Thanks to the freedom of the internet and new platforms the power has shifted from major labels and into the hands of the artists in a new age for the music industry.

Punk helped to make DIY music a viable reality so that by the late 80s you had bands and artists making music all over the place. Whilst making and releasing music suddenly became an option all by yourself it still made a massive difference if you had connections, and you had to really luck out to get to the same positions as bands with major labels.

The past two decades have seen that power shift quicker than anyone could have predicted. With the internet becoming as globally pervasive as it has, everyone now has access to the same drawing board. We can all communicate with each other around the world in seconds and that has done amazing things for handing power back to the individual.

We have seen streaming services and digital stores explode to replace physical music for millions of people (except the odd vinyl record). With these platforms it’s given distributors like us at RouteNote the chance to team up with them to help all artists get their music heard on them.

This has opened up the playing field so that it is just as possible for a bedroom musician or small town band to get their music in front of the world as it is for No. 1 charting artists signed to the major labels. In fact independent artists are the fastest growing part of the entire recorded music revenue.

This is great news as it not only means that there are opportunities for everyone, but it means that more artists and independent labels have control over their creative decisions and what they do commercially with their music, name, image and so on.

MIDiA Research found that 87% of independent artists were using a digital distributor with an average annual income of $21,233. Their growth surpasses that of all over music and artists and their revenue grew 35% between 2017 and 2018 to $643.1 million for the year.

We’re incredibly proud to be part of the reason why music lovers and makers around the world can put their music out there and make it as a successful artist in a new era of music. We love working with independent artists and being a part of their journey and we can’t wait to keep helping people to achieve their dreams and get people listening worldwide!