The music industry is an industry that is ever evolving, constantly progressing as time moves forward. Everything from the style of music to the consumption of music is evolving, where once 8-tracks and vinyl were once considered innovative to now living in the streaming era. There’s also been a shift in the industry where before it use to be East Coast vs West Coast and Up North style music vs Down South, now artists are mixing all kinds of styles that fit their personality and what they wish to present to their audience. The music industry has even gone through major mainstream music vs indie music where indie artist are trying to etch their presence on the surface and get the same recognition as mainstream artists.
Well in recent news, Chance the Rapper pioneered the very opportunity that all indie artist have been dreaming of. In a recent announcement, projects that are released on SoundCloud will now be acknowledged by the Grammy awards. This is a major breakthrough for so many artists. Chance the Rapper is considered a figurehead in making this new shift, due to his overwhelming success with seven nominations, announcing that music released on the platform will be eligible in 2018. Personally, I’ve known a lot of artists who have released their music on SoundCloud and trusted in the support of their fans to push the music out as much as possible. For indie artists, this opportunity is a platform that can allow their music to be heard on a wide scale spectrum and even give them the recognition they’ve been hoping for. It won’t be surprising to see the rise in artists choosing to use SoundCloud as their platform along with an increase in people exploring it more for their musical experience.
It is becoming more clear that there is a push for indie music to receive the acknowledgement that it so deserves and it’s slowly making its way to no longer be looked down upon by those in the major mainstream industry. Time will reveal how this new change in the industry will unfold but this is an exciting time for all the indie artists out there trying to breakthrough and prove that they are just as good, if not better, than any mainstream artists out there.
For the Love of Music 