What Chance The Rapper has taught us
Chance The Rapper is an essential figure in the current music scene, although there is a detail in his career that sets him apart from other artists. His first released album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, he has millions of reproductions on streaming platforms and his name appears in very big letters in the lineups of the most important festivals in the world, and yet everything he’s ever released has been free. He has never gotten signed to a record label deal!
So, the question seems inevitable. Do we need a record label to release our music nowadays? There are those who continue to defend the need to sign with a record label and there are those who categorically affirm that today that is not at all necessary. Which of them is right? Well, very probably both positions offer valid arguments.
Until the moment when the internet exploded and changed the music industry forever, record labels were a dominant force. However, after the appearance of the MP3 that allowed music files to be compressed to a share-able size, and then Napster came out, artists were freed from dependence on record labels, and many of them started marketing and distributing their music independently through social media and streaming platforms at a much lower cost.
Technologies such as peer-to-peer file sharing, torrents and sites such as Spotify, SoundCloud or YouTube reinvented how media was shared and distributed, including music. It made the distribution of content more efficient, but also reduced the demand for physical products. And while all that happened, record sales fell apart and the industry lost tons of money. So times have changed and there is no longer a single way of doing things. This means that every individual has now enough tools at their fingertips to boost their music, but it also means that the music industry has become much more complex to understand.
The role of record labels in the music industry has lost relevance, and although their work continues to be to represent and exploit the master recordings, they are more focused on the marketing and physical production of the music. And because sales of recorded music aren't as robust as they were years ago, record labels are now trying to get money out of artists digital sales, live performances, songwriting, merchandise, and a long etcetera in what the industry knows as 360 deals. Nevertheless, they still have to curate great music, but their involvement is more essential on the marketing and promotional side than anywhere else. They have the power to make this happen securing feature placements on iTunes, including songs in Spotify playlists and guaranteeing press coverage on blogs, magazines and radio stations. Not to forget their team of experts connecting the dots between fields (marketing, distribution,...) freeing the artists to help them focus only on getting into the studio and recording music. And that’s where the difference is made.
However, with good music, grit and an understanding of the internet, anyone can build a core audience of super fans to sustain one-self, or to leverage for deals and get signed to a record label.
Chance The Rapper (Chicago, 1993) is the perfect example of being independent. Rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and activist, the American artist has done it all in his career without the help of a label using just savvy promotion and self management. He released his debut mixtape at the age of 19 and he began to gain mainstream recognition shortly after releasing his second one (Acid Rap) which gained critical praise. With the release of his third mixtape in 2016 (Coloring Book) he garnered further critical acclaim and attention and won three Grammy Awards, including the award for Best Rap Album becoming the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award. In 2019 Chance The Rapper released his debut studio album (The Big Day). Not bad for someone whose teachers from High School ridiculed his aspirations to become a musician.
So if you do not find a record label to get signed to, and I would say more, if you do not find one interested in your music that also understand you and you feel comfortable working with, there are many other options to continue your musical career. Chance The Rapper may end up getting signed to a record label, but up until now he is the proof (and he is not the only one), that it is possible to achieve success without having signed any deal.
Cover photograph by Mamadi Doumbouya
