Indie VS Major Labels | Wendy Day Discusses Pros and Cons

Hey everybody, so today let's talk about a major record label versus an independent record label. Um, a major label is a label that is distributed through either Sony Distribution, Warner Brothers Distribution, or Universal Distribution. So Epic Records would be an example of a major label. Def Jam is another example of a major label. Atlantic is an example of a major label. These are record companies that are very well financed and have a lot of artists signed to them in many different genres. So they may put out rap, classical, jazz, country, gospel, pop, they may— rock. They may put out, um, a ton of different types of music, but they'll have departments that are unique to each genre. So for example, at a major label, um, The urban department is what's going to put out the rap and R&B music. The pop department is going to work on the pop music. The rock department is going to work on rock, etc., etc. Um, in addition to major record labels, there are also independent record labels, and an independent record label is one that is not distributed through a major label. Now, to make it a little confusing, each major label has its own independent source of distribution because they don't want to not make money off of the independents. So they have offered distribution. Warner Brothers has ADA, Sony has RED Distribution, and Universal has Caroline and Capitol as their independent distribution arms. So you can be an independent label and sign a distribution deal with Red Distribution but still not be considered a major label, even though you're coming through Sony's distribution arm. I know that gets a little confusing, but an independent label is a label that is funded, um, either by an investor or the artist themselves. And great examples of this would be Strange Music in Kansas City. They're an independent label. They have Tech N9ne, um, and Ritz and a bunch of other artists. Um, Chance the Rapper in Chicago is independent. Let's see who else. Um, Macklemore and Ryan in, um, Seattle, they're independent. Think It's a Game, which is based in Atlanta, they have Rich Homie Quan and YFN Lucci. They're independent. Independent labels are self-financed, again, either through the owner of the label or through an investor that invests in the label, and then they maintain their independent distribution. Um, InGrooves distributes, um, uh, Tech N9ne. Brain fart. InGrooves They were, you know, Fontana was the independent arm of Universal, and Fontana was purchased by Ingrooves, and they distribute Tex label Strange Music. Think It's a Game is distributed by Empire in the Bay Area. In fact, a lot of labels are distributed by Empire in the Bay Area. They're kind of the new independent go-to distributor. But the reason that you would want to sign to either an independent or a major is gonna play a role in the outcome of your career and your goals. If you have no funding at all and you have no understanding of the music business and how it works, and if there's nobody on your team that's entrepreneurial, then your best bet is to sign to a major record label. If you're a pop artist and you want to be a superstar like in— like Drake or Justin Bieber, your best bet is to sign to a major label because they've got the pipeline to get you to that level of success, and they've got the funding that it's going to take. It's going to take millions and millions of dollars to build you as a pop artist. That doesn't mean you can't come out in Independently first and show the world what you're able to do and build enough leverage that when you sign to a major label, you get an amazing deal. It just means that in order to become like an Ariana Grande or Katy Perry or any pop star, you're gonna need to have some strong funding and a team of people that can get you onto pop radio and people that, you know, have done it before. They can get you onto the morning shows and the, you know, the Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel type shows, the late night talk shows. The major labels have the ability to do that quite easily, and it's a little bit more of a struggle for an independent. But the difference between the two is that when you sign to a major label, they have a lot of artists that are signed to them, and they're, and they're big. They're, you know, they're like a, they're like a cruise ship, if you will. And an independent label is like a jet ski. And if your goal is to go across the ocean, you're going to want to take an ocean liner or a cruise ship. You're not going to want to do that on a jet ski. It— you may not get there, you're probably going to run out of fuel, and it's just not safe. It's, it's, you know, you're going to get rocked by the waves, and it's, it's a little treacherous. Um, but then on the flip side, if you you're just tooting around in an area and you want to make a turn on a jet ski, you can make a turn very easily and very quickly. With a cruise ship, it takes a lot more effort to make a turn, and it takes a longer time to stop. So with a major label, if you put out a record and it doesn't react the way you had hoped, on a major it's going to be very hard to get another version of that record or a follow-up into the marketplace, you almost have to work it through as far as you were planning to take it because the system is too big to stop or to change. At an indie label, you can test records very easily. You can put something into the marketplace, and if it's not reacting, the next day you can put another record into the marketplace and test that one and see if it reacts. So it's, it's, it's a little bit easier to maneuver and to make changes and to react to fads and stuff. Um, with a major label, if you wanted to take advantage of, um, one person releasing a song about a topic and you wanted to put out an answer record, or you wanted to put out a response— maybe you didn't agree with the direction that, that their their statement and the record was going. If you're signed to an independent, you can put out a response record immediately and, and, and put the marketing and promotion behind it to get it popping pretty quickly. With a major label, it's really hard to do that because their system and their pipeline is so cluttered that it may take 6 months to put out an answer record. And by that point in time, the person who made the original record and the fans are probably on to whatever the next thing is. Independent labels usually have less money than a major label. Most independent labels don't give advances to their artists, living advances for them to live on while they're recording and promoting their music. Most independent labels would rather put those funds into working the record, building the artist's career. At a major label, you're going to be able to get an advance. So that as you're waiting for your music to come out or for your career to take off, you can actually survive and live life. You know, you've got a little bit of money there. With an independent, you're going to have more control. You're going to be able to talk to the owner of the label directly and build with him or her about the direction that you feel your music should take, whereas with a major label there are 10 or 12 different departments that are involved in your music, and they're going to work your music based on what they think is right. They're not going to take a risk on losing money because they've been doing this for so long and they've got their system in place and their, and their blueprint. At a major label, you may be shelved for a while before you come out because there are other artists that were signed before you or even after you, but the response to their music in the marketplace is bigger than yours. So you could end up sitting on a label for a few years waiting for your first album to come out. You may wait another couple of years for your next album to come out. The downside of this is that's how you make money. When your music is in the marketplace and you're hot at the moment, then you can do tours, you can sell merchandise, you can get features. There's ways that you can make money. When you're shelved at a label, at a major label, it's very difficult for you to make money because people either don't know who you are, they've forgotten about you. So you really need to figure out what tools you have to use yourself and then figure what's best to achieve your goals. Is it a major label or is it an independent label? But these things absolutely have to be taken into consideration you know, before you decide how you want to proceed with your career. The last thing you want to do is sign to a major label and be stuck in a 7-year contract if an independent label is more your speed. And on the flip side, you don't want to sign to an independent label and be tied up there for 7 years, 5 to 7 years, and they don't have the money to properly promote and market you. It can destroy your career. So you've got to really decide what's best for you, what your goals are, and which aspect of the music industry is best for your— best suited for your personality. Um, for somebody like myself, I would do poorly on a major label because I want to be able to be in control of what I do and how I do it. And major labels are very skilled at what they do, And the last thing they'd want to hear from somebody like myself is input. They're going to want to just do what they do best, and they're going to fit me into whatever lane is available at the time. And I'm much more entrepreneurial, and I'm much more of a do-it-yourselfer that I would just be kind of miserable in that kind of environment. So take stock of yourself, do some more research. This is not the ending point of getting a deal. This is the beginning point. Do the research. Find out all the pros and cons of signing to an independent label, all the pros and cons of signing to a major label. Um, I wrote a book called How to Get a Record Deal that illustrates, you know, 10 or 12 chapters of stuff that you need to take into consideration. Talk to independent artists. Talk to artists signed to major labels. Google, get information, talk to people that work at each kind of label and find out, you know, what they feel are the pros and cons. Do the research, and then once you get to a point where you've got enough of a buzz in your own marketplace, you're going to be able to decide what's best for you, and you're going to be more in control of your career. And that's how you build a successful career.