While there were times everyone wanted to find a label, today that has changed. An article on the rise of artists who don’t consider being independent as a plan B.
Former Little Mix member Leigh-Anne recently released her first solo album, titled ‘My Ego Told Me To’. From what I’ve seen and heard, it seems to be an album where she had full creative freedom and could put her heart and soul into. So I wasn’t surprised to read she did it as an independent artist.
Back in 2021 she released the documentary ‘Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power’ about how the colour of her skin influenced a lot of creative decisions that were made for her when Little Mix first started. She said that as ‘the Black girl’ of the group, she was pushed into a certain role and she also noticed that there was rarely a person that looked like her in the crew that surrounded them. That’s why when she started releasing music solo and visibly celebrated her Caribbean heritage, I was especially happy for her. This authenticity also comes back in her new album, something I don’t think would have been possible if she stayed with her label.
For a long time, finding a label or any form of representation as a singer, author or other artist was seen as the highlight or the thing that would make your career a success. But the creative industry has changed immensely in a relatively short period. At the same time the public started to pay more attention to what happens behind the scenes of showbiz, and started to call out bad behaviours through social media. Something I also notice as an independent author is that there are so many options to fully represent your own work now, and honestly, what’s better than to have full creative control over what you do? In the end, in many high places it’s still (white) men who get to have the final say, and I, respectfully, hate that.
Honestly, what’s better than to have full creative control over what you do?
For my own book, for example, I don’t see how they could be an added-value for my feminist story (which appeared in Dutch as ‘Tijd om te bloeien’ on March 20 and will later be translated to ‘Time to blossom’ in English). So I decided to stop looking and embrace self-publishing to the fullest, even though it’s not a common practice in the Dutch-language book landscape. But I do believe there’s an incredible amount of potential. Especially when you already have an audience, like Leigh-Anne because of her past in Little Mix, there’s a high chance of this path being successful.
Leigh-Anne isn’t the only one who made that choice deliberately. Raye, for instance, also operates as an independent artist. Moreover, her worldwide breakthrough with ‘Where Is My Husband!’ only came after she started releasing her music on her own terms. So that does say something about how important it can be to be able to make all of your own decisions. I believe that effect is even bigger for underrepresented groups. It can’t be a coincidence that we see this evolution mostly for artists of colour. I think a large issue is that people who work for labels don’t always look outside of their own world and put too much focus on what they personally think is marketable and financially viable, which often results in them asking artists to be ‘less this’ or ‘less that’. Especially in this context, it’s incredibly powerful to reject those obsolete industry standards and naysayers and to believe in yourself and the message you want to spread.
Of course, there remain restrictions to being independent, in the first place the fact you have to invest in everything yourself. In the end, of course, you choose how much you want to invest (let’s say that if you’re creative you can do a lot with little resources), but when you really want to participate in the already existing structures, it’s not easy or cheap. As an independent author, for example, it’s not easy to take the distribution of your books to bookstores in your own hands when you have to compete with big publishers and their standard, extensive contracts with bookstore owners. I imagine that the same goes for independent singers when they for example want to start going on upscale, worldwide tours.
Maybe not only our perspective on being independent has changed, but also our definition of success.
It’s possible that’s why Ella Eyre, another British singer, is now performing in smaller, more intimate venues. She parted ways with her label to be able to make the album she wanted, which resulted in ‘Everything, in Time’. I wrote about her earlier (you can read that article here), but basically she has an incredible amount of radio hits on her name and is now performing in small venues (like an old church). This is not the typical path we as a society would describe as a success. However, it seems to be the choice she’s made to be able to be creatively free and I can only respect that. Maybe not only our perspective on being independent has changed, but also our definition of success. After all, isn’t creative success simply being happy with what you do and the place you’re in? In any case, Ella Eyre radiated happiness and confidence during her latest performance.
Lately, the positive side of the internet also seems to celebrate women who are doing their thing on their own terms. Like when figure skater Alysa Liu (of team USA) went viral for showing up confidently and happy at the Olympics because she took control of her training schedule and routines. It would be great if this support and celebration continued in all (creative) branches. It definitely takes courage and determination to take control and make things happen when you’re in charge. So I hope the fact that already famous people choosing the independent path, helps to stop the prejudices (such as ‘maybe they just weren’t good enough to find representation’) about smaller indie artists. Because no, it doesn’t have to be plan B. On the contrary, it’s where creativity thrives.
Written by Nikita
Nikita – founder of Nikita’s World – is a Belgian author of feminist feelgood & a journalist specialized in pop culture and the creative industry.