Would you rather get a record deal or remain independent artist? If you search that question in Google there are many blogs and websites that say it’s better to remain independent because you keep more money and get all the royalties. But how much money could you make as an independent artist if you don’t have the millions of dollars of backing from a record label to promote your music on the radio, music videos and get top quality production for your albums? So if you were a musical artist (preferably in popular music, such as Pop, Hip-hop/R&B or Pop/Rock) what would you rather do? Get a record deal or remain independent?
oook…..
It really depends on your buzz….
Also when you say independent…do you mean your own distribution or just a term used to bunch up lesser known labels…like Def Jux or something?
If you mean the latter then…
As a artist with a modest buzz it would be wise to independent if you honestly feel that your not going to be the next…."Drake"…
Which basically means that your songs are guaranteed to be played people WILL buy your sh*t…people WILL come to your shows…basically everything has to be set already. If things arn’t set up for you to get that kind of shine it would be much more wise to just go with the lesser known label….
pesonally…i think if you have modest buzz…you should try to make a push for major and see if they will invest time and money into you being the focus of the mainstream….basically kid cudi….If you can’t get that push…but still have a good amount of buzz circling you then you should go indi….
If your completely unknown…instantly go for the label…
as far as money goes…it works like this….
Indi artist get more money per album sold….but while Major artist get cents….they also get major exposure which can lead to much more lucrative opportunities….such as big venue shows…a opening for madison square garden can get you 50,000 to 100,000…and thats not even being the main event. Also endorsements come more often, and since your more known you can get more money for doing shows than a indi artist can….
Think of it like this….
Jada sells 300,000….rick ross sells 300,000….one is major and one isn’t…jada may make around 5 dollars per album sold if he worked his magic…Ross only gets no more than a quarter…. so jada makes more off of sales….Now they go on tour…Jada is big…but only by name…Ross is big by Corperation…and has the backing of many other big artist…so he has more pull to make his own price as appose to jada because of the people that represent him and the larger fan base he gets from having Major label representation. Not to mention a better chance at hosting a much bigger venue. So ross makes more through shows. Now Video cost and tour bus expenses and such obviously hurt Ross….but in most cases the money is made up. Jada wins on that…but it doesn’t really help him out much financially.And lastly since he has Major label representation he can be offered more lucrative endorsement deals….Maybe Nike…various things…but the deal is that the bigger the name the more pull you have to make money off of these ventures. So Ross wins there too…and since exposure helps you sell singles…Itunes and Ringtone money is obviously in favor of Rick Ross…which is big financially…While Ross will get less of a portion of money through those deals the sheer volume of it all does more than balance it out.
In the end, when it comes to album sales…Jada wins…but since Ross has the Major label backing him and is working, he will eventually profit more from it.
Personally i would sign to Stones Throw….because they are small…but big enough to get you to 250,000 sold…which means small venues will be sold…you will have the power to move to a Major label if you can work them right. and you will be making good money. But you might have to move to Cali…which sucks for me.
@Scientist: Them Tour busses ain’t free for Major artist. They gotta pay…well not pay…just get the money taken from them. Think of it like this…Major artist get credit, while indi gotta have cash upfront….so to speak.
March 28th, 2010 at 7:48 am
The part about independent artist actually making more of a profit then major artist is true. Major artist will sometimes only make one nickel for each album sold… I asked a similar question to this before, and I’m not 100% sure how much money an independent artist would make. But they’d make more of a profit then a major artist. Mainly because they don’t have to pay as much for promotion and such. Therefore, they save money..
But to answer your question, I personally would rather stay independent.
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March 28th, 2010 at 8:05 am
rECORD dEAL seriously record deal
you get a LOT more MONEY
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March 28th, 2010 at 8:39 am
@ midwest, being an independent artist you have to pay for promotions, merchandise, tour bus and all that stuff yourself, so its highly unlikely an independent artist can make more then a rapper with a record deal, i would rather have a record deal but with a label thats not in the major scene (i.e Def Jux, Rhymesayers)
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March 28th, 2010 at 9:04 am
aight you better off taken the record deal to start off unless you already got some mad money on deck 2 back ur independent a$$ up if you dont your not gonna stand a chance take the record deal let them put you out on the block let them spend there money in a way it be just like get’n sum dope on credit but the dope you have pay for even if ur $hit dont sell no doubt you make more money independent but if ur $hit dont sell thats your lost take the record deal an if it dont sell thats there lost
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March 28th, 2010 at 9:17 am
oook…..
It really depends on your buzz….
Also when you say independent…do you mean your own distribution or just a term used to bunch up lesser known labels…like Def Jux or something?
If you mean the latter then…
As a artist with a modest buzz it would be wise to independent if you honestly feel that your not going to be the next…."Drake"…
Which basically means that your songs are guaranteed to be played people WILL buy your sh*t…people WILL come to your shows…basically everything has to be set already. If things arn’t set up for you to get that kind of shine it would be much more wise to just go with the lesser known label….
pesonally…i think if you have modest buzz…you should try to make a push for major and see if they will invest time and money into you being the focus of the mainstream….basically kid cudi….If you can’t get that push…but still have a good amount of buzz circling you then you should go indi….
If your completely unknown…instantly go for the label…
as far as money goes…it works like this….
Indi artist get more money per album sold….but while Major artist get cents….they also get major exposure which can lead to much more lucrative opportunities….such as big venue shows…a opening for madison square garden can get you 50,000 to 100,000…and thats not even being the main event. Also endorsements come more often, and since your more known you can get more money for doing shows than a indi artist can….
Think of it like this….
Jada sells 300,000….rick ross sells 300,000….one is major and one isn’t…jada may make around 5 dollars per album sold if he worked his magic…Ross only gets no more than a quarter…. so jada makes more off of sales….Now they go on tour…Jada is big…but only by name…Ross is big by Corperation…and has the backing of many other big artist…so he has more pull to make his own price as appose to jada because of the people that represent him and the larger fan base he gets from having Major label representation. Not to mention a better chance at hosting a much bigger venue. So ross makes more through shows. Now Video cost and tour bus expenses and such obviously hurt Ross….but in most cases the money is made up. Jada wins on that…but it doesn’t really help him out much financially.And lastly since he has Major label representation he can be offered more lucrative endorsement deals….Maybe Nike…various things…but the deal is that the bigger the name the more pull you have to make money off of these ventures. So Ross wins there too…and since exposure helps you sell singles…Itunes and Ringtone money is obviously in favor of Rick Ross…which is big financially…While Ross will get less of a portion of money through those deals the sheer volume of it all does more than balance it out.
In the end, when it comes to album sales…Jada wins…but since Ross has the Major label backing him and is working, he will eventually profit more from it.
Personally i would sign to Stones Throw….because they are small…but big enough to get you to 250,000 sold…which means small venues will be sold…you will have the power to move to a Major label if you can work them right. and you will be making good money. But you might have to move to Cali…which sucks for me.
@Scientist: Them Tour busses ain’t free for Major artist. They gotta pay…well not pay…just get the money taken from them. Think of it like this…Major artist get credit, while indi gotta have cash upfront….so to speak.
References :
March 28th, 2010 at 9:47 am
I look at the industry (major anyways) like the pimps and prostitute game…Industry exes are the pimps…They make sure the people they employ (or prostitutes) have all the tools necessary to be successful, however if those people that they have employed are not successful as the record exes expected, the employee could be in a very bad position…It’s always best to be indie in my eyes for only you have you to blame for not making it and no one will kick your rear end or fire you if you fail…
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