Before you get signed with a music label for a multi-year contract, you should read this first.
There’s a bad M-word in music: multi-year contracts. Not always. But you should tread carefully. Here’s why
You often pay back promotion costs if your songs do not perform
When an artist signs a long deal with a music label, the label takes a hit upfront by investing in marketing and growth for the artist. That means they’ll usually strike a deal including a big advance that often needs to be repaid by the artist if the tracks don’t perform as expected. It gives the record label a massive amount of leverage, and has led to artists big and small saying they may seem like a good deal at the time – but they’re simply downright exploitative.
Record labels care more about their profit than your pace
The more money is involved, the more pressure is involved, as labels and investors squeeze as much profit as they can from the artist. Trying to merge a complex business dynamic (the vested interests of the music label) with the creative process of artists (who often just want to create on their own terms) is so difficult that it often just doesn’t work out. And that’s okay, because it never has to be this way in the first place. At all.
Creative people of all walks of life often do their very best work when they can define their own terms instead of being forced to work to schedules that are optimized for profit over creativity. The creative process should be defined by the artist. So what’s the answer?
The solution? Spread the risk with smaller investors or projects
Spread the risk, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket. By removing barriers to investing and taking smaller investments from a wider pool, each investor has less to theoretically lose and are more likely to accept more risk. Or handle the risk on a project-by-project basis, by seeking investment for each new release or idea at a time, rather than agreeing a bundle deal that may be lucrative in theory but impossible to put into practice. Those are two ways to give the artist more leverage when funding their future.
Distribute your music by offering fractions to fans and investors alike, and a self-made success story could be on the horizon. You dictate the drop date. You dictate how much to sell. We help you get invested. Get started and launch your first offering on Nebula in minutes.
Where can I find more information on the nebula platform? https://nebu.la/faq