James Blake has taken to social media to dish out some sage advice to aspiring artists while perhaps giving them a perhaps grim peek at the machinations of the music biz and the struggles that almost certainly lie ahead.
Following star status upon the 2011 release of his self-titled debut album, it’s safe to say that Blake has increasingly become something of a stand-offish figure on music’s big-label, Glastonbury-’n’-Brit-award gravy train, choosing to forge his own path and tell it like it is.
And his latest Instagram post is perhaps his most lengthy, juicy and ultimately useful missive from the frontlines yet.
In it he not only highlights the wrongs that he perceives are still alive and well in the ‘big label’ system but paints a grim view of streaming’s ability to in any way set the record straight.
But it’s not all moans… Blake has clearly taken his time here and there’s plenty of actionable advice from someone who’s clearly got his head screwed on.
So what’s gone wrong?
The pressure has long been on major labels to play fair with their artists and give more credit where it was due and it had been assumed that the age of streaming, cutting out the need for a big, established ‘music machine’ physically pressing and distributing of music products, would have ushered in an age of more direct contact with fans, with artist having more control and more money reaching their pockets.
Unfortunately that hasn’t been the case. Instead big name labels only grow increasingly less likely to splash the cash on artists to ‘make them big’. Similarly, early, tentative ‘will this take off?’ streaming deals (with plays earning fractions of pennies) became the norm, meaning that the artist now gets short changed from both sides of the business.
With no cash coming from streaming or music sales and a lack of passion for promotion, a growing number of artists - Blake included - have therefore taken matters into their own hands, either amping up their live performance schedules (playing wherever possible, managing budgets and working harder than ever) or cultivating a fanbase and selling products – be they physical vinyl pressings or exclusive merch or more – to them directly.
That’s the path that Blake is advocating and he even names his vehicle of choice – Indify – and how he’s using it to great success.
Being your own ‘company’ – where the artist effectively IS the product and therefore owns and earns from 100% of anything they do – is now the dream of every musician, but it remains a hard ball for anyone to get (and keep) rolling – especially for anyone just starting out, so Blake’s advice couldn’t come at a better time.
“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,” Blake begins.
“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."
Weapon of choice
Blake goes on to politely rage about the lack of personal care (“None of it is aimed specifically at you and your needs.”) and the fact that your A&R will only offer “Make more TikTok's”.
Ultimately though it’s his take on the cash (“The money sounds good at first but if you do the maths it stacks up terribly”) that will prove most arresting. “Google 'record deal simulator' if you wanna see just how bad this shit is,” he suggests.
“The majors have prioritised temporary virality over art for too long, and that's why the model is crumbling. So, instead of the package holiday, wouldn't you want it tailored to you?”
And Blake’s weapon of choice following years of research? “The best place I've found is Indify and that's where I've done the deal for my next record,” he explains. “Indify is a platform that puts you in touch with music services, who you can see on a leaderboard measuring the real value they've brought to the artists they've worked with – in actual streaming figures.
“They can work with you to build a deal that doesn't request the ownership of your masters forever. The platform only allows a deal that leaves at least 50% of the royalties to you, generally for a single album or even a single song, on YOUR timeline.
“Contrastingly, the standard major label deal is 80/20 to the label, multiple albums, with them taking lifetime ownership of masters and cuts of merch (the '360' deal).”
It makes for an illuminating (and hair-raising) read but, with its happy ending, Blake only has encouragement and advice on offer.
“All I'm doing here is showing my workings out and fulfilling a promise that if I find something that I think can make things fairer, I will point you towards it. My goal as always is to help artists express themselves.”
Check out Blake’s full Instagram post below.
