Independent music investors – a new lease of life for DIY artists

DIY artists are in luck. A new lease of life awaits them from as independent music investors

Can you believe that more than 50 thousand songs are uploaded to Spotify every day? With such competition, Do It Yourself (DIY) artists are finding it difficult to get their music heard.

Enter the independent music investors! Some companies have emerged to take advantage of the growing DIY artist scene. The majority of these companies provide funding without requiring that you give up any intellectual property in exchange. 

What is an independent music investor?

The difference between a label services provider and these companies is like day versus night. Whilst the former provides you with devoted professionals, independent music investors offer an open-ended investment. This means funding largely depends on us! 

Independent music investors compare themselves to an angel investor platform. In other words, their aim is to find appropriate financial investors for DIY artists so that early-stage careers can thrive. “The majority of deals are profitable.” claims one co-founder of a popular independent music investor.

Artists keep ownership over masters and investors cannot earn more than 50%. In short, independent music investors want long term success so that money is well spent.

Although not every independent artist will qualify for funding, the startup has a data-driven insights team that finds artists growing organically on an individual level.

Who are some independent music investors?

The most hands-on example is – “Indify”. The company was founded back in 2016 in response to the lack of options available for DIY artists. The business module is simple; Indify attract investors, investors fund DIY artists and in return share a portion of the artist’s streaming royalties.

“Artists, investors and mentors are all about the power of collaboration. That’s why Indify is a one-stop shop for early stage artists who want to work with someone else on their career.” say Indify CEO Shav Garg.

Another example is the increasingly popular funding label BeatBread. Similarly, they offer more freedom and less restrictions than traditional music labels . Artists have control over their own contracts and can negotiate what they want. 

“We don’t see ourselves as replacing labels,” says Matthew Tilley, head of artist and industry relations for beatBread.

Next steps for DIY artists

These forms of investments provide resources to make it easier for independent musicians to take control of their careers, but ultimately allow the decision up front whether they want help from an experienced partner like a label or if they’re ready to do everything on their own.