The GRAMMYs and the enduring struggle of the indie label

Love them or loathe them, it can’t be contested that The GRAMMYs are the biggest event in the musical calendar. We bear witness to it all: the red carpet & the sensational headlines, the huge budget performances, the not-so-subtle, drop-in mentions of the events sponsors... at times it can feel as if music takes a backseatto make way for all the pomp and pageantry. Despite this, this years show gave us some exciting, historically significant moments – the most prominent of which being Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos winning Album of the Year - becoming the first Spanish-language winner in the 68 years since prizes creation. A new award for Best Album Cover was also introduced this year (won by Tyler, The Creator’s CHROMAKOPIA), celebrating the hard work and creativity that goes into developing album artwork.

It could be argued that The GRAMMYs are a barometer for the state of the music industry; we can see who the industry darlings are, or which label has the most the most successful artists on their roster just by looking at the big four categories (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist). These categories are full of musicians who, for the most part, are signed under the same four record labels. Universal Music Group and its many subsidiaries dominate most of the field, representing artists from Lady Gaga to Olivia Dean. Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records also make appearances. This dominance of huge conglomerates is not a new phenomenon for the GRAMMYs, looking back at the winners of Album of the Year since 2020 – the same labels reappear, with the only diversity appearing in the form of artist-owned record labels owned by the likes of Beyoncé and Harry Styles, and Rimas Entertainment – a Puerto Rican independent label that represents Bad Bunny.

While there was representation in this years big four category nominees, with Doechii and Pusha T both being signed to independent labels, there is still clearly a diversity problem. A huge reason for this is the amount of money campaigning for a GRAMMY can cost. Composer Michael Whalen suggests that “even a modest [GRAMMY] campaign can run $15,000–$50,000, while more aggressive campaigns can exceed $200,000”. The reward of more publicity for many smaller labels does not outweigh the financial risk that spending possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars on a campaign poses, resulting in independent artists being left to fall by the wayside, not receiving the recognition they deserve.

You may assume that uplifting indie artists is what the rock and alternative awards are for, but even these edgier categories fail to support bands signed to smaller labels. Although we see more representation than in the main categories, with nominees such as Bon Iver (Best Alternative Music Performance), Hayley Williams (Best Alternative Music Performance, Best Alternative Music Album, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance) and Wet Leg (Best Alternative Music Album, Best Alternative Music Performance) being signed to independent record labels, these categories are not even part of the televised show and are often (particularly within the Best Rock Album category) won by established legacy acts such as The Rolling Stones or Foo Fighters instead of new, independent acts. Independent record labels have of course seen success at the GRAMMYs, with half of the 2024 GRAMMY winners being independent, but especially in the big four categories that receive the most media coverage, a monopoly is still held by huge corporations. This may be a difficult problem to solve, not only due to the cost of campaigns but also because of how expansive huge labels catalogues are – giving them even more opportunity for success. Independent labels are vital to the ecosystem of the music industry; they discover new, exciting, innovative artists and give them a chance to share their art with the world and gain prominence. While it may be a long journey until we see more label diversity at the huge institution that is the GRAMMYs, supporting indie labels and their musicians is something we can do easily at a grassroots level – and who knows? Maybe the small-run vinyl of a new artist you buy at an indie labels showcase will end up being the first steps of a future GRAMMY winner (and even if it isn’t, isn’t the music what its all about anyway?).