The monopoly of large record labels is being weakened by this trend toward independence among artists. Today, the numbers show that having the support of a major label is no longer necessary to reach a large audience.

Luminate is the leading data and insights company in entertainment, providing access to the most essential, objective, and trustworthy information across music, film, and television. Every year, they conduct a thorough analysis of the state of the music industry.

One particularly striking finding is that 62.1% of artists with 1M-10M U.S. On-Demand Audio Streams have independent distribution. We are in a period of constant change within the industry due to new technologies. Music streaming platforms are continually adapting and studying new types of consumers, while both industry companies and artists must keep up with these trends.

A clear way to see the difference between the mainstream and the independent artist is to compare their performances on Spotify and TikTok, and how the latter influences the rankings of the former. Of course that having a big team back has its benefits, for example if you have a contract with Sony they will do all the deals with Spotify to put your music on editorial playlist but our point is that you can have good numbers on streaming platforms where the opportunities run in different ways.

Today, consumers at risk of canceling their subscriptions disproportionately prioritize exclusive artist content (48%), additional content outside of music (49%), and live streaming of events, concerts, or live performances (50%). This is one of the key insights we can draw. Spotify has recently started to adapt its content and add more features beyond just music, while TikTok was born as a video platform related to music but not exclusively focused on it. However, nearly 15% of TikTok users use it for music-related purposes.

TikTok's algorithm is designed to promote short, catchy content, making it easier for songs to go viral quickly—and all for free, it is all about UGC content. A viral TikTok sound can lead to millions of views and likes, potentially reaching a broader audience in a shorter time compared to Spotify, which relies on editorial playlists, requiring a connection between an artist and a curator, it is all manual. There are more steps involved in going viral on Spotify, making the process slower and more complicated.

And also those contacts are not going to take any risk in things that they are not sure at all that will have success, if you are out of the curator parameters you won't be choosed.

Artists can chat with their fans and have a closer connection on TikTok, which strengthens the relationship and helps turn fans into super fans. Spotify, on the other hand, is more distant, making it harder to create a loyal and engaged community from that platform.

This lack of contract requirements also supports artists' creative freedom. Independent artists have complete control over their work, allowing them to experiment with different sounds, styles, and promotional strategies that might be more appealing to the TikTok audience. Moreover, these tracks often cater to specific niches or subcultures that are highly active on TikTok.