— aiming for one hit after another— shaped Motown’s “hit factory”  vision. 

Gordy also institutionalized standards: each song had to pass a quality test: Was it strong enough for radio? Was it emotionally clear? Would someone hum it after hearing it  once? He treated songwriting with a discipline often reserved for manufacturing. That  level of rigor helped sustain Motown’s output at peak levels. 

Why Motown’s Songwriters Belong on the “Greatest Ever” List 

Foundation for Pop Structure 
Motown’s Songwriters distilled the lessons of gospel, doowop, jazz, and blues into  concise, three-minute pop forms that still influence chart music today. 

Harmonic + Rhythmic Innovation 
They introduced left-field chord moves, syncopation, call-and-response motifs, and  rhythmic pushes that later became staples in R&B, hip-hop, soul, and pop. 

Emotional Directness 
Their songs aren’t obscured with poetic mystery— they speak, clearly and strongly, to  the heart. You don’t need a college degree to feel despair, joy, longing, or rage in a  Motown lyric. 

Evolution over Decade 
They didn’t re-shelve their playbook. As the 1960s gave way to the 1970s, Motown’s  Songwriters absorbed social change, musical innovation, and new production styles.  That adaptability is rare. 

Legacy & Influence 
Their songs continue to be covered, sampled, reinterpreted. Artists from Paul Simon to  Bruno Mars still draw directly from Motown’s melodic vocabulary. 

Paul McCartney once called a Beatles song “very Motown-flavoured” and  acknowledged that their band tried to write songs that could “sit alongside Motown  records.” 

Our TrueFans AMP™ Take Away 

“Great songwriting rarely respects isolation. It thrives in collaboration,  evolution, and the balance of heart and structure. The Motown era teaches  us that even the greatest voices often needed a writing partner, a studio  team, or a creative challenge to push farther. Your best work may come not  from going it alone, but from inviting others into your process.” 

Motown’s greatest gift wasn’t its catalog— it was its courage. It redefined what popular  music could be, who could make it, and who it was for. 

For every Music Artist today— from the indie Singer Songwriter to the bedroom  producer— the lesson endures: 

Own your sound, know your worth, 
and play for everyone.

• in partnership with Inspiring Quotes

• For Fun— 20 of the Best Motown Song Lyrics from Inspiring Quotes

Hitsville U.S.A. 

That’s what the sign in front of Motown Records in Detroit, Michigan, promised, and  the cadre of talent assembled by founder Berry Gordy delivered. With iconic songs  written and performed by such legendary musicians as the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder,  Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Mary Wells,  the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Lionel Ritchie, and so many more, the  sound of Motown was on the lips of the nation throughout the 1960s and ’70s. 

Motown’s Songwriting crew penned some of pop music’s most enduring (and chart topping) songs about love and heartbreak, but they also wrote about social justice and  brought the point of view of Black Americans into the mainstream at the height of the  civil rights movement. To celebrate this unforgettable chapter in music history, here are  some of the most poetic, beguiling, confrontational, and confessional lyrics from the  Motown songbook. 

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I’m sticking to my guy like a stamp to a letter / Like birds of a feather, we stick  together / I’m tellin’ you from the start / I can’t be torn apart from my guy 
— Mary Wells’ My Guy (written by Smokey Robinson) 

Father, father / We don’t need to escalate / You see, war is not the answer / For only  love can conquer hate  
— Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On (written by Marvin Gaye, Renaldo Benson, and Al  Cleveland)  

I heard them talking papa doing some storefront preachin’ / Talking about saving  souls and all the time preachin’ / Dealing in dirt, and stealing in the name of the Lord / Momma just hung her head and said / Papa was a rolling stone 
— The Temptations' Papa Was a Rolling Stone (written by Barrett Strong and Norman  Whitfield)  

Say you wanna be kissed / But you won’t let me kiss you / Say you wanna be missed /  Can’t you see how my arms are missing you? 
— Gladys Knight and the Pips’ Everybody Needs Love (written by Norman Whitfield  and Eddie Holland) 

Peace, love, and understanding / Tell me, is there no place for them today? / They say  we must fight to keep our freedom / But Lord knows there’s gotta be a better way
— Edwin Starr’s War (written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield) 

‘Cause your touch, your touch has grown cold / As if someone else controls your very  soul 
— The Temptations’ (I Know) I’m Losing You (written by Norman Whitfield, Eddie  Holland, and Cornelius Grant) 

Well, well, I once believed all fellas were nice / But girls, listen to me, take my advice / Girls, you’d better get yourselves onto my track / ‘Cause findin’ a good man, girls, is  like findin’ a / Needle in a haystack 
— The Velvelettes’ Needle in a Haystack (written by William “Mickey” Stevenson and  Norman Whitfield) 

Reading, writing, arithmetic / Are the branches of the learning tree / But without the  roots of love every day, girl / Your education ain’t complete 
— The Jackson 5’s ABC (written by The Corporation, Berry Gordy, Fonce Mizell,  Freddie Perren, and Deke Richards) 

I’m so darn glad He let me try it again / Because my last time on earth I lived a whole  world of sin / I’m so glad that I know more than I knew then / Going to keep on trying / ‘Til I reach my highest ground 
— Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground (written by Stevie Wonder) 

Always with half a kiss, you remind me of what I miss / Though I try to control myself / Like a fool I start grinnin’ / ‘Cause my head starts spinnin’ 
— The Isley Brothers’ This Old Heart of Mine (written by Eddie Holland, Lamont  Dozier, Brian Holland, and Sylvia Moy) 

I walk in shadows searching for light / Cold and alone no comfort in sight / Hoping  and praying for someone to care / Always moving and going nowhere
— Jimmy Ruffin’s What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (written by James Dean, Paul  Riser, and William Weatherspoon) 

What about this overcrowded land? / How much more abuse from man can she  stand? 
— Marvin Gaye Mercy Mercy Me (written by Marvin Gaye) 

Secretly I’ve been trailin’ you / Like a fox that preys on a rabbit / I had to get you and  so I knew / I had to learn your ways and habits 
— The Marvelettes’ The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game (written by Smokey  Robinson) 

You’re the kind of woman that any man would be proud to know / Kind of woman  that’ll have a man bragging anywhere he goes 
— Willie Hutch’s I Choose You (written by Willie Hutch) 

Build my world of dreams around you, I’m so glad that I found you / I’ll be there with a love that’s strong / I’ll be your strength, I’ll keep holding on 
— The Jackson 5’s I’ll Be There (written by Hal Davis, Willie Hutch, Bob West, and  Berry Gordy) 

So many dreams that flow away / So many words we didn’t say / Two people lost in a  storm / Where did we go? 
— Commodores’ Still (written by Lionel Richie) 

Soft and warm, a quiet storm / Quiet as when flowers talk at break of dawn / A power  source of tender force generating / Radiating / Turn me on 
— Smokey Robinson’s Quiet Storm (written by Smokey Robinson and Rose Ella Jones) 

Once we were standing still in time / Chasing the fantasies that filled our minds / You  knew I loved you, but my spirit was free 
— Diana Ross’ Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) (written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser) 

We are amazed but not amused / By all the things you say that you’ll do / Though  much concerned but not involved / With decisions that are made by you
— Stevie Wonder’s You Haven’t Done Nothin’ (written by Stevie Wonder) 

I started my life in an old, cold, run-down tenement slum / My father left, he never  even married mom / I shared the guilt my mama knew / So afraid that others knew I  had no name 
— The Supremes’ Love Child (written by Deke Richards, Pam Sawyer, Frank Wilson,  and R. Dean Taylor) 

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About the Author Courtney E. Smith 

Ms. Smith is an author, podcaster, editor, and culture writer based in Dallas, Texas. She  is the author of Record Collecting for Girls, an essay collection exploring music,  identity, and relationships.  

Courtney’s writing has appeared in Esquire, Pitchfork, Eater, Refinery29, and other  major outlets. She has also served as an editor and music critic (for outlets including  CBS Radio and Refinery29).  

In addition to her writing, she co-hosts the podcast Songs My Ex Ruined and creates  music/podcast content under @nevermindpods.  

She lives in Dallas with her rescue dog, Casey, where she also volunteers with SPCA  foster programs.  

And please read all about InspiringQuotes in the gold in partnership with box up above.  They're a phenomenal resource for every Songwriter. 

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• Feature Article— Motown: The Icebreaker That Changed the Sound— and the  Soul— of Popular Music by John Fogg 

There are moments in music history when a new sound doesn’t just climb the charts— it breaks through the ice of an entire culture. In the early 1960s, one label from Detroit did exactly that. Motown wasn’t just a record company; it was a revolution set to a  backbeat. 

Founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959 with an $800 loan from his family’s savings club, Motown became one of the most successful Black-owned businesses in America and  one of the most influential forces in modern music. In just over a decade, Motown  transformed rhythm and blues into pop art— crafting songs that moved not only bodies, but barriers. 

The Sound That Moved the World 
At first listen, the “Motown Sound” seems simple— tambourine on the backbeat,  melodic bass lines, gospel-style call-and-response vocals, tight horns, and heartbreak  turned into joy. But simplicity is deceptive. It was the sound of meticulous craft: the  Funk Brothers, a house band of virtuosos, played with precision and swing. Behind the  microphones stood young singers shaped by years in church choirs and Detroit clubs.  And behind them were songwriters— Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier-Holland,  Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, Ashford & Simpson— whose pop sensibilities rivaled Lennon and McCartney’s. 

Motown wasn’t just churning out songs. It was creating a new language of feeling that  could reach anyone, anywhere. “My ambition was to make music for all people—  white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers,” Berry Gordy said. “I was  reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.” 

And he succeeded. 

Crossing Over— and Breaking Through 
In 1963, as America was still struggling with segregation, The Supremes, The  Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder were breaking through every  imaginable barrier. Black artists who had once been relegated to the “Chitlin’ Circuit”  were suddenly sharing the stage— and the charts— with Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Motown made the crossover not an exception, but an expectation. Its songs— My Girl,  Stop! In the Name of Love, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Ain’t No Mountain High  Enough— were universal stories of love and longing wrapped in rhythms everyone  could dance to. 

That universality wasn’t accidental. Gordy modeled Motown after Detroit’s auto  industry— a creative assembly line that turned emotion into product without losing its  soul. Each song went through a quality-control meeting. If the staff didn’t think a record  could be a hit, it didn’t leave the building. It was ruthless, but it worked. 

By 1971, Motown had placed more than 100 singles in Billboard’s Top 10— a feat  unmatched by any label of its time. 

The Icebreaker in a Frozen Sea 
But Motown’s true legacy isn’t just in its hits. It’s in the freedom it created— for artists,  for audiences, for music itself. 

Before Motown, major record labels were controlled by white executives who decided  what the public would hear— and what Black artists could or couldn’t do. Motown  smashed that structure like an icebreaker plowing through frozen waters. 

It proved that music made by Black artists could define the mainstream, not just exist  beside it. That realization opened doors for Stax, Philadelphia International, and later,  for Prince, Whitney, Beyoncé, and Kendrick Lamar. Every artist who’s built a creative  empire owes a debt to Berry Gordy’s Detroit dream. 

“Motown broke down barriers with music,” Smokey Robinson said. “We didn’t sit  down and plan to do that. It just happened — because the music was good.” 

Good— and fearless. 

Artist-Centric Before Its Time 
Though Motown was a tightly run business, it was paradoxically Artist-Centric in its  DNA. Berry Gordy had been a Songwriter himself. He knew what it meant to create  something and hand it off to someone else to sell. That empathy shaped how he nurtured talent. 

Motown had its own finishing school, run by etiquette coach Maxine Powell, who taught artists stage presence, poise, diction— the polish needed to stand beside Sinatra or  Streisand. But it also had something even more valuable: a sense of family. 

Stevie Wonder once said, “Everyone over 13 was my parent. Diana [Ross] was my  momma. The Marvelettes were all my parents.” Motown wasn’t just a label— it was a  village raising a generation of artists. 

And unlike most labels of its era, Motown encouraged its singers to grow into writers  and producers. Marvin Gaye fought to produce What’s Going On— and won. Stevie Wonder demanded full creative control— and got it. Both created albums that changed  the direction of popular music forever. 

That’s Artist Centric vision in action. 

The Legacy 
Today, the spirit of Motown is everywhere— in the polish of pop, the groove of R&B,  the optimism of soul, the multiculturalism of hip-hop. When you hear Bruno Mars  channeling the Temptations, or Dua Lipa reviving disco-soul, that’s Motown DNA. Even The Beatles— perhaps Motown’s fiercest rivals on the charts— were its students.  Paul McCartney admitted, “We tried to write songs that could sit alongside Motown  records.” 

Motown taught the world that music is a bridge. It taught songwriters that melody  matters, that rhythm is emotional, and that storytelling can heal division. And it taught  businesspeople that culture isn’t built by markets— it’s built by meaning. 

When you trace the timeline of “popular” music— from the Supremes to Aretha to  Michael to Prince to Beyoncé— the line leads straight back to Detroit. 

The Beat Goes On 
Every generation has its sound. But few have reshaped the world’s rhythm the way  Motown did. It began as a small label in a converted house on West Grand Boulevard— “Hitsville U.S.A.” — and became the home of an idea: that music can make people  equal, free, and alive. 

In that sense, Motown wasn’t just a hit factory. It was the sound of possibility. 

“Motown’s impact can’t be overstated. It was proof that if you have the  right song and the right soul, you can change everything.” 
— Quincy Jones 

Sixty-five years later, we’re still feeling that change— every time a song makes us  move, sing, and believe again. 

TrueFans AMP Takeaway 
Motown’s greatest gift wasn’t its catalog— it was its courage. It redefined what  popular music could be, who could make it, and who it was for. 

For every Music Artist today— from the indie singer-songwriter to the bedroom  producer— the lesson endures: own your sound, know your worth, and play for  everyone. 

__________  

About John Fogg 

John Fogg is the founding editor of the TrueFans AMP™, co-creator of New Music  Lives™, and a lifelong writer, listener, and fan of great songs and the people who make  them. A million-selling author (The Greatest Networker in the World), Fogg has written  and coached artists, entrepreneurs, and visionaries for more than four decades. Through  the TrueFans AMP™, he champions a new generation of Music Artists building  sustainable careers— Making Right Now Money and having Fans Forever.

• PS from PS— Announcing TrueFans CONNECT™ 

Well it's finally here! 

We've talked for months is about this project I first conceived nearly two years ago. So,  'Long and winding road indeed.' Today I can tell you it's finally here. TrueFans  CONNECT™— the first step in an entire Artists First ecosystem we'll be rolling out in  the months to come. And it is a Giant Step! 

This exclusive platform is designed to enable you to accept digital donations from your  audiences at live and on-line performances. Plus we're using Geo Location tech for a  seamless and smooth process for your live-and-in-person fans to follow and support you. 

Tap this link: TrueFans CONNECT™ to sign up. And...it's FREE!  

Learn all about it and just tap the button to join as an Music Artist. No charge. No  strings. Use it and prove it for yourself. All revenue is split 80/20 in your favor. It's  about time YOU get paid first... and most! 

So sign up. Give it a roadie test. And tell us what you think. Help us to make it the very  best platform out there designed give you Right Now Money and Fans Forever! 

We're offering this to the US today and we're going global ASAP. 

Join the Artist First Revolution by being one of the First Artists to sign up with  TrueFans CONNECT™. 

Until we speak again 

Thanks for reading. Give us your feedback.

And PLEASE, if you've got any Singer Songwriter friends, pass the AMP on, because... It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time...