It may be relatively slow, but indie artists are steadily taking the music industry by storm. There is a rise in the consumption of independent music to the chagrin of major record labels. All thanks to Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and the ease with which indie artist can distribute their works on these platforms.
At the rate at which independent music is headed, there is a likelihood that the industry will surpass the $1bn mark expected in 2020. Even though the pandemic might have slowed things down a bit, independent music is quite dynamic, and self-releasing artists are ever determined to succeed.
The past might have been staggering for indie music, but the trajectory of the future looks bright. Indie music is about volume, which is something unusual among record labels. According to Spotify, there are about 40,000 tracks uploaded daily, every two seconds, an album is being uploaded.
The Rise of The Indie Music Marketplace
Call it the DIY Music marketplace, and you are not wrong. The marketplace is on the rise, with much capital swarming around the edges of the industry. This has given Sony Music, Warner Music, and Universal Music group a good run for their money. That’s why Universal Music Group launched Spinnup for self-releasing artists.
Aside from UMG, Warner music also launched Level Music, which focuses on distributing DIY artist music at no cost. What used to be the playground of smaller labels is now becoming the hot zone of major record labels. All thanks to the $1 billion-plus jumbo that is available within the industry.
And a Year From Now…
While there’s still much uncertainty within the independent music segment. One thing is, however inevitable, and there will be a shift in power from major record labels to independent music. This is already obvious with the way the three major brands are investing within the independent music space.
It has become glaring with the success of Chance the Rapper and others that commercial success isn’t a factor of label any longer.
That’s not to forget that with the reality on the ground, record labels are now becoming fairer in their contract with artists. In fact, independent music is the future of the music industry. That’s because independent musicians can productively interact with the available tools.
