Could new startup company UnitedMasters replace record labels?
Could new startup company UnitedMasters replace record labels?
UnitedMasters is a startup with financial backing from the likes of Google’s Alphabet and 20th Century Fox.
You may be wondering what this company has to do with the music industry and how exactly they are going to weed out record labels.
Firstly, let’s look at the objective of record labels: they provide artists with distribution and monetary opportunities.
But as we have all come to realize, the internet has been at the forefront of the musical evolution. It has given musicians the means to expose their music to millions of people at the click of a button.
The internet has purveyed streaming and new advertising methods, diversifying the way in which artists release music.
Although record labels create a stable platform for artists, they may soon be obsolete.
UnitedMasters
UnitedMasters is a startup founded by former Interscope records president Steve Stoute and is financially backed by Google’s Alphabet as well as 20th Century Fox.
Their business model goes as follows:
As an artist, you pay UnitedMasters for their service of distribution.
Then, the artists in conjunction with UnitedMasters divvy up the royalties while the artist retains the rights to their master recordings.
Finally, the ‘techy’ aspect comes in as UnitedMasters uses analytics, targeting artists’ listeners which then provide artists with a CRM tool to explore their fanbase.
They also allow artists to connect their SoundCloud and YouTube accounts for optimal career growth.
It may seem a bit far-fetched, but if executed properly UnitedMasters could give artists more freedom.
They have raised $70million in funding from Google’s Alphabet and 20th Century Fox, among others.
“It’s very important that an artist’s jobs is to be a great artist,” Stoute told TechCrunch. “The infrastructure around them should be helping them get more money at efficient rates, not owning their masters and taking from them.” If UnitedMasters takes off, the service could very well change how artists release their music in the future.
Could UnitedMasters replace record labels? Only time will tell -watch their launch video.
