James Blake goes independent after launching streaming alternative
Following several posts on social media discussing how difficult it currently is for artists to make money in the current culture of music consumption, James Blake has announced he has gone independent after spending 13 years in the label system.
Blake’s announcement comes after he launched a new platform, which he believes will help solve the issues surrounding streaming services, giving artists a potential way forward that will allow them to make a viable living from their art.
The multi-instrumentalist was initially signed to A&M Records, where he released his self-titled debut in 2011. Afterwards, he signed with Republic Records, releasing his subsequent albums, Overgrown, The Colour In Anything, Assume Form, Friends That Break Your Heart and Playing Robots Into Heaven.
In a video announcing his independence, Blake said, “It feels good to be independent because I’ve wanted to take things into my own hands for a long time.” He also said that he was excited to establish a more direct relationship with his fans, which he believes going independent will help with. He concluded his caption: “After over a decade on a label, it feels scary to go independent, but here we are. As someone who hates spam, I promise not to send you annoying emails. Just trying to break free of the algorithm gods gatekeeping art.”
Blake has been very vocal recently about the unfair relationship artists have with streaming services, which he doesn’t believe pay fairly. This has been an ongoing debate for an extended period. Conglomerates such as Spotify and Apple Music have a monopoly on the industry which makes it difficult to see a way out of the system.
“This is how much artists make out of streaming: Between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream, depending on the platform,” Blake said in a new video uploaded to social media, “Which is one million plays equals $3,000, and if you’re assigned to a label, then imagine that number’s cut by at least 50 per cent. And after management cut – which is between 15 and 20 per cent – and taxes and recording overheads, it’s just not sustainable for an artist to focus on just their art.”
The musician has proposed a solution to the problem called Vault, an app that would involve listeners subscribing directly to an artist, getting access to unreleased music, advanced ticket sales, and being the first to hear news about the artist.
“So this is kind of a backstage pass of the process. It’s where you’ll hear first about ticket drops and anything else I’m doing,” said Blake, “This thing was built fairly quickly after my outbursts on social media, so we’ll be adding features as we go along.”
There is no escaping that Blake is excited about the launch of Vault, saying, “The concept of subscribing to an artist directly, I think, can change the game and release artists from the relentless merry-go-round of the current stage of things.”
However, Blake’s proposal has a couple of issues. The first is that these kinds of apps already exist, as platforms such as Patreon allow fans of entertainers to subscribe to their page for exclusive access to content and news. These platforms are successful and help artists but are not changing the game regarding streaming services.
Additionally, many fans simply can’t afford to subscribe to every artist they’re interested in. As part of a deal to mark the launch of Vault, fans can subscribe to Blake for $5 a month, implying that when things are up and running properly, it will be more expensive than that. Even if costs stay at $5 a month, people will pay $60 per artist per year for, essentially, unfinished songs. The idea that listeners will pay for that physical music and tickets to live shows is incomprehensible as the money begins to build.
Not to mention, fans will be paying for a monthly subscription to something where it isn’t guaranteed they will receive something every month. Blake has already released three new songs on the platform, ‘We Culture Ref’, ‘Olivia Kept’, and ‘The Man Who Talks Too Much’. However, there will be months when he doesn’t upload anything, and fans will be paying for nothing when that happens.
While the idea might be a way for Blake to engage further with his fans and make some money as he steps into the world of independence, Vault isn’t a guaranteed solution to the problems artists face when using streaming services.
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