Every few years, artists and bands find themselves asking the same question. Are record labels even relevant anymore? The music industry faced this when vinyl switched to CDs, when CDs switched to digital sales, when digital sales switched to streaming, and now, once again, with the potential of going viral. The standard record label operation isn’t what it was just five or so years ago. Why on earth would a band split their money with a record label if they have already figured out how to make it on their own?
Historically, the selling point of signing a contract with a record label was the promise of it growing your band to a larger audience. There was a trade. The label would give a band the financial backing to budget for recording, marketing, touring costs etc., in exchange for the band splitting their earnings. The typical record label model was based on recouping these costs, most of the time, before a band even saw a dime. However, it was an agreement that worked because the band usually didn’t have the means to get their music out into the world otherwise. Without the money from the label, the majority of bands couldn’t even afford to get their songs across the finish line from a demo to a wide release. Bands needed this push to gain a wider audience; thus, giving up their masters wasn’t something to be hesitant about. It was a fairly even trade (minus the horror stories here and there. That’s a conversation for another time.)
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Record labels would discover a band from their demo, or perhaps word of mouth, that they were selling out their local hometown shows. All it took was a little buzz around a band to garner interest from the label machine, both major label and indie label. The labels would sign bands that they saw potential in. They would put in the time, effort, and of course, money, to make the band bigger. That is simply not the dynamic anymore.
These days, record labels often have mandatory thresholds for bands before they will even consider signing them. “You need to have at least 500k followers,” or “Do you have a song with a million streams?” These are questions that labels are asking bands before even listening to their music. Times change, yes, but that raises the glaring question: why would a band that has independently gained 500k followers and millions of streams on their songs sign a record deal? Why give away money that they have figured out how to make on their own?
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In today’s climate a band can build a fanbase, following, and streaming numbers all on their own with a viral video. They don’t need the same push from labels that they did in the past to break through. MTV is dead. The VMAs got rid of their rock category. So what can a label do that a band can’t by themselves? The same metrics that used to define success for an alternative act don’t exist anymore. The metric now is a viral moment, and bands can do that without the label.
Managers, publicists, and booking agents still seem to have an important place and role in the career of an artist. A label though? Not so much. This begs the question…will record labels even exist in five to ten years? It’s not looking good for them.
Bands—its your time to shine. You have everything you need in the palm of your hand. At the end of the day, this is a really powerful thing for artists. You can grow in a way that historically wasn’t possible.
idobi Radio doesn’t require you to be signed to a label to get played on our radio station. In fact, we LOVE independent artists. Submit your music to us and if we love it we will play it. No record label required. Submit your music here.
