Brand Statement Written for Unsigned

Upstart bands and musicians have long been reliant on the large infrastructure of a record label in order to cover their costs and grow their profile. While labels provide necessary support to artists, they are notoriously exploitative both to the artists they sign and the creative professionals they employ. Just 3 companies currently control over 80% of the recording industry and reap 70% of the profits, inflating their margins at the expense of the creatives they claim to represent.

We all know that there is a serious need for change in this industry—a dark shadow of corporate interests looming over our most communal form of expression—yet, until now, no one has been able to offer an effective alternative. That is, until the launch of our new platform, Unsigned.

Unsigned is a web platform where artists can connect and collaborate with independent freelance creatives, replacing the exploitative industry standard with a dedicated artistic community. By networking on Unsigned, artists can access the expertise they need to grow their projects without being forced to sacrifice their creative autonomy or ownership. Built by and for creative communities, Unsigned puts the resources of a record label in your pocket.

Artists and creative professionals pay no subscription fees to utilize the platform. Instead, Unsigned provides an online marketplace where they can source one another’s skills on a freelance basis via a process similar to Upwork’s ‘Direct Contracts’ feature. In exchange, we take a small percentage of transactions between users, which is split between both parties in order to lower costs and reflect a more equitable culture of creation.

Serving as both the meeting place and marketplace of independent creative collaboration, we aim to promote a dramatically different approach to the business of music. As we build this venture, we invite you to join our Discord community, follow our social media, and reach out to learn more about the specifics of how we aim to disrupt the industry and bring power back to the community that has always stood at the cutting edge of culture.

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