Independent artists were already growing prior to Covid-19, generating more than $643 million in 2018, a 35% jump from the year before. However, Covid-19 has levelled the playing field. It has pushed more people online for longer, generating a hungry audience who want to hear unique music. As the CEO of TuneCore, suggests “We have a large audience of young people out there who want to listen to new material.”
Not only this, the isolation aspect of Covid-19 made it harder for all artists, big label or independent, to access recording equipment, collaborate and promote their music. This removed the big label’s advantage and created an opportunity that independent artists’ have eagerly taken advantage of.
The newfound reliance on technology has diverted the focus away from antiquated big label platforms, opening a window for independent artists. Indeed, user uploads on the streaming site Amuse increased 300% year-on-year in March 2020, and this is only set to rise even further. New technology has allowed more and more streaming sites to be developed where artists can instantly share their work with the world, such as: Ditto, TuneCore, UnitedMasters, and CD Baby. Artists can now stream to millions and generate a livelihood, whilst also maintaining control over their music and the message it generates. This has led major label’s deal models to look out of date with the modern music industry, as more independent artists gain global success.
This new landscape has opened up a alternative way of doing business and created new players in the process. Signing with a label is no longer the only option for artists and it might even have become the least attractive one.
Another positive side-effect is that less mainstream genres, like grime, are now gaining more recognition. Arlo Parks argues that independent artists are “destroying the concept of genre” by breaking down the barriers created by big record labels. Instead of the previous segmentation, independent artists want to help connect people and create music outside of the socio-political restraints of big labels.
Covid-19 has shaken up the music industry for good, and the rise of independent artists has caused the definition of success within the industry to change. People no longer want commercial over-produced albums. The demand has shifted towards a genuine passion for music, and this comes across strongest when artists’ narrate and own the story they produce.