The Future of Artist Development

Welcome, artists & builders.

Happy Friday. Today is all about artist development. How it's changing, why traditional models are failing, and how we need to rethink the way we invest in and support artists.

Inside Issue #38

💡 Idea: Investing into artists
🦁 Guide: Lessons from 3 successful campaigns
🤔 Breakdown: UMG sues Tunecore for $500M

Investing Into Artists

The thing everyone gets wrong with "labels are just a bad loan" is that the deal is not just financial.

A good label provides:

→ Infrastructure
→ Project Mgmt
→ Connections
→ Marketing
→ Strategy
→ Promo
→ A&R
→ & more

In essence, they develop the artist. I’ve never seen a bank do that for its customers.

The problem is most labels aren't good labels.

Not anymore.

Because labels have, in fact, turned into banks.

→ Zero risk-taking
→ Zero conviction on artists
→ Pure cash flow projections

In many cases, they’ve completely abdicated artist development. Funneling billions into catalog acquisitions and hollowing out their audience & marketing teams at a time of peak profits, instead of doubling-down on meaningful artists with something to say.

Maybe that’s ok—they simply no longer serve this role.

But, we need new structures to invest into & develop the artists of the future.

Or we’ll get the art & artists we deserve.

Developing the Artists of the Future

We need new structures that take bets on interesting artists & have a modicum of patience. This should come from a more holistic view than just recorded - like live & merch - so that diverse, meaningful artist careers are incentivized, not just spray & pray tracks.

New label groups.
New deal structures.
More JVs.

And they better be built for how music moves today.

Always on. No gatekeepers. Hyper-niche. Bespoke. Heavy direct engagement & community-building. Building from the bottom up, not the top down.

Traditional label structures are not built for this.

You know who are?

Managers.

Artist development has increasingly shifted towards managers over the last 20 years. It’s time to supercharge a version of this role, so they can fully deliver.

Why?

• They’re the most aligned with artists.

• They’re central to all aspects of an artist’s career.

• They’re best suited for the always-on, community-focused workflow of today.

Managers should expand their capabilities—building out teams for digital marketing, fan engagement, and more—and directly funding artists when necessary.

Firebird is making this bet—buying stakes in management companies and providing infrastructure & international distribution. And look at the success Jungle’s manager is having in setting up his Verdigris Management like an artist services company with specialists in sync & other areas.

This is smart.

Labels’ roles are changing, and they should back these ventures.

Labels are Being Unbundled

There are more options than ever for funding, marketing, and distribution.

This creates an opportunity to rebundle these pieces into cohesive, bespoke strategies for artists—focused on long-term fanbase & career growth.

And it’s already happening.

Take Shaboozey.

After a failed major label deal, he launched his American Dogwood imprint with his managers & partnered with Empire for flexible distribution. With a small, dedicated team focused on building his unique world, they could stay nimble—adding external specialists like radio promoters as needed.

He now has the longest-running No. 1 song of the decade.

You no longer need $100k to make a record. Or $20k for a video. Or muscle to convince gatekeepers (because there are none).

But you do need a team with conviction, long-term vision, and the resources to turn you into a sustainable business—even if you never hit a billion streams.

Re-thinking How We Invest Into Artists

It’s always been odd to me how artist funding almost entirely comes from the recorded side of the business.

But that's just 1 revenue stream.

And it's not always the best indicator of an artist's real world 'value' or long-term potential. If we had systems & incentives to better invest into artists creating real fandom that isn't measured entirely in streams, we'd likely be in a better place.

If we’re moving (back) towards fandom & away from empty volume, our approach to development needs to change too.

Let’s optimize for career growth, not stream growth.

Let’s invest into new artists.
Not just old songs.

- Rob

📚️ My 3 Favorite Reads This Week

1. Building Sustainable AI Business Models for the New Music Industry, by Mike Pelczynski

2. Two Future Paths for the Vinyl Revival, by Tatiana Cirisano

3. 3 Lessons from Successful Campaigns, by Dylan Brewer / Fraudulent

WHAT YOU MISSED

🚀 Fundraising

→ Duetti raises $114M to expand catalog advances & flexible financial solutions for independent artists (More) | Trolley secures $23M in Series B funding to accelerate global payouts for creators (More)

→ Grouped raise $2.5M for membership-based artist communities (More) | Levellr raise $1.75M to expand community management tools, appoints new charman (More)

→ [untitled] raises Series A led by a16z to revolutionize music collaboration (More) | → Pibox raises $1.2M for audio/video collaboration (More) | Forte secures $320k to streamline collaborative audio production (More)

🤝 Oh, That’s Helpful

→ Laylo launches ad platform (More) | Medallion introduces fan listening profiles (More) | Bandsintown add Ticket Presale functionality (More)

→ Marketing platform un:hurd partners with Fiverr to create a music industry network of designers, videographers & more (More)

→ Spotify and Apple Music roll out ‘Share to TikTok’ feature, enabling users to link directly to songs (More)

🎶 Industry Biz & Numbers

→ UMG sues Tunecore & Believe for $500M over alleged copyright infringement, calling the $20/year all-you-can-eat distro model into question (More)

→ Spotify is on track for its first profitable year ever, projecting ~$1.5B in income for 2024. Q3 earnings beat expectations (Subscribers +12%, MAUs +11%, Premium Revenue +24%) (More)

→ Live Nation sreports strong earnings after the "Most Active Summer Concert Season Ever," though Q3 revenue is down 6% YoY (More) | Sony Music posts double-digit Q3 revenue growth, driven by streaming & licensing (More) | Block scales back Tidal investment (More)

That’s it for this week. Til next time.

- Rob