The Music Business
Independent Artists and Indie Music
How streaming and social media let independent Indian artists reach large audiences without labels, and the trade-offs of going independent.
Streaming and social media let artists succeed without major labels.
Why indie grew
- Low-cost home recording.
- Distribution platforms that upload music to all services for a fee.
- Social media for promotion.
Indian indie success
- Artists like Prateek Kuhad built global audiences independently.
- Punjabi artists and hip-hop acts, like DIVINE and those featured in the film Gully Boy (2019), rose from the independent scene.
- Non-film music’s share of streaming in India has grown.
Trade-offs
- Independence: artists keep ownership and a larger share.
- Costs: artists must fund recording, marketing and videos themselves.
- Visibility: labels have promotional power.
Hybrid deals
Distribution and licensing deals give artists support without full label contracts.
Economic view
Platforms reduced gatekeeping, but with millions of songs released, attention is the scarce resource.
The bedroom producer
A student in Shillong records songs at home, uploads them through a distributor and gains streaming fans across India, later touring small venues.
Thinking artists need a record label to succeed
Streaming and social media let many succeed independently.
Key takeaways
- Home recording and distribution platforms enable indie artists.
- Indian indie, Punjabi and hip-hop artists have grown.
- Independence brings ownership but costs.
- Attention is now the scarce resource.
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