James Blake has revealed how he releases music without a major label using a platform that gives at least 50 percent of royalties to artists.
Blake has been a prominent voice in rising discussions surrounding major record labels, the streaming industry, and low payouts to musicians. Last year, he left the major label system and went on a mission to find the best ways of releasing music as an independent artist, and has even launched Vault, a streaming platform of his own.
In a new post shared to his Instagram page, Blake has revealed that he now uses a platform called Indify to put out his music, which puts artists in touch with music services, so you can work with them to request a deal that does not give them permanent ownerships of your masters.
In his post, Blake begins, “Last year I kicked off about the state of the music industry for artists, having left the major label system after more than a decade. Artists have been asking me for viable alternatives, and I couldn’t offer any until I’d actually tried some. I didn’t wanna be someone who just whines about it and offers no solution. Here’s an update on what I think represents an alternative future of the music industry.”
He then goes on to liken a major label deal to a “package holiday” that doesn’t tailor to an artists’ specific needs. He adds, “I realised I had to build my team from scratch. If you don’t have people who understand you working on your music, you won’t be as creatively satisfied or successful as you could be… The best place I’ve found is Indify, and that’s where I’ve done the deal for my next record.”
He later states, “This isn’t an attack but an invitation to majors. This model doesn’t exclude people who work/have worked within the major labels systems as long as they are free to work within a team of your choosing.”
To read Blake’s full statement, and more on the pros and cons of Indify, check out his post below:
Find out more about Indify, or check out Vault from James Blake.
