As streaming becomes the new model for purchasing music, the industry has decided to embrace it by allowing streaming-only releases to be eligible for Grammy nominations. The Recording Academy implemented this rule to give recordings that were streaming-only a chance to get the recognition they deserve.

Chance the Rapper has had his biggest year in music yet. He released his new album “Coloring Book” in May, and has been in the spotlight ever since.

Chance recently took out an ad in Billboard, campaigning himself by asking for Grammy consideration. The ad features Chance with a white background, simply asking fans, “Hey, why not me?”

A fan of streaming-only music started a petition on Change.org to ask The Recording Academy to make free music eligible for a Grammy nomination. Chance the Rapper signed the petition, which currently has nearly 40,000 signatures. His voice in the petition inspired many others to sign and support the cause, efforts that proved successful because The Academy listened.

Record labels have always had positive and negative connotations. Being signed to a label brings many positives like endless resources and connections, but oftentimes artists sign contracts with labels and end up having trouble releasing and controlling their music.

Chance is one of a kind, being one of the few successful artists who is not signed to a label. Record labels have been after him for the longest time, but he turns down every offer. “I don’t agree with the way labels are set up,” he said in a Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe.

Chance even said no to a deal with Roc Nation, Jay Z’s label. He also mentioned that he wanted to collaborate with artists such as J. Cole and Big Sean, but didn’t because their label wouldn’t let them.

According to GQ, Chance’s new album “Coloring Book” has made the Billboard 200 sales charts solely from streaming. His album actually has several lyrics about how he hates labels, which shows he prides himself as an independent artist.

Chance has built himself from nothing, using himself and his music to market and gain incredible popularity, which is extremely hard in the industry today because of the influence labels offer. He makes his money through merchandise and touring in addition to his fans’ support.

This has helped create opportunities for smaller artists worldwide who want to release their music independently without a label behind them. From collaborating with renowned artists such as Kanye West and Justin Bieber, to combining melodies with gospel, Chance has paved the way for artists worldwide.

If “Coloring Book” is nominated for a Grammy, Chance will continue to make history, with each success following another.

He has had a top ten album, in addition to his own festival. Chance has accomplished so many things, all without the support of a label or physical copies of his work. This is incredibly important to the industry today because of how much pressure is on an artist to be signed to a label.

From widely developed artists to baby bands and artists just starting out, most have a label supporting them. It is almost unheard of for an artist to be successful independently. Chance has proven that as an artist, he can reach his fans directly without a label doing the work for him.

Chance is great inspiration for artists all over, no matter how big or small they are. Especially now with streaming being eligible for a Grammy, the music industry is changing, and this change is long overdue.

Phoebe Smith is a junior public relations major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email her at phsmith@syr.edu or follow her on Twitter @phoebesmithh5.

 

Published on October 17, 2016 at 8:49 pm