![]() Let label make all the decisions, including about what kind of music you put out, who you work with, where you tour, and your every move.There’s no “formula” for success-and that’s a good thingĭecades ago, there was a set formula to success. It was one of the smartest strategies I’ve seen and it got them thousands of new eyes and ears on their music. Without a label to guide them, they provided the conference-goers with water bottles, and on those water bottles was the band’s name, website, and set time at the festival. One of my favorite examples of an indie band making a smart and strategic sponsorship is what Glass Mansions did at Launch Music Conference a few years back. Remember when Xavier Rudd, who is a noted vegan, had his song licensed in a KFC commercial in 2015 and created an (understandable) uproar with his fans? I have to think that wouldn't have happened had Rudd been in charge of his own deals. And when you’re signed to a label, it’s about bringing in money for the company as much as you, and that means partnerships with huge companies that may or may not be a fit for your brand. No one cared if you really vibed with a local clothing company because it didn’t sell. There weren’t a lot of boutique partnerships happening 50 years ago. You don’t have to rely on sponsorships + partnerships from mega-companies It's how you make independent work for you. It's a powerful message for indie artists to remember-there's no shame in opportunities that bring in cash. In a Tweet about it he said "If you come across opportunities to work with good people, pick up cash and keep your integrity I say Do It." Chance did this in 2017 with Coloring Book, when he partnered with Apple to have them stream his album exclusively for 2 weeks in exchange for half a million dollars and a commercial. It means picking your opportunities strategically. Furthermore, he knows that being independent doesn’t mean staying broke or doing it alone. It’s no longer all locked up under a label, it’s at your fingertips.Īrtists like Chance the Rapper, who have remained independent, know this better than anyone. Connecting with fans, creating your website, mixing your own music, creating your own graphics-it’s all right there for you. Now, all you have to do is open up your computer and you’re just a few clicks away from building your dream career. The technology simply wasn’t there and because of that, artists had no choice but to rely on labels, who had those resources built in. They didn’t have the liberty of pitching blogs or college radio themselves, or connecting with fans across the country with a few simple clicks. They didn’t have any social media to connect with fans on or post about their shows. There simply weren’t the means to get the word out about new bands without the major label machine that was radio and advertising. So, what do they know that you might not? You don’t actually need a label to be successfulīefore, if you didn’t have a label, good luck getting anyone to pay attention to you. He even compared labels to slavery and said he'd urge young artists not to sign.īut it’s not just Prince-plenty of artists have shared their woes of signing to major labels, and expressed the power in being an indie artist-a few of which we’ll take a look at below, including Chance the Rapper and Frank Ocean. Records in 1993, and ended up changing his name to "the Artist Formerly Known As" just to try and create some space. I mean, just look at Prince, who got locked in a battle with Warner Bros. While it can be understandable to feel like everything would be easier if only you had someone to make all your decisions and fund all your transactions as they did 50 years ago, if you get stuck in that way of thinking you’re missing a huge opportunity-and that’s the opportunity to create a career you can truly love. Which, to some may feel overwhelming-but that’s just because they haven’t yet embraced why it’s actually incredibly powerful. While their predecessors had record labels and management to guide their every move, today’s indie artist finds themselves at the constant helm of their career. Never before have indie artists had the kind of freedom to create their careers that they do now.
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