An industry group representing indie record labels dropped some numbers showing what these companies actually spend on their artists. Nine big-name independent labels opened their books, and the data shows they dropped an average of $236,197 per artist, which worked out to about a third of what they brought in. The labels pulled in $239 million total and sent $79.9 million back to artists, while the biggest chunk of spending went to keeping the lights on and running operations rather than marketing or creative work.
The same labels also showed they're getting way more money from physical sales and sync deals compared to the broader industry average. Streaming still makes up the biggest revenue source at nearly 60%, but physical sales hit almost 26%, which absolutely crushes the industry-wide average of just over 16%.
The group behind the report says this proves indie labels are pumping serious cash into developing artists over the long haul, and they're doing it with better gender representation in leadership roles compared to major labels.
The same labels also showed they're getting way more money from physical sales and sync deals compared to the broader industry average. Streaming still makes up the biggest revenue source at nearly 60%, but physical sales hit almost 26%, which absolutely crushes the industry-wide average of just over 16%.
The group behind the report says this proves indie labels are pumping serious cash into developing artists over the long haul, and they're doing it with better gender representation in leadership roles compared to major labels.
