What exactly is a record label and why is it important for musicians.

Question

So many artists are signed to different labels, but they are extremely popular. How does a label work and why would an artist even want to sign to one since labels typically get a percent of money. Also, I thought independent or indie artists were not signed to a label but if you go to Spotify and look up indie music half of them are signed to a label.

In: 63

Answer 1

All the other answers are correct, but on the last point, “indie” doesn’t really describe independent artists anymore. That used to be what it meant, but nowadays “indie” is a type of sound, usually associated with stripped down guitar rock