Although seen as ironic as independent bands are meant to be independent, many bands are signed to record labels. They sign to get themselves the promotion that they cannot afford. The Stone Roses are a band who, after great critical success on their self-titled debut album, wanted to capitalise on the success and decided to sign to a major record label, however, their current label (Silvertone) did not let them out of their contract. This led to a long legal debate and eventually the band signed to Geffen Records and produced the 'Second Coming' album which was met with mixed reviews and not nearly as much success as their first album.
There are now multiple record labels who, although are labels, are not pressured into signing a specific sounding band or artist. The only issue with indie record labels is that they do not always have the funding and so the band have to pay for a lot of the benefits such as promotion. However, they have a team who is genuinely interested in the music the band writes which means they care about who they sign and are happy to help in whatever the band want. There is also a closer connection between the band and the team at the record label as there are not lots of popular artists so they can focus more attention on the band. Indie label contracts are known to be more artist-friendly, giving the artist more money for their work through either giving them a larger percentage of revenue than given by the major labels or through a profit-sharing technique in which the band get a percentage and so do the label. Rough trade is one of the more famous indie labels. They are famous for signing bands such as 'The Smiths', 'The Libertines' and 'The Strokes'. These bands have all done very well in leaving a legacy behind in the music scene and also have given the label attention as they are very popular.
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| 'Rough Trade' Indie Record Label Logo |
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