“This is independence” were the words of Skepta after he won the 2016 Mercury Prize; the first ever independent artist to do so. His rise is the sign of a movement of increasingly successful independent artists showing that in the modern music industry you no longer have to get a record deal to make it.
Historically, it has been record companies with their contacts and financial clout that have been able to shine a light on artists and effectively ‘create’ an audience for themselves. However, “The rise of the internet, social media and streaming means (independent) artists can now break the scene” says Saquib Butt, the Social Media Manager and A&R at GRM daily. Working with a record company does provide some advantages: it will often be able to create a team around you a lot quicker than if you build it up over time as an independent artist and you will be able to get prestigious appearances at festivals or tour support slots. Despite this, many artists are now choosing to forge their own paths due to such negatives as having to sign away rights to their songs and only potentially be earning 10% -15% in royalties.
Whether it’s down to the moral concerns of the commercialisation of music, or the desire to have full control over their music, more and more artists are choosing to build their brand independently through many years of hard work. This has seen record companies adapting their business models to sign some independent artists. An example of this is Universal who created ‘54 London’ to sign Stefflon Don, a move which saw Stefflon keep all the rights to her music but sign a publishing deal with Universal. Butt’s view on the matter is; “They have to be fairer to them because they know artists can do it without them.”
The rise of independent music seems set to continue with successful independent artists often supporting other independent artists and giving them help to show solidarity. Jon Gomm opened up support slots on his UK tour to local independent artists and Skepta took independent grime artists Krept and Konan on tour with him. It is their belief that using their success they can shine a light on the independent successes of the future.