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The music trend we never saw coming...

Independent artists

By Chrissy GarciaPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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The music trend we never saw coming...
Photo by Austin Neill on Unsplash

I’m sure by now we’ve all read Kanye’s tweets surrounding the mishaps in the music industry and the insanity that is major label record deals. If not, stop what you’re doing. Read the tweets.

Are you good? Did you do it? No?… I’ll wait.

Annnddd we’re back. While this was one of Kanye’s classic Twitter tirades… he’s kind of right? It’s no question a change is needed in the music industry and in the last decade we’ve seen one: the rise of the independent artist. The lifestyle of an independent artist is one that is rare but notable led by revolutionaries like Nipsey Hussle, Frank Ocean and Chance the Rapper. It’s not for the faint of heart but allows artists to gain total control of their careers, creativity and lay a foundation for their legacies. But, what does it mean to be an independent artist? How does this differ from a standard record deal? How does an independent become successful?

An independent artist is basically a musician who is not signed to a record label. The independent artist segment of the industry is made up of DIY-pioneers (yes, that’s a Russ reference) who utilize the internet to their best ability with self-distribution platforms, social media and streaming services. In 2018, this segment generated $643 million for the music industry guess what they’re expected to generate in 2020. Just north of $2 BILLION. That’s a 67% increase in just 2 years.

So, what does this mean for the music industry? If all goes according to trend, these artists will collectively hold 10% of the market share for music. That’s comparable to Warner Music Group’s market share. FYI Warner is the 3rd largest major recording label in the world.

Let’s recap.

Independent artists are growing in record strides. Over the past 5 years they’ve grown to make up 10% of the market and rack in $2 Billion dollars…all of which goes directly to the musicians’ pockets.

What’s causing this sudden increase and success?

It’s simple. DIY Distribution platforms and social media.

These creatives have the capabilities to self-promote, self-distribute and self-produce their own content. Especially with organizations like Downtown Music Publishing, CD Baby, TuneCore, and Amuse that take the middle man out of getting tracks onto platforms like Apple Music and Spotify. It’s so easy…. even Dee could do it! (Stream Good Morning here).

Independent artists are grinding it out and taking control of their careers. Essentially, they’re the CEOs of their own start-ups. The product? Their content and music. Their marketing strategy? Push as much content as you possibly can to YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and paid platforms like Patreon. Distribution strategy? Peep the links above and hit send. The main thing that independent artists struggle with? Funds. But almost every interview I’ve read on independent artists notes that although they may need to work other full time jobs to fund their passion projects they consider it an investment in their future and this grind is a sure-fire way for them to keep the rights to their music so “it’s always worth it” as KOTA the Friend puts it.

Oh the ’90s what a simpler and significantly chiller time.

The ’90s were a great era for Hip Hop with the likes of Biggie, 2Pac, Nas, Jay-Z, Snoop and so many more. This era of hip-hop royalty acts as the catalyst for some of the great independent hip-hop artists today. Two who come to mind, and uncoincidentally born in the early ’90s (1992 to be exact), are Russ and KOTA the Friend.

Russ (@Russ)

1992: Born and raised in Atlanta. Got into music around 7 rapping to 50 cent.

2006: Started taking seriously around 14 and making beats. Began by learning any instrument he could get his hands on – guitar, keyboard, ukulele – and making music in his basement.

Started writing songs with his friend and in high school got matched up with the kid known as the school rapper.

2011: made a music video with Bugus and began spamming all the major music blogs for press. Eventually MTV picked it up and they appeared on the “Get in the Game” segment.

2011–2014: Released his first track at 18 and founded his own collective and label in 2011. Self-produced and self-mixed 11 projects leading to a 300 person sold-out show in Belgium in 2014. He still felt like this wasn’t his big break

2014: Started putting out a song a week on Soundcloud to gain more exposure and produce more content.

2016: after almost 3 years of pushing free content on SoundCloud Russ gets his big break

2020: Over a decade later the artist has self-produced and mixed 11 albums, 87 songs, numerous Billboard hot 100 hits, started his own collective, his own label and is a tour de force taking the music industry by storm.

KOTA (@KOTATheFriend)

1992: Born and raised in downtown Brooklyn and at a young age exposed to hip hop, R&B, jazz and soul of the infamous 90s era.

2000: At 8 years old joined his school’s music program and became a Rockstar trumpeter.

Fast forward to high school and KOTA is the leader of the trumpet section while also teaching himself the piano and guitar, funding his music aspirations by working 2 jobs.

2016: Found himself in a dead-end job washing dishes just blocks from his home. He saved up enough cash to purchase a camera and got back into the music game as a videographer.

2017: Realizing he had no money and in his words “nothing at all”, the birth of his son is what sparked his true musical revolution. He decided to put down the camera and pick up the mic.

2018: Started pushing out content – people caught on and he began growing organically. KOTA’s ability to naturally connect with his fans in a quality and meaningful way via social media platforms is the bread and butter of his music career.

2020: Fresh off a #1 Album earlier this year, KOTA has no plans on slowing down. In just 2 short years, he’s beginning to make a name for himself with top tracks and albums and the launch of his own company FLTBYS (Flight Boys) dedicated to providing non-recoupable funds, marketing and distribution resources to aspiring independent musicians-a complete 180 from any other major music label today.

If you’ve stuck with me this long, I’m proud of you.

You’re a champ.

In short, I see independent artists vibing and THRIVING in the next 5 years. I’ll be so bold to call it the Silicon Valley of music, a much-needed renaissance and innovation in the industry.

pop culture
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About the Creator

Chrissy Garcia

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