Surveying the Indie Landscape
posted June 6, 2009 by admin
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We’ve had to make some changes in the Shameless community lately, as you may or may not have noticed. We have parted ways with some of our long-standing friends for the time-being, for various reasons, and not without a good measure of sadness. Sustainability has been the name of the game here.
How does and indie label stick around in the changing landscape of the music business? How does any label, major or indie, pull it off? Finding a sustainable model of business. This has obviously been difficult times, and a difficult model to nail down. We have shared in this challenge, and part of our evolution has been to downsize. We are narrowing our focus and trying to focus on quality over quantity. Of course, its means not making more great records with some great friends, and for that we are disappointed. Yet, onward and upward.
We continue to hold firmly to our love and belief in the indie product. The value of delivering true and heartfelt artists means a lot. The indie is where its at. Here are some interesting facts we read recently from Hypebot music blog about the state of indie business:
- Independent labels accounted for 32% of aggregate album sales in 2008, up almost 1.5% from 2007.
- Independent artists won 56 awards at this year’s Grammys, up from 36 last year. That marks over 50% of all prizes given out
- Independent labels, as a group, are the largest owners of master recordings in the industry – over 80% of America’s music is under independent ownership. These labels aren’t just diverse in genre, but in size and business model, ranging from single-artist-owned labels to imprints with decades of history and catalog.
Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to delivering the best indie we can in the coming months and years. Your input and insight is always welcome.