Is it really necessary to sign for a record label before you have a successful music career is one question that a budding musician asks himself. This question becomes a constraint, and his next path depends on the answer he gives himself or herself. There is a big misconception that a musician can only reach the height he or she wishes if he is signed to one record label or the other. However, this isn’t entirely true. An example is the career of Chance the Rapper, who has been an independent artist for as long as I can tell. There are so many other examples like Joey Bada$$ and Nipsey Hussle who have gone the independent route and gained respect from others in the music industry.
How can build my career without a record label?
Gone are the days when making and distributing music was a hard shell to crack, and people had little luck of reaching a larger audience without a record label. Now, the internet and technological advancements have made things very simple and made communication with the world easier. Now from the comfort of your home, anyone can set up a studio, record your song, and distribute it to the far ends of the world. The following are a few tips that would be useful to anyone who is considering building a career without having to sign with any record label.
Social media
We are in times where social media acts as the influencer of almost anything and music is not left out. You would agree with me that most artists would not have the fame they have now if social media didn’t exist. For an artist wanting to grow independently, the likes of Instagram, twitter, Tik-Tok and so many other platforms should be your friend and ensure that you go on that content creation rampage like the Bieber’s Peaches challenge on Tik-Tok, Erica Banks Buss it challenge and Coi Leray’s #megankneeschallenge.
Production software and tools
Getting to understand your way around using production software and tools or digital Audio Workstation (DAW) would improve your chances of building a musical career without having to sign a record deal. There are so many types of software to choose from, a good understanding of the one you decide to choose would help create amazing sounds for your music. Examples are Bitwig Studio, FL Studio, Magix Acid Pro, and Propellerhead Reason just to mention a few.
Distribution platforms
Get familiar with the different distribution platforms and how they work. Through my research, you should check out the likes of DistroKid, TuneCore, and Landr. These platforms help in distributing your music on the different streaming platforms there are, which in turn exposes your songs to a wide range of listeners.
Networking
It is important that you go out of your comfort zone and meet with people who either have the same interest as you do or have a larger following than you do. In doing so, you expose your music to a much larger fan base than you already did. No one is an island on his own, so ensure that you have people in your corner who understand your drive and wish to help label or no label.
Conclusion
It is important to note that most record labels in recent years have signed artists who are just coming off a recent successful single. In simple words, they look out for artists who have gone about releasing songs that did well without a label. This is to say that even if you have the ambition to get signed, starting as an independent artist would aid in quick recognition from record labels around you.
