Austin Kleon — Cheap Music and Commercial Art

Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland had 9 to 5 jobs: writing songs for Motown Records. They didn’t think they were making art at the time. “I remember saying back at Motown, ‘Man, I would love to write classic songs, like a "White Christmas,’” Brian Holland told an interviewer. It was no coincidence that Motown was headquartered in the home of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. The goal was cranking out product. “Early on, Brian and Lamont were already writing together, and they were very prolific at writing melodies and producing tracks,” remembered Eddie Holland. “It was the lyric writing which slowed them down. So I suggested that I join the team as a lyricist, so that their production output would be much higher.” Increasing production output: that was the name of the Detroit game.