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The music industry is rapidly changing. The techn
ical emergence of streaming services has made every song, ever written, instantly available to anyone with an internet connection. But even though technology has fundamentally changed how we create and consume music, the power structures in the music industry still remains the same. In 2017, only 20 percent of the revenues from global music streaming went to the independent music sector. The other 80 percent went to three giant record labels (Music Business Worldwide). It is a fact that the music industry needs to become more diverse. However, equality and diversity is not only about gender and ethnicity, it is also about creation and ownership. For music innovation to thrive, status quo needs to be challenged. We believe that independent artists, whose creative freedom is not restricted by return on investment demands and the pursuit of “hits”, could be the driving force behind this change. Therefore, for the sake of music diversity, we must shift the power into the hands where it belongs: the artists themselves. Because how healthy can it be for a creative industry - and music as an art form - when the vast majority of it is being controlled by three commercial companies? Record Union has helped independent artists to release their music to the world for more than a decade. By providing digital music distribution, we are aiming at strengthening the independent community and making the music industry more democratic, accessible and transparent for the many, not just the few. If we can let artists succeed while staying in full control of their creative expression and their rights, we believe that more artists would be independent by choice.