theweekend Posted March 2, 2023 Posted March 2, 2023 On 3/1/2023 at 9:14 AM, Cbreezy said: Very interesting insight and a number of very valid points here. That said, I'd say she IS indie. What you rightfully point out is that there are tiers and types of indie. She's clearly at the premium end and given her industry connections I wouldn't expect anything less. No matter which way we look at it, her success as an indie artist is very impressive and remains an anomaly. Yes, major labels strike strategic partnerships with indies (or sometimes outright own them), but they are still two different systems. If not, we'd see way more indie acts dominating alongside major label acts...which is not the case. I'd imagine her setup is that she's indie in the literal sense of the word (so no risky multi-year/multi-album deal) and solely benefits from "label services" from her well-connected indie distributor. The latter may leverage any connections they have to her benefit, but the reality is that they aren't incentivized to go all-out past a certain point because there's no lengthy deal in place. She could, in theory, bounce to another indie distributor. So, I'm not totally on board with the idea of her being a major label act "masking" as indie, when there exists a very literal business case for the indie label to NOT do the most pushing her (too much). If anything, I feel indie acts in general should study indie success stories like Raye, Macklemore, etc to find out ways they can draw on similar elements + practices to their benefit. The music industry is not a meritocracy (unfortunately). So, it was never ever going to be case of "release a good song and yield the results"...for an indie or major label act. I question if those days ever really existed, at least since the "industry" side of music was established. There's a major element of "playing the game" and - whether indie or on a major - it's about figuring out the rules for that lane and working it to one's benefit. yes. actually the whole conversation is that she gets no money in advance from a label to produce one/two/three albums on the other hand she's receiving a much bigger amount of money from streaming and other profits a label would get it from the success of Escapism. from what I've seen she's responsible to fund her own music, videos, promo, tour,... and I'm so glad escapism will make her pull this era because of the money it will result for her and actually launch her whole career from now on.
Protocol Posted March 2, 2023 Posted March 2, 2023 7 hours ago, djcalpal said: Just because an artist releases through a distributor that is owned by Sony does not make them signed to Sony. She owns her masters and licenses them to The Orchard, which commands a much smaller advance and marketing budget than any major label artist would have. You clearly don't understand the definition of an independent artist, which Raye very much is. You're the one who doesn't get it, Human Re Sources and The Orchard are OWNED by Sony, it's not the same as just having a distribution deal with a major, something that many indie labels do. And YES, it DOES make her an artist signed to Sony in practice. She is not an independent artist. Like I said before, independent artists do not go Top 10 on pop radio in America. It does not happen because it cannot happen. I work in the industry babe. Sorry to burst your bubble and RAYE's narrative! Just because RAYE gets on camera and talks about how she's an indie artist doesn't mean it's true. She has NEVER been an indie artist in her entire career. She was under Polydor/UMG before and now she's under Human Re Sources/The Orchard/Sony. It's MARKETING sweetie. That's all it is.
cockatoo Posted March 2, 2023 Posted March 2, 2023 People still giving that user the time of day It's always so angry for some reason...
Alex Posted March 2, 2023 Posted March 2, 2023 5 hours ago, theweekend said: yes. actually the whole conversation is that she gets no money in advance from a label to produce one/two/three albums on the other hand she's receiving a much bigger amount of money from streaming and other profits a label would get it from the success of Escapism. from what I've seen she's responsible to fund her own music, videos, promo, tour,... and I'm so glad escapism will make her pull this era because of the money it will result for her and actually launch her whole career from now on. yeah I am not sure why there is still a discussion on whether she's indie or not considering she is quite honest about her entire situation. I attended her opening night of the tour and she literally stated that she might go broke after the tour ends due to the fact that she is bringing an entire band with her. In other words, admitting that she is responsible for some/all of the funding for the tour. Obviously there was a sense of humour to it but I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't far off from the actual situation had Escapism not take off the way it did. Either way, independent labels can be under major label parent companies and still function like an independent label. It's shocking that certain people fail to grasp this concept.
Edibles. Posted March 3, 2023 Posted March 3, 2023 I still can’t believe this didn’t go Top 20 in the states
ATRL Moderator khalyan Posted March 3, 2023 ATRL Moderator Posted March 3, 2023 5 hours ago, dangerousalex said: yeah I am not sure why there is still a discussion on whether she's indie or not considering she is quite honest about her entire situation. I attended her opening night of the tour and she literally stated that she might go broke after the tour ends due to the fact that she is bringing an entire band with her. In other words, admitting that she is responsible for some/all of the funding for the tour. Obviously there was a sense of humour to it but I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't far off from the actual situation had Escapism not take off the way it did. Either way, independent labels can be under major label parent companies and still function like an independent label. It's shocking that certain people fail to grasp this concept. And that makes sense too, with the way Santigold described touring as an indie artist and how it's too expensive these days to truly be sustainable unless you were lucky and came off of a massive hit like RAYE with Escapism. Again, it's so impressive to see an indie artist like RAYE get a platinum US hit like she just did
bowdown Posted March 5, 2023 Posted March 5, 2023 On 3/2/2023 at 2:57 PM, dangerousalex said: yeah I am not sure why there is still a discussion on whether she's indie or not considering she is quite honest about her entire situation. I attended her opening night of the tour and she literally stated that she might go broke after the tour ends due to the fact that she is bringing an entire band with her. In other words, admitting that she is responsible for some/all of the funding for the tour. Obviously there was a sense of humour to it but I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't far off from the actual situation had Escapism not take off the way it did. Either way, independent labels can be under major label parent companies and still function like an independent label. It's shocking that certain people fail to grasp this concept. educate them
bowdown Posted March 5, 2023 Posted March 5, 2023 the way i have not connected to a song like this in years a timeless classic i fear legend
djcalpal Posted March 5, 2023 Posted March 5, 2023 On 3/2/2023 at 9:53 PM, Protocol said: You're the one who doesn't get it, Human Re Sources and The Orchard are OWNED by Sony, it's not the same as just having a distribution deal with a major, something that many indie labels do. And YES, it DOES make her an artist signed to Sony in practice. She is not an independent artist. Like I said before, independent artists do not go Top 10 on pop radio in America. It does not happen because it cannot happen. I work in the industry babe. Sorry to burst your bubble and RAYE's narrative! Just because RAYE gets on camera and talks about how she's an indie artist doesn't mean it's true. She has NEVER been an indie artist in her entire career. She was under Polydor/UMG before and now she's under Human Re Sources/The Orchard/Sony. It's MARKETING sweetie. That's all it is. I've worked in the industry for 10 years, babe. Across artist management, label management, A&R, and brand partnerships. My bubble is not burst, you are just wrong
ATRL Moderator khalyan Posted March 6, 2023 ATRL Moderator Posted March 6, 2023 I love stumbling across tweets like this
99sandthe2000s Posted March 6, 2023 Posted March 6, 2023 US Overall Radio | 3.6.23 Top 5 Increases: 1. Boy’s a Liar (+1.80M) 2. Sure Thing (+1.64M) 3. Kill Bill (+1.57M) 4. Lottery (+1.17M) 5. Escapism (+1.02M)
Price88 Posted March 7, 2023 Posted March 7, 2023 Everybody keeps talking about this song. But what about the talk for cocoon? I listened to it for the first time when I seen it started getting pop radio adds and my gawd that song is dynamite. One of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time. Yet people aren’t pushing for it? I don’t understand how the same tiresome crap gets played but songs like this don’t?
theweekend Posted March 7, 2023 Posted March 7, 2023 this will repeak when it peaks on radio POP 11 8 RAYE Escapism f/070 Shake 9976 8644 1332 31.395 RHY 8 6 RAYE Escapism f/070 Shake 3860 3593 267 9.168 HAC 31 28 RAYE Escapism f/070 Shake 654 491 163 1.768
MusicIsMyMaster Posted March 7, 2023 Posted March 7, 2023 1 hour ago, theweekend said: this will repeak when it peaks on radio POP 11 8 RAYE Escapism f/070 Shake 9976 8644 1332 31.395 RHY 8 6 RAYE Escapism f/070 Shake 3860 3593 267 9.168 HAC 31 28 RAYE Escapism f/070 Shake 654 491 163 1.768 Shell be touring the USA very soon. Itll all go back up
theweekend Posted March 7, 2023 Posted March 7, 2023 23 minutes ago, MusicIsMyMaster said: Shell be touring the USA very soon. Itll all go back up it will help her out for sure. a little streaming push would be great in the next two months when it's going to be peaking on Pop/Rhythmic radio but I doubt Spotify or Apple Music would give her a damn without some cash
Edibles. Posted March 12, 2023 Posted March 12, 2023 This still peaking in the US while they've already moved onto Flip a Switch in the UK just proves how long it takes for a song to be a hit in the US
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