Though it's the biggest in the industry, UMG is the only label group to reportedly have banned exclusives so far, and there’s no guarantee Sony Music or Warner will do the same. Is this the end of exclusives? Probably not. But it seems like the pendulum has swung. Just three months ago labels were singing the praises of exclusives on the heels of Drake selling 1 million copies of Views in a week on a single platform while setting a worldwide streaming record. That relationship has worked until now - sales for exclusive albums have done well for everyone, due to the extra promotion and general hype surrounding the project. Is this the end of exclusives? Probably not The modern exclusive deal for an album release has allowed the artist to get paid an upfront sum from the streaming service - money from Apple, an ownership cut from Tidal - while the label gets no direct financial benefit from the deal. This is no different for them than doing a standard exclusive when the label is involved, although it’s probably easier to negotiate with a single artist compared to an entire company. If those superstar artists leave the label system altogether for streaming services, it could throw a wrench into the already delicate financials of the music industry and cause a power shift that the industry hasn’t experienced since iTunes hit the scene in 2003.įor streaming services, nothing changes. Why the dramatic move from UMG? A-list artists bring in a large chunk of revenue for the labels, and allow them to lock up younger artists who probably won’t move records on their first release with advances that they otherwise couldn’t afford. If true, the ramifications of that change could be huge on the labels’ stable of artists - most notably with Drake, who has an exclusive deal with Apple Music, having released his last three projects through the service. And that’s scary for music labels.Īccording to a newsletter from music industry insider and critic Bob Lefsetz, Universal Music Group, Ocean’s former label, has banned exclusives on the heels of the release of Blonde. He is part of a small club of superstars who don’t need the label system, and who have the leverage to do deals with streaming services instead of re-signing their contracts. Ocean has a young, rabid fanbase that primarily interacts with him online he doesn’t need to distribute physical copies of albums to thousands of stores like Adele or Taylor Swift. This is a complete avoidance of the traditional musical hierarchy. This isn’t going independent while still using a major label for distribution, like Jay Z has done in the past. UMG has reportedly banned exclusives on the heels of 'Blonde'īut what Frank Ocean has done is different. Lemonade may have been released exclusively through Tidal, but you’ll still find Columbia Records in the credits. She doesn't actually need to stay with Columbia Records, but her and her team have been on an exemplary run over the last decade, and there’s little reason to switch it up. Younger artists need the structure and nurturing that a music label can provide, and established superstars have usually built up a rapport and are loyal to the group of people - most of whom work for the label - that have helped them become stars and simply choose to stay, after getting a big payday.īeyoncé is a great example of this. Up until now this hasn’t been the case with an artist of consequence, for a few reasons. For years, labels have feared that as streaming services grew in power and scope, there could come a time when some artists could choose to forego working with the labels and engage directly with a streaming service to reach their fans. This is the nightmare scenario for music labels. This marks the first shot in an inevitable fight between music labels and streaming services Meanwhile the labels, in a bid to avoid a future they may not be able to survive, may ultimately end up on the side of some fans who want music available through every viable medium. Now, in a race to get more subscribers for their streaming services, the biggest company in the world and one run by an artist have positioned themselves as a friendly alternative for musicians. The relationship between an artist and a music label has been a notoriously fraught one, but until recently, there was nowhere an artist could run to when they tired of their label besides the next label down the street. After satisfying his Def Jam deal with the release of Endless, Ocean released Blonde independently in a move that marks the first shot in an inevitable fight between music labels and streaming services. The release of Blonde marked much more than Frank Ocean’s musical return after four years away.

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