In today’s age, both the creation and consumption of music is more accessible than ever. Any artist can upload their music to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, making the beginning of a career easy-to-reach and attainable. However, this is a double-edged sword – the more artists on Spotify, the more difficult it is to get discovered and make your way up to the top. For many artists, the solution is signing to a record label, while many others still choose to remain independent. The decision, however, can be tricky.
There are many advantages to signing with a record label. The biggest, overarching advantage is the sheer amount of resources that record labels are capable of providing artists. Labels have more resources and larger budgets when it comes to production, distribution, promotion, merchandise, and touring. As an independent artist, it would be much harder to come up with the money that all these things typically require. When it comes to marketing, record labels have plenty of experience with marketing strategies, and would enable you to focus on your music instead of coming up with a complicated marketing scheme.
Additionally, you would be working with people that have years of invaluable experience in the industry, and that have worked with artists just like you. These people will also provide you with an extensive network of professionals in the music industry, such as promoters, agents, the media, and more. Doubtless, there are many advantages to signing with a record label. Unfortunately, however, many of these come with a price.
There is a notorious lack of transparency among labels. If you don’t have lawyers or a team backing you up, labels may overcharge you or try to take advantage of your naivety when it comes to industry know-how and finances. If you are already making some good money from streaming services, it’s important to note that you may lose some of it because of your label’s royalties. In fact, from merchandise to physical copies to touring, by signing to a record label you are agreeing to not receive 100% of the profits. As well as losing profits, you may also lose some creative control. Record labels themselves have reputations to uphold, so they may not allow you to have complete creative control over your music or your public image.
As exciting as getting signed to a record label may seem, don’t jump at any opportunity without any research – read and reread the contract, ensure others look at it, and understand all the commitments the record label is asking you to make. The last thing you want is to finally get a record deal, then realize it wasn’t the direction you wanted to go in at all.
Regardless of if you sign to a label or not, it is important to listen to the advice of industry professionals and other artists. There are many resources to help you succeed, and only your own hard work and determination will get you there.
