The Dynamic Between Music Industry and Artists
by Alp Yücel
The music industry is one of the most expensive and popular industries that has been present in the market. With global revenue of 9.8 billion dollars, astronomic values are spent by record labels for signing artists and contracts. Artists releasing new music and deciding how their new music will be is not a simple process. It is a process lying on many factors such as mainstream media and profit.
Record Labels reach out to artists when the artist’s music in a genre becomes popular. After artists sign with record labels, one's profit is the others; the artist’s achievements -awards and streaming numbers- will determine the label’s achievements. So, record labels start to demand the music that the artist can make a profit with. With the desire for success, record labels start interfering with the artist’s own musical experiments and impose artists on releasing only mainstream music that will make them profit.
To exemplify, the conflict between synthpop duo MGMT and Columbia Records in 2010 is a great case to study.
After releasing radio-friendly hits like ‘Kids’, ‘Time To Pretend’, and ‘Electric Feel’ on their debut album ‘Oracular Spectacular’, MGMT decided on a sharp turn in their progressing discography. Andrew Vanwyngarden and Ben Goldwasser’s 2010 album ‘Congratulations’ received apprehensive reactions from Columbia Records before releasing the album. By stating a big wave of goodbye with frenzied psychedelic surf-rock accompanied by new wave sounds, MGMT shocked both their labels and their fans. Songs like ‘Flash Delirium’ and ‘Brian Eno’ left no mark of the Electropop that led MGMT to the top 10 of Billboard Hot 100. This lead Columbia Records to delay the album’s release for months. After the grueling releasing process, MGMT’s second studio album got all kinds of reactions- as expected.
My personal opinion is that record labels interfering with an artist’s work is unethical. Yes, record labels seek to make a profit, but what they profit from is not intentioned to make money from. Music was and still is a way to express something, it is not similar to other industries like automotive or defense. I think that the mainstream music industry shouldn’t push artist to continue their careers independently- indie. Yes, with the way our World has shaped, music is being also used as something to be consumed, listened, by listeners but the production of a record is not the label’s work, it is the artist’s work. Record label’s just record and it, the creation and ideas all belong to the artist and artist’s choices. Interfering with the creator is nothing but an unethical act by record labels towards to artists which they exist for.
The increase in demand for mainstream music in the past years has made ‘indie’ music grow and independent record labels such as Mexican Summer, Captured Tracks, and Drag City to rise in the music industry. For now, the best way for supporting productions without any interference is streaming from Bandcamp, which obviously can not compete with streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
These conflicts do not only happen to artists who produce obscure music, even mainstream artists experience conflicts with their producers. To explore further examples about this topic, you can check out articles on the Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift conflict. Go check it out if you're interested.