The relationship between upcoming artists and record labels over the years especially in most African societies is getting from bad to worse and you may have to wonder why so.
Every artist’s dream is to make money from their talent and craft and due to lack of finances and ability to build good structures, they are obliged to go via a record label for a two way gain. Signing for labels used to be a beautiful dream for most artists but nowadays it’s a nightmare in most cases.
The underlining truth is that though most artists don’t live up to the expectation of the labels, some get to deliver far beyond their capacities and this ranges from giving the label exposure, making money and more. For labels, artists signing for labels is like buying a cat in the bag without seeing it but no label however signs an artist without having a glimpse of their potential.
What should be clear, that isn’t yet clear to many artists which is what seems to take their careers to their early graves of is that, NO Record signs an artist for charity sake. It’s either they’re funding the artist’s project to make money from it or they’re doing so to gain a big name recognition.
Though some artists want to bite more than they can chew, some committed artists just want a better life, contrary to what their current status is, which is something most mid-class labels can afford but they don’t often deliver as expected. They rather choose to be political with enticing promises that triggers the artist’s signature and once they sign, they (Label) no longer cares. After all, they are barely losing and they can even sign another artist if the initial artist isn’t delivering.
The fun fact is, sometimes, the money to fund an artist’s career isn’t even there yet and they indirectly hope to use the artist to make money then repay the same artist from the profits which is far from the word investment. The label always wants to emerge on top no matter what.
However, there are some of those labels who do the maths and really fund artists’ careers. These are those labels which are really well structured, who spell out the terms and conditions clearly for an artist’s understanding. They make clear their intention is profit making and not some help they want to render. This is about 30% a reality check in a contemporary society.
It will suffice you to know that most labels don’t want to sign an intelligent artist. By intelligent we mean that, they want a novice, someone who barely understands the business, Someone who reads and doesn’t understand contracts, someone who is toothless and can be tied down by their contracts.
It can’t all be blamed on the labels alone though. Artists need to be held accountable for always wanting to do it all by themselves. They don’t have a concrete team that will help guide them via the process. Most of them who’re talented and want to secure the status quo just hop in the booth regardless! Until artists understand that every record label is a money making entity and act accordingly, by knowing which deal suits their careers and which of those deals the labels can afford afford, they’re always going to be tussling.
We also have those labels who invested or invest huge sums of money on these artists and once these artists see a greener light, they outsmart the labels who equally believed and invested in them. This could be one of the reasons why labels these days try to make life difficult for artists.
The adverse relationship between these artists and Record labels is almost that of a prey and a host. Who’s the prey isn’t really fixed and the treatment fluctuates form time to time, but the artists have proven that they are most affected.
