The music industry's greatest                                  weakness

Artists are being victims of scams including exploitation in the music industry. Therefore, there should be a stop by informing more about the topic. 

Many glorify the idea of being an artist. The thought of doing what is liked while still earning a living could be wonderful, even blinding. This happens to many artists every year ending up trapped in the jaws of a record label. 

The music recordings trap artists with labels. A label is like a loan to the recording studio that gives artists for their music projects. It's hard even to be signed by a record label. When a record looks to sign a deal with artists many see this as a huge opportunity; ignoring the future consequences. Artists end up in debt with the label. This stops them from parting away from the company. “The label’s job is to drown you in debt,” stated the Podcast “Off The Record” where they look at artists' lives. Even if the artist’s music goes first place in the charts, there is still a probability they wouldn’t be able to pay their debt. “They said the label told them ‘We won’t approve of any place that we don’t already pre-select,'” explained “Off The Record." "Which means you can’t take the budget and go do it a cheaper way.” This means that the records will try as much as they can to make it expensive, so artists can’t free themselves from them. 

Some think these artists win more than enough money because of the way they are seen through social platforms. This isn't true. The records pay for lavish marketing. They make it seem as if the artist is living their best life for it. This money isn't coming from the artist but from the label. They have to make artists be seen as wealthy in the media. Records do this because they need the youth to be more attracted to them and their company. This is the way they earn money. If they can’t make these artists look successful, independent artists won't sign their labels. At the end of the day, this is just more money that the artist owes the company. This puts them more in debt.  

One of the most known artists this has happened to is Michael Jackson. He claimed Sony had not done enough to help him. "The recording companies really, really do conspire against the artists -- they steal, they cheat, they do everything they can. [Especially] against the black artists," stated Jackson. 

There are still many issues when it comes to signing a label. Records can restrict liberty in many ways by just signing a label. If ever planning on signing with a record label, make sure the record is trustworthy. When about to sign, make sure the lawyer checks it first. Don’t trust the lawyers the label could give; they work for the record's benefit, not the artists. After all, it is better to lose some money on a lawyer than a potential million later.