A record label is a company that manufactures, distributes and promotes the work of musicians involved with the company. Many music artists today are signed to one. There are various types of labels, but independent labels are the most important since they operate without affiliation with other companies.
While difficult, it is not impossible for an independent artist to succeed without a label. According to Disctopia, methods such as collaboration with other artists near them and proper branding can help an artist succeed without a label. With access to the internet and music streaming services, it is easier for artists to succeed independently in a label-dominated industry. Streaming services, such as Soundcloud and YouTube Music, also open the door for independent artists to release their own music to consumers with ease. Signing to a label, however, will help artists succeed at a higher level.
With the help of record labels, musicians are often given the opportunity to improve their art and create better content. Planetary Group reported that labels provide their signed artists with marketing teams, press teams, radio plugs and accounting services. The artist’s job is to create the music while the label does the rest to help the artist achieve success. Things commonly expensive to obtain for individuals are given to signed musicians with the snap of a finger. The vast high-quality resources label companies can provide their artists greatly outweigh the benefits of going solo without a label.
According to Exploration.io, signed artists are given the resources to mass produce their music, but they do not control when the music is released and do not get to keep all the profits the song generates. Independent artists, however, can release their own music as they desire, along with having the ability to keep the revenue produced from their songs, but they lack the marketability of signed artists. Despite these factors and the tradeoffs that come with them, the assets a label company provides outweigh the pros of going independent as a musician.
Ultimately, the decision to go signed or unsigned is up to the artists and their musical goals, though it may be best to sign with a label. If an artist wants to travel around the world and perform their music on tours for half the year, it may be better for them to be signed to a record label. If an artist is aiming to produce their own music for neither profit nor fame but for their own pleasure, staying independent is probably the best route. No career path for musicians is necessarily the wrong answer, but aiming for a label signing will benefit artists more in the long run, whether they want to be famous for their music, or not.