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Can independent artists ever fix this mess?

Sapphire

Sapphire

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    I often wonder about this. There are a lot of talented independent artists out there without a label. They show a label doesn't mean shit today but at the same time, that label is able to pool the strings and push you to the top behind backdoors.

    I feel like music as a whole can be uplifted, refreshed, and renewed and hit a high again where creativity and talent take a front seat and everything else steps down. The only way this can happen is if people stop supporting record labels and stop giving them the time, money, and attention that keeps them around. It is no secret they screw over artists. They take HUGE cuts of money for the music and so many people are just okay with this.

    Something needs to change, that is for sure.
     
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    Mastamind

    Mastamind

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    You're talking about an empire (the big three) that have so much control over the production, distribution, and how we consume music in the first place. A good semi tin foil take that a guy on Twitter had was that as children the people growing up in the eighties listened to what their parents listened to, now they start off with music for children, then Disney and so on. The music industry's prime objective is to maximize profit, and making real good music is very, very expensive.

    As far as the independent artists are concerned, you're trying to access a pool of consumers that one way or another already have their minds made up. Right now the trap/cloud sound is running the game, if you don't have that you need a cosign of a legend(Drake and Nicki with Wayne, Cole with Jay Z, Gunna with Young Thug(Wayne), and Kendrick with Dre). A lot of independent artists mimick these sounds because it's what's hot, some like Griselda, Gibbs, and The sLUms etc. have managed to carve out a niche audience, but breaking through they have to commercialize their sound.

    To abandon the big three's grip on the industry you have to go beyond music, and that's an entirely different conversation that may be controversial. The entire entertainment industry is parasitic and shady as hell...not to mention unbelievably fake and manufactured. But as long as poverty exists people are going to take those shitty contracts, because for one they don't know any better, and for two they'd do anything to escape their reality. I know it sounds corny but to change things within the music industry we have to change the environment and things that cause them to be the way it is in the first place. Having everyone wake up and stop supporting them is an idealistic pipe dream.
     
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    Sapphire

    Sapphire

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    Mastamind said:
    You're talking about an empire (the big three) that have so much control over the production, distribution, and how we consume music in the first place. A good semi tin foil take that a guy on Twitter had was that as children the people growing up in the eighties listened to what their parents listened to, now they start off with music for children, then Disney and so on. The music industry's prime objective is to maximize profit, and making real good music is very, very expensive.

    As far as the independent artists are concerned, you're trying to access a pool of consumers that one way or another already have their minds made up. Right now the trap/cloud sound is running the game, if you don't have that you need a cosign of a legend(Drake and Nicki with Wayne, Cole with Jay Z, Gunna with Young Thug(Wayne), and Kendrick with Dre). A lot of independent artists mimick these sounds because it's what's hot, some like Griselda, Gibbs, and The sLUms etc. have managed to carve out a niche audience, but breaking through they have to commercialize their sound.

    To abandon the big three's grip on the industry you have to go beyond music, and that's an entirely different conversation that may be controversial. The entire entertainment industry is parasitic and shady as hell...not to mention unbelievably fake and manufactured. But as long as poverty exists people are going to take those shitty contracts, because for one they don't know any better, and for two they'd do anything to escape their reality. I know it sounds corny but to change things within the music industry we have to change the environment and things that cause them to be the way it is in the first place. Having everyone wake up and stop supporting them is an idealistic pipe dream.
    Click to expand...
    Damn, a lot of hard truths here. I appreciate the reply. It is so sad what has become of music. Everything is fake. I remember when I started seeing ads within music videos. Like they got that greedy they were having artists show off branding right there in the music videos. I heard of some pretty shitty contracts too. Like where the record makes damn near 90% of everything.
     
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    ART

    ART

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    Sapphire said:
    Damn, a lot of hard truths here. I appreciate the reply. It is so sad what has become of music. Everything is fake. I remember when I started seeing ads within music videos. Like they got that greedy they were having artists show off branding right there in the music videos. I heard of some pretty shitty contracts too. Like where the record makes damn near 90% of everything.
    Click to expand...
    Beats by Dre, now owned by Apple, is the biggest offender of this. Those damn headphones have been featured in countless music videos for as long as they've been in existence. Over 10 years later, they are still featuring Beats by Dre headphones in music videos. Shameless advertising.
     
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    Sapphire

    Sapphire

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    ART said:
    Beats by Dre, now owned by Apple, is the biggest offender of this. Those damn headphones have been featured in countless music videos for as long as they've been in existence. Over 10 years later, they are still featuring Beats by Dre headphones in music videos. Shameless advertising.
    Click to expand...
    I stopped buying Beats products when Dre sold it. It is not only no longer black-owned but the quality took a MASSIVE hit in my experience. The prices seem to be creeping up as per Apple's usual game.
     
    Devin

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    This is an excellent question that I would love to share my opinion on. So, I've noticed over the years that music has gone downhill. Artists are no longer original and are only trying to follow a hit. If one artist creates something and it becomes popular, another artist is going to do something similar. I'm not sure that anything will ever change, even with independent artists. It's unfortunate that there are slim to no independent recording stations for all these independent artists. I'm sure they could make a ton of money if someone was to open a recording station for these artists though.