Change in community of

Hip-Hop Artists turning to Indies

By Beatrice Davis

In the past, signing to a major label used to be the highlight of every recording artist. They knew it would bring the career they were seeking. However, that is not the case any longer, especially with the constant changes in the music industry. Many artists have been let go by major label, or they chose to leave and turn towards indie labels to further their careers.

This trend is mostly seen with high-profile artists in the hip-hop scene. It seems that the artists have more freedom in their choice of exposure, and individuality. Today, most of the indie labels have the same access to marketing and public relations as their major competitors. Indie labels however, can give the artist more attention and a more direct focus on their needs and exposure with less money spent.

Most of the major hip-hop acts have established a huge fan base over the period of their career with the major, which gives them a better base in their future career with the indie label. Artists such as DMX left Def Jam to be signed to Bodog Records. Mos Deff left Geffen for a small but still lucrative deal with Downtown Records. For the indie labels that means spending less money, since these artists already have been established by the big labels and don’t need any major development, marketing and public relations budgets.

For the fans, it doesn’t matter where their favorite artists is signed to, as long as they have the knowledge that a new album will be released and the music will be available in an even shorter release period. While the actual CD sales for Indie is still not compatible with the majors, most of the money now made by indies is by downloads and available videos on the net.

Are the indie labels worried about the fan base? For sure this is not the case, since the artist has much more freedom to express his talent and more money goes into that performer’s pocket.