How Major Labels Are Eating The Indies’ Share Of The Record Biz

Major labels are aggressively targeting the thriving independent music sector, which now commands 38% of global recorded music revenue, reaching $39.5 billion in 2025. Top artists like Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, and Drake are increasingly choosing deals that have the freedom of an independent distribution deal. In response, the "Big Three" have their own "indies," such as Sony's The Orchard, Universal's Virgin Music Group and Warner's ADA. This strategy may attract artists with much more flexible deals, yet it blurs the distinction between true independents and major-backed entities. The evolving landscape offers artists more choices but also greater complexity, as successful indies like BMG and EMPIRE could eventually become major players themselves.

Major music labels are hungry for a bigger piece of an increasingly tasty global revenue pie, and that slice would come from the independent music sector.

The indies now command an astonishing 38 percent of global recorded music market share, according to MIDiA Research’s 2026 report, with global revenue reportedly bubbling up by 9.4% to $39.5 billion in 2025.

Adding to the indigestion of the major labels, many of the world’s biggest artists simply seem to prefer a simple indie distribution deal that, like a reliably good pizza, dispenses with the frills and fancy garnishes of a major label contract that can run up a staggering check – full of unrecouped expenses and ownership and control issues – and leave a bad aftertaste.

While deal terms vary greatly, a typical independent distribution agreement might entail a fee of anywhere from 10-30% of revenue paid to the company versus an old school record deal where the company may take four or five times what the artist makes. Labels may provide promotion and marketing support in an old fashioned royalty deal but not so much in a distro deal. Also labels often will own the recordings at least for a number of years in an old school deal but not in an indie deal.

It’s no wonder megastars want to avoid fancy label royalty contracts in favor of bare bones distro deals.

For instance, Bad Bunny, one of the world’s biggest artists today, apparently has no need for a major label’s star power promotion machine, instead using the Orchard, according to John Baldivia, an attorney for the artist’s own independent music company Rimas Entertainment. The Orchard is a pioneering indie distributor that, while acquired by Sony, still has an indie flavor (more on that later).

And Taylor Swift reportedly owns (as of May of 2025) the master recordings for her entire discography, including the originals of her first six albums and all subsequent work released under her distribution deal with Universal Music Group’s Republic label. Thus, the billionaire popstar presumably has more, if not complete, control over where she places her music for distribution, although details of her deal with UMG are not public.

Another example is Drake, who did the unheard of move last May of turning in three albums at once, reportedly believing that this tactic would fulfill his contract with Universal Music Group so he could move on independently.

All of this megastar maneuvering away from the majors is not to suggest that emerging and mid-level artists don’t want a mondo music company to push their music into the ear drums and minds of bigger audiences. They do. That has not changed.

What has changed is that truly independent companies like Rimas, EMPIRE, Secretly Group and others are giving the majors a run for their money because they’re attracting artists who are not feeling a love (or need) for major label deals. Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak have released through EMPIRE, while Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers are among a popular roster putting music out through Secretly Group.

The majors, keen to offer artists and their representatives a menu of deal options that comports and competes with what the hip indie establishments are dishing out, are acquiring indie companies (like Sony did with the Orchard); creating their own indies (like Warner Music did with ADA), and repositioning the indie labels they acquired long ago (like UMG with Virgin).

Let’s not forget BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group), which falls somewhere between a major and an indie, but lands closer to a major these days. In April of 2026, BMG acquired Concord Music, itself a formidable indie mega player, which in turn had gobbled up the indie fave STEM in March of 2025. So its a fast game, with BMG perhaps transitioning into a full-scale major with its own comprehensive distribution stack.

These indie-major hybrids often also cook up "upstream" deals, whereby artists who seem headed for stardom start with an indie label under the tent of the major but then have a pathway to move up to a major label level within the same system if they hit certain milestones.

But for those artists who prefer a pure indie distributor with a homegrown and organic flavor, an indie owned by a major seems unappetizing. Imagine a bottle of beer that looks like a craft brew but turns out to be too crafty by half. It turns out to be owned by a major beer distributor, although the label might not tell you that – like Goose Island IPA owned by Anheuser Busch.

For more on the topic visit the author’s podcast Shmoozic Biz.