The music industry is a complex and constantly evolving field where artists and record labels constantly battle for creative control and revenue. Record labels take on a large amount of risk when they sign with an artist. This leads to a significant upfront investment from the record label, giving the record label more control and power over the artist. Even successful artists struggle to make revenue after paying their share to the record labels and several other factors in the music industry. This system makes it incredibly hard to become successful and remain successful as a new and upcoming artist.
As streaming has become more popular physical CD and album sales have gone down, making it even more difficult for artists to earn revenue. According to Business Insider, artists make an average of $.003 to $.005 per stream. However, the Covid-19 pandemic ended up helping artists. Traffic on streaming sites reached an all-time high during the pandemic as many people used music as a form of escape during the lockdown. Hopefully, the music industry will realize the burden it puts on artists and will change to allow more artistic freedom and growth at the cost of profit, an unlikely circumstance.
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