*By Alyssa Caverley*
Julius "J" Erving, Jr., son of legendary basketball star ["Dr. J"](http://www.nba.com/history/legends/profiles/julius-erving), looks to his own teenage children when he's facing decisions about his music label's next venture. After all, he told Cheddar on Tuesday, the industry is only getting younger.
“The space is ever-changing,” Erving said. “I get to watch \[my children\] and use them as a case study in terms of how they want to receive their music and how they want to discover things.”
In 2017, Erving created Human Re-Sources, a music distribution company that aims to support artistsーwithout going too corporate.
Erving knows all too well that artists can lose their freedom once they join a big label. Before launching Human Re-Sources, Erving spent 20 years as a music manager and observed the industry and all its deficiencies at work.
Erving added that the notion of ownership inspired him.
"\[My artists\] are able to keep ownership of their masters; we don’t take their masters like most traditional record companies do,” Erving explained. “We charge a distribution fee and that’s itーwe’re not participating in their touring revenue or their branding revenue and the deals aren’t long-term.”
There’s no denying that things have changed since Erving started in the business: with the rise of streaming and other technologies, young stars can now make musicーand careersーovernight.
“When I was coming up in the business, the goal was to get a record deal,” Erving said. “Now, with these young artists and how self-contained they are in terms of the ability to \[create\], market, distribute and promote music from their bedrooms, our goal is to just put some fuel on their fire and support their vision.”
Fundamentally, Human Re-Sources wants to serve artists by navigating the unpredictable ebbs and flows of the music industry.
“We want to be part of the change, not just sit on our hands until change happens and then figure out where we \[stand\],” Erving said. “Our goal is to create this platform and be a *part* of the change.”
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/julius-j-erving-is-giving-freedom-back-to-musicians).
The iconic 7-Eleven Slurpee cup just got a makeover. The company rolled out the new cups on Monday as part of its "Anything Flows" campaign, and they feature a colorful design on the front with a big "S" resembling the swirly top of the icy drink.
From the end of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to the beginning of a new zombie apocalypse, here's what's going on in entertainment.
One person was killed and multiple people were sent to local hospitals after a boat capsized Monday during a tour of an underground cavern system built to carry water from the Erie Canal beneath the western New York city of Lockport, officials said.
There was plenty of uncertainty in the run-up to this year’s Tony Awards, which at one point seemed unlikely to happen at all because of the ongoing Hollywood writer’s strike.
Classical music concerts have been popular since the age of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, but you've probably never thought about attending one in a cemetery. Our own Chloe Aiello spoke with Andrew Ousley, founder of Death of Classical, to learn more about a concert series held in the catacombs of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.
You may not know her name, but you've probably seen her face. Madhulika Sharma has graced Vogue India and ELLE Magazine and modeled for popular brands such as Reformation and Skims. Cheddar's own Hena Doba spoke with Sharma to discuss her globe-spanning modeling career, her education in fashion history, and working alongside Kim Kardashian.
The intimate, funny-sad musical “Kimberly Akimbo” nudged aside more splashier rivals on Sunday to win the best new musical crown at the Tony Awards on a night when Broadway flexed its muscle in the face of Hollywood writers’ strike and fully embraced trans-rights with history-making winners.
The ChatGPT chatbot, personified by different avatars on a huge screen above the altar, led the more than 300 people through 40 minutes of prayer, music, sermons and blessings.
New York's Assembly and Senate passed a bill to create a commission that would consider reparations for slavery.
New Orleans' Big Freedia, who many heard on Beyonce's new hit "Break My Soul," talks about upcoming business ventures and music projects, including a new show called Big Freedia Means Business on Fuse TV.
