Why did it begin?
The original Motown Headquarters, known as "Hitsville" was located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit, Michigan. Barry Gordy bought the house as a studio from an old photographer in 1959. He used the first floor as the headquarters of Motown Records as well as the first recording studio for Motown. Gordy and his family moved into the top floor of the house. Hitsville served as headquarters until 1972, when Gordy moved to Los Angeles. After Gordy sold Motown in 1988, Hitsville became the Motown Museum, and is currently the #1 Tourist Spot in Detroit.
https://www.motownmuseum.org/about-the-museum/
Gordy started Motown out of his inner entrepreneur. He had a desire to create positives out of nothing. He took these ideas from his previous occupation in the assembly line. “Every day I watched how a bare metal frame, rolling down the line would come off the other end, a spanking brand new car. What a great idea! Maybe, I could do the same thing with my music. Create a place where a kid off the street could walk in one door, an unknown, go through a process, and come out another door, a star.”
https://www.motownmuseum.org/story/motown/
https://www.motownmuseum.org/about-the-museum/
Gordy started Motown out of his inner entrepreneur. He had a desire to create positives out of nothing. He took these ideas from his previous occupation in the assembly line. “Every day I watched how a bare metal frame, rolling down the line would come off the other end, a spanking brand new car. What a great idea! Maybe, I could do the same thing with my music. Create a place where a kid off the street could walk in one door, an unknown, go through a process, and come out another door, a star.”
https://www.motownmuseum.org/story/motown/
When Gordy started Motown, his desire was not to become "The Sound of Young America" nor to become the sound behind the Civil Rights Movement. He started it for his love of music, and the desire to make money. However, music being such a large part of American Culture, Motown transformed into something much more than a record company. Motown broke racial barriers through means of acting as a cultural bridge.