Artists who started record labels
These artists were fed up with major labels
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MUSIC Music industry
The music industry is extremely lucrative for major record labels who reap the vast majority of the records sold by their artists, as well as the shows they play. Much more of the profits go to streaming sites like Spotify. Generally, the ones who get the short end of the stick in the music industry are the artists.
It's been like this forever, and record labels were able to hold onto their share of profits even when record sales plummeted (because of streaming). These days, major labels generally don't just take the majority of profits of streaming and record sales, but also tours, concerts, merchandise sold, and all other revenue the artists make (CD signings, biographies, TV appearances, etc). This is commonly referred to as a 360 deal. It's a raw deal for the artists, and some artists decided to do something about it.
These artists set up their own record labels to reclaim some financial and artistic control over themselves, their brands, and their business. To learn which artists broke the mold in setting up their own labels, click through the gallery.
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