Record labels - Topics

How a 360 deal takes a cut of everything an artist earns A label's real job is funding and marketing not just pressing records What a typical record royalty rate works out to per stream Why labels own your masters and what that means when you leave Why artists are warned never to sign a deal without their own lawyer A&R scouts still decide which new artists get a shot Most signed artists never recoup their advance and here is why How labels decide which new signee gets a real promotional budget How many albums you must sell before a label breaks even on you Discogs entries for obscure pressings are more reliable than label websites How advances work and why they feel like free money until they aren't Do record labels still matter now that anyone can upload music Indie labels often give artists a bigger cut and more creative control Physical distribution of vinyl and CDs is a totally separate business A pop star's second album is usually where the label stops letting them experiment Pre-release rollouts build hype long before the album drops Why do labels still own the master recordings they paid for How the CD crash of the 2000s reshaped the whole record industry The big three labels own or distribute almost every act you stream Who gets top billing when two big names feature together Signing to a major versus staying independent is a lifetime decision Why only three major labels control most of the global music market Small labels break artists that the majors later poach