Unsigned artist
Encyclopedia
The term "unsigned artist" or "independent artist" is used in the music industry as a marketing technique.
s. Recently, the Internet has helped promote independent artistic material. Artists tend to post their music on websites such as MySpace
, and ILike
, and sometimes have their music played on podcast shows like Kooba Radio
. In recent times, artists such as Nine Inch Nails
and Radiohead
, who once had major label record deals, have started to release their music independently.
Various musicians remain independent in their beginning of their music career but later on get a record deal and continue as a signed musician. But this concept changed when major artists such as The Eagles and Nine Inch Nails
became independent and parted their ways with record labels such as Interscope.
Many services are offered to independent musicians like Cdbaby, CreateSpace, Feiyr
, Nimbit
, Tunecore
and Zimbalam
by which the artists can retain the copyrights of their songs and also deliver their music to various stores including iTunes Store
, Amazon MP3
, Napster
, Spotify
etc.
(Republic Digital Distribution).
Island Def Jam Music Group partnered with Tunecore to launch IDJ Firstlook, a new web portal that provides unsigned artists with potential access to such coveted major label services as worldwide distribution and marketing.
gives facilities for independent musicians to release their music independently as well as under a record label create by artist itself. Other efforts made in this field include Magnatune
, an independent record label based in Berkeley, California
, United States
.
, formerly of Interscope Records
, Marilyn Manson
, formerly of Interscope Records
and Nothing
, Radiohead
, formerly of Parlophone Records who have a distribution deal with TBD Records
but are not signed to the label, Jonnie and Brookie
, who have never been signed at all, David Choi
, who has never been signed to a record label as a singer, and Christina Grimmie
, who has not been signed, but is managed by Selena Gomez' stepfather.
History and current scene
Many unsigned artists used to sell their music and music-related merchandise without the financial support of a record label, while often seeking a recording contract through the recording of demoDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
s. Recently, the Internet has helped promote independent artistic material. Artists tend to post their music on websites such as MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, and ILike
ILike
iLike is an online service that allows users to download and share music. The website makes use of a sidebar that is used with Apple's iTunes or Microsoft's Windows Media Player. The program and sidebar are not required in order to use the site but allow for ease in discovering new artists....
, and sometimes have their music played on podcast shows like Kooba Radio
Kooba Radio
Kooba Radio is an independent, non-profit, Internet-based radio station focused on alternative rock, playing unsigned bands and artists with independent record labels. Kooba is PRS registered and plays to a listenership in over 20 countries. Created 21 December 2002, Kooba Radio began its life in...
. In recent times, artists such as Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
and Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, who once had major label record deals, have started to release their music independently.
Various musicians remain independent in their beginning of their music career but later on get a record deal and continue as a signed musician. But this concept changed when major artists such as The Eagles and Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
became independent and parted their ways with record labels such as Interscope.
Many services are offered to independent musicians like Cdbaby, CreateSpace, Feiyr
Feiyr
Feiyr is a digital music distribution service founded in 2005.Feiyr offers bands, musicians, record labels and Dj’sthe ability to sell their music through the main international digital retailers....
, Nimbit
Nimbit
Nimbit, Inc. is a Framingham, Massachusetts-based company offering direct-to-fan sales, marketing, and career management solutions for independent artists and music labels through Web-based services...
, Tunecore
TuneCore
TuneCore is an online distribution service for music founded in 2005. TuneCore principally offers musicians and other rights-holders the opportunity to place their music into online retailers such as iTunes, AmazonMP3, Zune Marketplace, Rhapsody, eMusic, and others for sale.-History and...
and Zimbalam
Zimbalam
Zimbalam is a digital music distribution service founded in 2009. Zimbalam offers musicians and record labels the ability to sell their music through the main international digital retailers such as iTunes, AmazonMP3, Play.com, Rhapsody, eMusic and major European mobile retailers. Zimbalam offers...
by which the artists can retain the copyrights of their songs and also deliver their music to various stores including iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
, Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3
Amazon MP3 is an online music store owned and operated by Amazon.com. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management from the four major music labels , as well as many independents...
, Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, Spotify
Spotify
Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...
etc.
Record labels
Major record company Universal Music entered into a joint venture with Tunecore to distribute albums online on major stores. According to the agreement, Tunecore will provide distribution portals for UMG's labels, while UMG will provide "marketing and upstreaming opportunities within the UMG Distribution system." The record labels which entered into venture are Interscope(Interscope Digital Distribution), Universal Motown (Unimo Digital Distribution), Island Def Jam (IDJ FirstLook) and Universal RepublicUniversal Republic
Universal Republic Records is a record label, owned by Universal Music Group. It is based on the now-defunct Republic Records label founded by brothers Monte and Avery Lipman...
(Republic Digital Distribution).
Island Def Jam Music Group partnered with Tunecore to launch IDJ Firstlook, a new web portal that provides unsigned artists with potential access to such coveted major label services as worldwide distribution and marketing.
Independent vanity record labels
Artists can also create their own record labels and sell their music and other stuff under the labels imprint too. Services such as NimbitNimbit
Nimbit, Inc. is a Framingham, Massachusetts-based company offering direct-to-fan sales, marketing, and career management solutions for independent artists and music labels through Web-based services...
gives facilities for independent musicians to release their music independently as well as under a record label create by artist itself. Other efforts made in this field include Magnatune
Magnatune
Magnatune is an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, founded in spring 2003 by John Buckman, then-CEO of e-mail software company Lyris. It aims at treating both its musicians and its customers fairly—its tagline is "We are not evil"...
, an independent record label based in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Notable unsigned artists
Notable artists not signed to a label include Nine Inch NailsNine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, formerly of Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
, Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
, formerly of Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
and Nothing
Nothing Records
Nothing Records was an American record label, specializing in industrial rock and electronic music, founded by John Malm Jr. and Trent Reznor in 1992...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, formerly of Parlophone Records who have a distribution deal with TBD Records
TBD Records
TBD Records is an American record label co-founded by Coran Capshaw and Phil Costello, and is a sublabel of ATO Records, distributed by RED Distribution. The label was founded in August 2007 and quickly announced its first release, the band Underworld's first studio album in five years, Oblivion...
but are not signed to the label, Jonnie and Brookie
Jonnie and Brookie
Jonnie and Brookie is an American Christian teen pop girl group originating from Gilbert, Arizona. The group is best known for winning the Radio Disney N.B.T. contest in 2009 and performing at the Disney Channel Summer at Seas concert tour....
, who have never been signed at all, David Choi
David Choi
David Yong Choi is an American musician and YouTube video producer living in Los Angeles. He performs a mix of original songs and covers of pop hits. Choi released his debut album, Only You, in October 2008. His second album, By My Side, was released on May 19, 2010...
, who has never been signed to a record label as a singer, and Christina Grimmie
Christina Grimmie
Christina Victoria Grimmie , known on YouTube as zeldaxlove64, is a pianist and singer known for covers of hit songs by artists such as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and many more...
, who has not been signed, but is managed by Selena Gomez' stepfather.