Nile Rodgers, the legendary musician and producer, has said that David Bowie would have faced difficulties in today's music industry, which he described as "very unforgiving".
Rodgers, who worked with Bowie on his 1983 album Let's Dance, said that the late icon had a long and hard journey to success, which would not be tolerated by modern record labels.
"He was dropped from his label, he was considered a one-hit wonder, he was considered a failure," Rodgers told The Guardian. "He had to reinvent himself over and over again, and he did it brilliantly. But I don't think he would have been given the chance to do that today."
Rodgers said that the music industry today is driven by short-term profits and instant gratification, which leaves little room for experimentation and innovation.
"The industry is very unforgiving, very cut-throat, very bottom-line oriented," he said. "They want hits, they want numbers, they want streams, they want views. They don't care about the artistic process, they don't care about the long-term vision, they don't care about the legacy."
Rodgers, who is the co-founder and leader of the disco-funk band Chic, said that he and Bowie shared a similar vision of music as a form of expression and communication, rather than a commodity.
"We both believed that music was a language, a way of connecting with people, a way of telling stories, a way of making people feel something," he said. "We didn't make music for the sake of making music, we made music for the sake of making a difference."
Rodgers said that he was proud of his collaboration with Bowie on Let's Dance, which was Bowie's best-selling album and featured hits such as Modern Love, China Girl, and the title track.
"It was a magical experience, a creative explosion, a cultural phenomenon," he said. "We made an album that was true to ourselves, that was fun, that was funky, that was soulful, that was rock'n'roll, that was everything that we loved about music."
Rodgers said that he still misses Bowie, who died in 2016 after a battle with cancer, and that he hopes that his music will inspire future generations of artists.
"He was a genius, a visionary, a friend, a mentor, a brother," he said. "He was one of a kind, and there will never be another like him. But I hope that his music will live on, and that it will inspire young people to follow their dreams, to be themselves, to be original, to be bold, to be brave, to be Bowie."
