Apple Raises $50 Million to Help Independent Labels

A play by the multinational to support artists in difficulty, whose activity is paralysed by the current situation.

While covid-19 is still raging around the world, the music industry is being greatly impacted. The number of album sales and streams have dropped since last month, and artists are seeing their revenue streams weaken along with additional revenues from touring and events go to near zero. Apple has therefore announced a $50 million fundraiser to help support independent labels and ensure that artists get paid.

Indispensable support for the music industry

According to a letter from the company to Rolling Stone magazine, to be eligible for this support scheme, you must be an independent label and earn at least $10,000 per quarter through Apple Music. In other words, a direct distribution contract with the multinational’s streaming service is essential.

The letter said : « These are difficult times for the music industry globally. Livelihoods are at risk, with multiple sources of income that our industry relies on vanishing overnight. Apple has a deep, decades-long history with music, and we are proud to be in close partnership with the best labels and artists in the world. We want to help. »

The labels that will receive financial support from Apple will therefore be able to pay royalties in advance to their musicians, giving them the opportunity to live and continue to practice their art. At a time when the Coronavirus pandemic is paralyzing the whole world, the aim is to keep the musical economy alive.

This is of course, a very benevolent move from Apple, but this is also part of a broader strategy we’ve seen big multinationals utilising recently : focussing on offering short term assistance with the aim of generating long term gains and business. In the coming days, we are going to break down how Microsoft, Adobe and Apple are all utilising this strategy, how it works and how you can have your own version to help your business long term.

We hope your find this article useful, it was written in collaboration with Cedric and Viren. We are part of Creative Jungl, a network of creatives and entrepreneurs who get together to figure out the best way to start, run and expand great businesses in the creative industries.

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