Why You May Need a Record Deal

Monday July 13, 2009

With the exception of a short stint at Sam Goody's when I was in the 10th grade, I've always chosen to work with independent music. I have to point this out because I increasingly find myself in the strange position of encouraging indie musicians to think about the ways in which they actually can't do it all themselves. That's not because I don't believe in DIY - I do. It's just that DIY has always been more a case of doing-it-with-a-small-group-of-likeminded-people rather than actually doing it ALL yourself. It's very fashionable right now to suggest that musicians don't need ANYONE to help them reach their audiences. Labels have been sucking them dry for years, goes the thinking, and now the tools are there for musicians to break free from the chains of the industry and strike out on their own. That's true. The tools are there. This is absolutely the right choice for some musicians.

The thing is, it's the right choice except when it's not. A2IM recently shared the statistic that 105,000 albums were released last year, but only 6,000 sold over 1,000 copies (via hypebot). Although a number of factors could be in play there, one of them is certainly that a lot of records were released by people who had no idea what to do with them. I know this is true. I know some of those people. Just because the tools are there doesn't mean everyone knows how to use them. The music industry is a business, and just like any business, to be successful, you need to understand the industry, know your strengths and weaknesses, and know which work to delegate and which to do yourself. If you are serious about making a living as a musician, then you need to be honest with yourself about what you may need help with and how much time you are willing and able to invest in the great amount of work required to really give a release the best shot possible. Consider the following gentle reality checks:

Although the story gets tons of coverage when an artist achieves a major success outside the traditional industry structure, the number of musicians who actually make this happen is very, very small compared to the number of musicians who are trying to make that happen. Ask the millions of musicians promoting online at your social networking site of choice.
It's easy for Trent Reznor to tell you that you don't need any label help. He's Trent Reznor. He's got a fanbase. He's already made lots of money from selling the records he's released through labels.
Drake? Really? I know his song (which I love, and I'm not ashamed to admit it) became HUGE before he had a record deal. He was also working closely with Lil Wayne and had a main role on a tremendously successful and long running Canadian teen show. Unless your name is Zack Morris or A.C. Slater, Drake's case doesn't really apply.
Not all record labels are working on an outdated business model and are run by people who don't know anything about music. Tons of independent labels are run by music lovers who have been doing 50/50 deals and the like with their artists for years. They work hard because they believe in their artists, while taking some of the financial burden off of them and handling the business so the musicians can make new music. It's not all a bad thing. Plus, while some label business models are outdated, the general work they do to release a record is not. Someone still has to do it.
If your work pays off, even if you start out doing it all yourself, you will come to a point where there is just too much for you to do without some help. Success is busy.

Here's the bottom line. You can release your own music and be wildly successful at it. That doesn't mean it's the choice for everyone. Drown out the background noise, evaluate your goals, and determine what you're good at, what you're not good at, and how you can make up for the less that perfect parts. The real freedom in this "new" music industry is not that you don't need any help anymore ever - it's that you have the flexibility to build the team you need and want.