How Community Labels are Elevating the New Indie Era

As the head of his community label, Nice Music, Simon J Karis wears many hats. From handling release logistics, to running multiple Bandcamp and Soundcloud accounts, to fielding press inquiries, Simon aims to support his artists however he can.

“I really am offering a catered scenario to each artist,” Karis tells Chartmetric. “No two setups look the same. [But] I try to describe to artists from the start that it is a collaboration. I don't have a million dollars a year to throw at this label, even $100,000 a year. So, let's set the goalposts realistically.” 

Despite the limited resources of the community label—a term for a small independent record label that operates in a more DIY fashion—it is important to Karis to offer as many opportunities as possible to help his artists reach listeners. This includes managing press requests, as he did this past year for signed artist Hantu (Isobel D’Çruz) when The Wire expressed interest in featuring tracks from her album Zither Deluxe. 

Karis is not alone in his pursuit of supporting independent musicians. Industry shifts over the past decade indicate that we are entering a golden era for independent music. The sector, consisting of independent artists, and independent labels (which include community labels), currently makes up about 40% of the global market share and is valued at over $30 billion as of 2024, a figure expected to grow to over $45 billion over the next five years. Independent artists and labels additionally accounted for 50% of Spotify revenue in 2023.   

This shift represents a changing tide first brought on by the advent of streaming. With the ability to upload music directly to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, coinciding with the growth of social media, artists were suddenly empowered to do their own public outreach without being signed to a label. While streaming also brought its lion's share of difficulties — mainly centered around shrinking income — the recent growth in the independent sector represents progress as artists resort to new models for sustaining their careers.

Toward this end, community labels have been continually emerging alongside the larger growth of the independent sector. As artists seek community, assistance with outreach, and encouragement of creative innovation, the prospect of a partnership with a small, supportive label is becoming increasingly desirable. 

Independent Label vs. Community Label

In industry terms, only the Big Three major labels would strictly be considered non-indie: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group. Everything else, including K-Pop titan HYBE, the comfortably established alternative label Warp Records, and the global electronic label, Anjunabeats would all fall under the same category of “indie,” even though they sign artists who have have millions of monthly listeners.

One of HYBE's artists are the K-Pop icons BTS who currently have 26.4 million monthly listeners. Warp has always been the home of electronic pioneer Aphex Twin who is at 3.6 million monthly listeners. Anjunadeep's head honchos, Above & Beyond are just shy of 2 million. By contrast, one of the more prominent artists that's been distributed by Nice Music is the pianist and ambient composer Felicia Atkinson who has currently has 46.9k monthly listeners.

Looking at the disparity in these scores elucidates the difference between “independent” and “community” labels.

The general idea of a label is funding the creative process of artists and then distributing and marketing their music. But the reality is that just because an artist signs with a major label or a big independent label like those above, it does not mean this basic premise will automatically be fulfilled.

Historically, many artists have felt underserved by major labels. This was the case for Taylor Swift, who starting in 2020 began to re-record her albums after her previous label, Big Machine Records (owned by Universal), refused to release the masters of her original recordings. The catalyst for her split was when the label was acquired by music executive Scooter Braun, who Swift has said subjected her to "incessant, manipulative bullying" for years.

With community labels, artists may be less likely to encounter such experiences for a variety of reasons. While these entities typically have far fewer resources to go around than any major label and many indie labels, they are still able to provide invaluable creative, business, and administrative support that, though often unseen outside of local music scenes, allows for continued innovation in music on a global scale.

Referring back to Atkinson, for a year prior to the release of her new album, Space As An Instrument, on October 25, 2024, her monthly listeners were only as high as 25.9k dipping as low as 11.4k. But when she put out the LP on her own community label, Shelter Press, she tripled her audience in three months, starting with the release of the first single, "The Healing," on August 28, 2024.

Clearly, community labels can serve artists well, and based on their differing approach compared to many other indie labels, it is valuable to distinguish community labels as their own entity.

What Do Community Labels Have to Offer?

Although community labels do not have the same vast resources as big labels, they are passionate about their artists and their work.

“There was so much going on in Melbourne, experimental music-wise, electronic music-wise, and a bunch of friends of mine had music that I thought was at a really high level,” Karis describes of starting Nice Music in 2016. “I wanted to give it a nudge.”

Since launching, Nice Music has signed musicians across many different genres. Melodic drone artist Fia Fiell, punk and noise outfit Absurd Cosmos Late Nite, and sound manipulator Alastair Galbraith, are all on the label, and they all own the rights to their music.

“I'm really into artists owning and controlling their music in perpetuity,” Karis says. “Lots of indie labels just want you to deliver them a mastered record, and then it's mysterious as to what they do.” 

Conversely, Nice Music’s artist deal spans the entire album cycle, covering everything from mixing and mastering to manufacturing CDs and cassettes. Artists also have the option to receive support with promotional efforts, including administrative tasks like managing metadata for platforms such as Bandcamp and SoundCloud. Even when third-party costs arise, such as design or paid editorial, Karis prioritizes keeping recuperation costs low. To help reduce expenses further, the label offers in-house resources for photos and cover art.

For example, Karis designed the cover art for Alastair Galbraith’s recent album and helped promote its release through the label’s social media channels. He also has plans for future collaborations with several Nice Music artists, further fostering the interactive spirit of the label.

As an artist himself, Karis mentioned that he is embarking on more collaborations than ever, including a recent release with English electronic musician Actress called "THRASH." At the time of writing, Actress has 264.6k monthly listeners compared to Karis's 753, which is 4,400% higher than his total listeners pre-release. After "THRASH" came out, Karis's listenership shot up to a peak of 15.3k.

"THRASH" was released on the Nice Music label, demonstrating the power of the community label in forging creative connections between artists. This collaboration also allowed Karis to achieve a higher platform through Actress's existing audience.

Community label releases also often include small personal touches. Nice Music artist Wet Kiss, for example, added a tiny folded lyric book to all of her cassette releases, as well as a special graffiti design in 20 copies. On his own community label, Index Clean, Nice Music artist Absurd Cosmos Late Nite included a car air freshener as an easter egg in his cassette releases, adding a sensory experience for driving while listening.

In terms of income for artists on Nice Music, considering the low pay of streaming services and the rising costs of touring, Karis has started to seek creative solutions for sourcing funding. This has included recent outreach to syncing agencies. “I want to put time and effort into the exposure that can come from syncing opportunities,” Karis says. “It’s potentially more powerful than [outreach to] the people on Instagram that already like you.”

So far this has resulted in the renowned outfitter North Face licensing two tracks from artist J. Campbell’s album Erosion of Memory for a YouTube video project featuring Australian snowboarders, as well as a pending opportunity for a track of Karis's to be featured in an A24 film. 

Karis also notes that the most consistent source of artist and label income is from Bandcamp. “Bandcamp is such a godsend,” says Karis. “The revenue comes in every day, big or small. I am very appreciative. That is a big part of how the label runs.”

A Partnership with Shared Values

In the streaming era, where people often listen to music in the background of their busy lives, independent experimental musicians face a distinct disadvantage if their work doesn’t fit the mold. When those artists aim to get their music out to listeners, a helping hand can be crucial to making progress.

Unlike big labels vying to satisfy shareholders, community labels have the freedom to make “bad” business decisions, or in more flattering terms, invest in the creativity and experimental capacity of artists they believe in. 

“There’s a chance that people won’t like your music. But that has nothing to do with whether I want to put it out, and nothing to do with whether it’s good or not,” says Karis.

The good news is that more artists are seeking refuge in the wake of a hostile music industry, and the influence of the independent sector, including community labels, is only growing as music lovers find new ways to push the culture forward. “I don't judge anyone for wanting to play the game,” Karis admits. “But the silver lining of being an experimental artist is that you can have a career loving what you do. From the get-go, whether it's easy or not, that's a nice life.”

Graphics by Harry Levin; cover image by Crasianne Tirado. Data as of Nov. 20, 2024