question: why do labels hold their artists back from releasing music?
comment: Not exactly. They invest millions into these artists and have many of them. Other labels also do the same. There's a lot of competition, timing, legal clearing, marketing rollouts, etc. It's not as simple as "let's just drop Luv Is Rage 3" or something like that. It's "oh we have 43 albums dropping this year and everyone needs 2 weeks or so to flourish on the charts but we also see 3 other labels have another 95 artists that are dropping albums around the same time as ours and 5 major acts just announced worldwide tours so now we need to move ours around" etc.
passages: Interscope was a young enough company where they were saying, "We have only 12 artists, and it's not like we're going to be throwing out 15 a month and see what sticks. We're going to try to pay attention to you. As time passed, the record came out, they signed more and more people, and all of a sudden, the idea of me doing a record every year or every 18 months turned into, "Well, there's no commercial radio hit here anymore, you need to do a commercial radio kind of thing."
   However, not all labels dedicated to particular artists are completely superficial in origin. Many artists, early in their careers, create their own labels which are later bought out by a bigger company. If this is the case it can sometimes give the artist greater freedom than if they were signed directly to the big label. There are many examples of this kind of label, such as Nothing Records, owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails; and Morning Records, owned by the Cooper Temple Clause, who were releasing EPs for years before the company was bought by RCA.
   Music managers are increasingly getting involved in such releases and with the advent of artist management labels which have stepped in to save the situation. In Kenya, for example, most record labels only handle production, thus leading to a situation where records are marketed less. This has prompted music companies like Grosspool Music to sign independent artists and manage their branding, releases, and marketing. 
  
  Section::::See also.
  
  BULLET::::- Development hell
  
  BULLET::::- Roadshow theatrical release
  
  BULLET::::- Legal release: "music release" may also refer to a legal release of music (e.g. for film)
  
  BULLET::::- Music recording sales certification
  
  BULLET::::- Reissue, or rerelease
   The relationship between record labels and artists can be a difficult one. Many artists have had albums altered or censored in some way by the labels before they are released—songs being edited, artwork or titles being changed, etc. Record labels generally do this because they believe that the album will sell better if the changes are made. Often the record label's decisions are prudent ones from a commercial perspective, but these decisions may frustrate artists who feel that their art is being diminished or misrepresented by such actions.
   You put a year of your life into making a record, then the label doesn't tell anyone it's released or distribute it. It was very frustrating – we had a complicated deal where we were signed to B-Unique but releasing through Polydor. We suspect that the two parties involved fell out, and we were the child of the divorce, so to speak. — Rob Hawkins
   We consider our label to be a "cream of the crop" label. There are plenty of albums that we could do, but that's not what we are about as a company. We clean out all the bad stuff. We were like, ok, let's not be completists. If you're going to own a record of the [Miami soul] Deep City label, own our record. There are no duds.
   Stefan Herwig has been quoted as saying that "The strategy of mass release campaigns of most of the companies around, hurt the market significantly, and created a confusing flood of mediocre products" and that "Dependent considers the artists to be an integral part of the label, consulting them on some of the most basic and fundamental issues" and that Dependent would have a philosophy of "quality before quantity".
   In 2013, label affiliates were part of DJ Don Cannon's showcase at South by Southwest.
   Following the release of Frank Ocean's exclusive release of his album "Blonde," Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group banned exclusive distribution with streaming services by UMG artists.
  
  But exclusive releases are still poised to benefit both the artists themselves, and the streaming service. It is possible that the practice will continue from superstar artists who record and release music from their own labels (like Frank Ocean did with "Blonde"). This would be yet another reason for artists to leave their labels; they would reap more financial benefits in cutting out the labels.
  
  Section::::Crowdfunding.
   In some cases, a record label may choose to withhold a release entirely if they believe that its subject matter would be too controversial; Ice-T and Paris both had gangsta rap albums withheld or indefinitely delayed by Warner Bros. Records over content concerns, with Ice-T's "Home Invasion" delayed due to the 1992 Los Angeles riots and controversy over "Cop Killer"—a song by Ice-T's metal band Body Count, and Paris's "Sleeping with the Enemy" over its songs "Bush Killa" and "Coffee, Doughnuts, & Death". Insane Clown Posse faced similar issues after they signed to Disney-owned Hollywood Records; despite compliance with the label's demands to censor specific songs and lyrics, "The Great Milenko" was recalled almost immediately after its release (but not before selling 18,000 copies out of 100,000 shipped). All three acts moved to different labels (including Priority Records and Island Records), which released their respective albums without objections.
   ""I'm not ignoring the questions I've been asked about the access and sale of the new album, 'New Ghost', I'm just thinking about the answer. If it is to be considered a luxury to be an 'independent artist', one must treat it as such. We won't disappoint you. You'll hear it August 27th, see it, touch it, feel it and study it, shortly after if you chose to. And, if geography permits, we will perform close enough to you to once again make ears ring, shake hands and embrace...""
   "Lawyers or businesspeople call us morons for only doing one-record deals," Werckman scoffs. "They say, 'You're not really anything, then.' Well, we like our catalogue. We like the records we put out. Our bands aren't rushing away. Our job isn't to own any artist. We're here to put out the art that people create."
   We’re so lucky to have gotten here, and if we look back on the fact that we were on Capitol Records at a certain point, being distributed and making these albums under budget… there was one year when we were the only band on the label to profit, when MC Hammer lost a shitload of money. I can still appreciate how odd it was that we had the chance to do that because it doesn’t really happen in a lot of cases.
   DGM does not require that its artists sign written contracts. Former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones said, "It's pure trust," and noted that "there are dangers on both sides. I could have a successful album and just sign with a major, or they could decide not to pay me." Jones explained that he was accustomed to "working in situations that do rely on trust and integrity, those old-fashioned words" because Led Zeppelin had no contract with its manager. Another DGM band, alternative rock group The Rosenbergs, opted to work with the label following conflicts with their previous label Universal Records, which had even demanded control of the band's domain name: in contrast, DGM had encouraged them to retain control of their own master recordings and provided them with funds for touring and promoting their album.
   Options are "only" beneficial to the record label. The fewer options allowed in the contract, the better for the act. An example: if an act's first or second album is successful, but there are no more options left, the label will re-sign the act all over again anyway. This time it will most likely be with a much better royalty rate and more creative freedom than the previous contract stated. Or, the act can decide to move to another label altogether, one that is offering a better royalty rate or creative freedom. However, when the label holds a clause for lots of options for additional albums, it has the advantage. Besides the scenario in the above paragraph of the label requesting albums it may not release and preventing the act from recording elsewhere, the exact opposite could happen instead. The act could release a blockbuster album on their very first release. The label will surely pick up its options for future albums and distribute them, but the act will continue to see all its royalty checks and recoupable expenses calculated under the same contract it signed many years ago. When its contract is finally up (with all those options), the act may have declined considerably in music popularity and may not have the same bargaining position that it had so many years ago when it released that blockbuster album. Had there been fewer options on the initial contract, the act could have negotiated a new and better contract while in its prime.
   According to Jeff Hanson, head of Silent Majority Group, the first new artist 360° deal was created by Hanson along with attorneys Jim Zumwalt and Kent Marcus, and Jim's partner Orville. It was submitted to Atlantic Records for the rock band Paramore while Hanson, Marcus and Zumwalt were employed by the label. Hanson has said there was strong resistance to the deal by both label and band and that he had to fight to make it happen, but believes his efforts were vindicated by the band's subsequent success, saying: "How else would a label have been patient enough to put the band on three straight Warped Tours and down-streamed the band to Fueled by Ramen all while losing millions of dollars?"
   The band has resisted labels as specific as such in the past, explaining to "Rolling Stone" in 2016 in the following statement, "any label is limiting. That one in particular is especially limiting. To me, I think people pass over the band all the time because they read that...I hate the idea that they somehow feel like I didn't make the music for them, that we didn't play music for everyone.
   In 2008, LossLess Records signed Jeremy Gloff and put out his fifteenth album, "1987".
  
  Section::::History.:Philosophy.
   Other nominally independent labels are started and sometimes run by artists on major labels, but are still fully or partially owned by the major label. These labels are frequently referred to as vanity labels or boutique labels, and are intended to appease established artists or allow them to discover and promote newer artists.
   In the late 1940s and into the 1950s, the American music business changed as people began to more quickly learn the industry. Several companies set up their own recording studios, and the number of label owners began to increase. Many of these owners realized that whichever label first publishes a song is legally entitled to receive compensation for every record sold. Following the original pioneers of the music industry, many new labels were launched over the following decades by people with industry experience. During the 1980s and 1990s, many rap labels were started by artists looking for new talent. Madonna is one example of an established artist who helped launch the career of newer artists with her Maverick label.
   Additionally, the label was dealt a harsh blow when Cage, along with his group the Weathermen, the label's biggest selling act, moved to the Definitive Jux label. When asked about the move in a HipHopSite.com interview, Cage replied
   Banks and Buck have albums coming out near to mines, you know what I'm saying? So I'm telling them if they trying to sell some records this time, then they better fly to the "A" and get to, you know, doing something, you know? Y'all make up a dance to the song, you know what I'm saying? It's all good. And you know, just to say it again man, I'M NOT DISSING THE "A"!
   Sparkle was dropped from the label for refusing to show up to work unless her boyfriend, Steve Huff, was allowed to work on her next project. In addition, she was released several times for insubordination.
   Section::::Criticism and controversies.:Die Antwoord.
  
  On November 7, 2011, it was reported that the South African Rap/Rave group Die Antwoord were leaving Interscope Records over a dispute with the label wanting their second studio album "Tension" (stylized: Ten$ion) to be re-worked for "mainstream appeal." Problems with Interscope first arose when the group decided the lead single for their second album would be "Fok julle naaiers" (loosely translated to "Fuck you fuckers"). Ten$ion was ultimately released through Zef Recordz in early 2012.
  
  Section::::Legal issues.
  
  Section::::Legal issues.:Rockit Cargo.
   The loophole has made it sure that independent artists will be isolated from mainstream media. And a current example of this is the lengths Macklemore and Ryan Lewis went to get their music heard. Because Lewis and Macklemore belonged to an independent label, they feared payola laws would interfere with their airtime. So they “hired an independent arm of Warner Music Group, the Alternative Distribution Alliance, which helps independent acts get their stuff on radio. Zach Quillen, manager of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, discussed how "they paid the alliance a flat monthly fee to help promote the album."
  
presuppositions: Labels hold their artists back from making music. It hurts an artist when a label holds them back from releasing music.
corrections: They are more trying to plan strategically than holding people back. They want to release it when it will have the most impact.  It strategically helps an artist when a label holds them back from releasing music.
raw_presuppositions: Labels hold their artists back from making music. It hurts an artist when a label holds them back from releasing music.
raw_corrections: They are more trying to plan strategically than holding people back. They want to release it when it will have the most impact.  It strategically helps an artist when a label holds them back from releasing music.