The Musical Artist’s Objective: Signed to no one, heard by everyone

Abstract

In today’s music industry, independent artists have more opportunities than ever, but they also face big challenges. Record deals often require artists to give up ownership in exchange for marketing and exposure, and traditional streaming platforms take significant cuts of artists' earnings. Therefore, artists need to take smart steps to protect their creative rights and maintain control over their financial well-being. This paper explores the importance of IP protection, the best platforms for independent music distribution, and how artists can maximize revenue through direct-to-fan engagement and emerging technologies. Artists can leverage blockchain technology and smart contracts to ensure transparent revenue sharing, maintain control of their IP ownership, and break away from relying on labels and take a more independent route. Choosing the right distributor is crucial to ensure artists get high engagement with their music and make sure you’re receiving a fair percentage of your royalties. Now, thanks to digital platforms, artists can share their music worldwide and keep their rights. Services like DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, and Amuse help artists put their songs on Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal while letting them collect royalties directly. The paper concludes that there is not one specific way to achieve success, but rather it is important to use multiple techniques: retaining ownership, leveraging technology, and engaging fans directly, which ensures that artists will not be taken advantage of and are able to build a musical foundation and identity.