The Goo 1
MAR-APR 24 The battle between artistic fulfilment
and the success rate is a fine line that should be somewhat differentiated, as holding your music to a certain worth is imperative for creative gratification, but this can also stunt musical growth due to the sluggish wait times associated with formative labels and pressing plants. Although a number of choice labels choose to release quite frequently, this too can be a danger as artists can get lost in the midst of successive releases on the imprint. This is where grass-roots labels flourish, as they can offer a person-specific release plan and schedule that is centred around the artist, without compromising their fundamental ethos. Ireland has been a frontrunner in the unconstrained releasing of high-quality & measurable club music, as artists such as KETTAMA, Tommy Holohan, Shee, Mark Blair and more have been championing this bohemian style of music releasing. While many of these artists have since gone on to release with established labels, their careers are still very much rooted within the art of independence and continue to use this approach as a more engaged and panoramic attitude to connecting with fans. Selfreleasing allows artists to build an identity around their music and grants listeners the opportunity to buy into their world of creativity which fundamentally separates them from the ensemble of artists trying to flog their music in the traditional fashion. Digital music consumption has largely reduced music to a numbers game, with streaming data shaping perceptions of who or what is popular. The relationship between a label’s identity and its ability to provide these much-needed streaming hits appears to be a little hazy, as self-released tracks frequently outperform tracks released through established imprints, resulting in more relative engagement for artists with a more self-sufficient approach. Take cassö, RAYE, and D-Block Europe‘s huge single, Prada, which was the second most played track on Soundcloud in 2023 with 23.4 million streams. In May 2023, cassö’s TikTok upload of an unauthorised remix of “Ferrari Horses” went viral, gaining significant attention. The single was then formally released months later, however, the excitement began with the artist making and distributing the track on his own, quickly achieving cult status due solely to social media hype. Music royalties in today’s music industry may not always reflect the success of an album, EP, or track. Although physical music sales continue to climb, they will never approach the heights of previous years, and it is clear that artists will rarely utilize music sales as a concrete source of cash. With more music being published than ever before, it is practically impossible for any musician who is not in the upper echelons of the music industry to make a decent salary since the primary streaming platforms’ business structures favour stars over everyone else. This begs the question: if the market’s structure is stacked against emerging artists, why would they share their pennies with labels? The continual rise of Bandcamp has made self-releasing easier than ever before as the platform provides a direct-to-consumer marketplace for artists and labels to sell physical LPs, merch, and digital downloads. Its straight-tothe-point interface and ethos have made it perfectly viable for artists to make a living off the site while just selling their music. The space has carved out a radical home for artists who choose to do things their way, and for producers who may want to earn money without gigging. Sensible? Yes. Labels have traditionally been the most effective means to get your music heard by a larger audience, and in the perspective of many DJs, the greatest way to get your music into the hands of the proper selectors and yes, this is still true. Many DJs readily share their email addresses with producers in order to submit music, and many others check their SoundCloud messages on a regular basis; while this may be time-consuming for artists, it reduces the need for distributors, particularly with digital releases. It’s clear that distributing music through labels has advantages. It certainly helps introduce artists to larger audiences while also saving costs on promotion, artwork, and mastering, but all of these benefits can also be attributed to releasing independently, and the once-fabled benefits of releasing with a label are fading as artists take matters into their own hands. It can be painstakingly difficult to communicate a certain artistic notion to others, as an independent, you won’t have to worry about anybody else’s perspective or vision getting in the way. Releasing music is easier than ever, and doing it your way has never been simpler Follow Four Four Mag here for more updates: PAGE 33