You might have heard countless arguments supporting or opposing any of the above-mentioned labels. Thus, we must stick to facts and observations, rather than random assumptions.
Before taking off, we must familiarize ourselves by defining the two concepts: Indie and Major.
The word indie comes from independent, so it is clear that it’s about artists who prefer to get the job done all by themselves without getting signed to any famous labels. Major labels, on the other hand, are the names that you often hear including Sony, Universal, Geffin, and Capitol Records. These corporations act like banks for artists who are signed to them. By banks we mean that whenever an artist needs funding for her/his new album or to release his/her new merch, or whatsoever, labels are the ones lending them the needed amount.
Enough talk, now let’s dive deeper and debug the myths surrounding the way these two labels operate.
Major Music Record Labels:
- Connections and new opportunities:
Believe it or not, with major labels come opportunities and connections to media outlets, newly emerged artists or established ones, influencers, and so forth. All these connections might come in handy for future collaborations or projects.
- An Enormous Amount of funding:
Without a doubt, major labels have larger budgets dedicated to funding than indie ones. This eventually helps the artist to produce top-notch projects with high-quality visuals and excellent musical composition.
- Easier to get from point A to point B:
Paving your route would be 100 times easier with major labels than going solo or working with Indie labels, but that comes with a cost.
It’s crucial to be aware of the cons of working with such big labels, one of which is the amount of exploitation that artists might be subject to. By exploiting the artist we mean that there are certain limitations such as: what to write, how to think, and what to produce. At the end of the day, these labels are nothing but businesses that wish to maximize their profits, so they’re all about that extra $.
Indie Music Record Labels:
- More artist-friendly:
Recently many artists (including Taylor Swift) have been vocal about how major labels take advantage of the artist, thus it has become some sort of a movement in the music industry and we are seeing more and more artists going indie.
- More control over your work:
You can pour out your emotions in your projects without only focusing on what sells. With the current technological advancements and the rise of TikTok to be more precise, indie-produced projects have also hit the charts. Thus, this could be a win-win situation; you get to do what you love, the way you want it, and with a good marketing strategy, your song can go viral and fly high on the charts.
- No need to fight for attention:
Since the big labels have several artists to manage, you might not be their top priority especially if your sales are not spiking. With indie ones, you have the time to sit down, plan and discuss things to enhance the overall development of your career.
The downside of indie labels is the tight budget that they have in comparison to major ones, thus your projects might not be as shiny as the ones produced by major labels.
In a nutshell, every artist has his/her priority, we have laid out the facts for you, and you can assess what you care about the most. After weighing down each point, see which one outweighs the other and take your final decision.
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