I'm a small artist but do sign my work. I've been enjoying Lemmy for some time now and want to push this community to interact more and grow! So I thought one way I could contribute is to do a little AMA about what it's like as a signed artist making house music :)

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[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

How big a deal is it (for you or relative to the industry in general) that you're "signed"?

Any links to your work or anything?

[–] souma@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

For me it was definitely a big deal when it first happened! I was working alongside artists I listened to for years. However, these aren't massive corporate labels, so I have the freedom to contract one song or EP to a label, and one to another, etc.

All of my stuff can be found under my name on basically all platforms :) Not sure if links in comments are allowed.

[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

What does it actual get you being signed? Apologies if it’s impolite to ask about financial things.

[–] souma@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

No apologies needed! It's not much and it depends on your audience as well as your label. I'm lucky where the labels I work with split 50/50 with the artist. However, that split comes after the distribution take. With my current numbers, I probably get paid out $100-150 each year. As your catalogue grows and your streams get higher, that does grow significantly with time.

[–] maegul@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Thanks! I was actually more interested in what the label does for you. I'm guessing they take care of distribution (sorry, I don't really know any details about the industry, especially how it operates these days)? Do they do anything else? Marketing, touring?

[–] souma@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Sadly the scene for this subgenre isn't exactly big enough for touring and shows (yet, fingers crossed!). But yes, I finish my mix and send it in for them to handle mastering, artwork, distribution, and marketing within their own channels. They will provide the marketing packet with artwork, etc. a week or two before release so I can share on my own artist pages as well :)