How Grammy Nominee Brent Faiyaz Built His Music Career Off Streaming (HBO)

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When Grammy nominee Brent Faiyaz and his manager, Ty Baisden, were offered a record deal with a quarter million dollar advance, they walked away. Instead, they opted to go independent.

New artists usually seek notoriety by signing with a major label. But the contracts often leave them with few rights to their music and little-to-no longterm earning power. In recent years, however, more and more artists have decided to buck signing with a label and pursue their independence, according to veteran music attorney Richard Grabel.

The best contract that Faiyaz and Baisden reviewed, for example, gave them 18 percent of the royalties — money paid by the record label to the artist for each time a song is played or purchased.

After scooping up a Grammy nomination for his performance on GoldLink’s “Crew,” Faiyaz and Baisden chose the indie route. They set up their own company, Lost Kids LLC, and invested $30,000 out of their own pockets for a debut album. Now, they use data from streaming platforms like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music to build their fan base. Knowing who plays Faiyaz’s music — and where — helped the duo sell out a tour across the United States and Europe.

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“I believe that the system that we're building is based off of transparency, ” Baisden said. “And one day somebody will give me 20 million dollars to do it and to keep doing it.”

VICENews
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$30K a month is a massive win for an independent artist. He has created a wonderful income for himself and his family AND he is doing it off his passion, which is a W in my book.

As Brent increases his fame, he can probably do more as well.

Look forward to hearing more about him and his manager.

hayaglamazonluxe
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lowkey respect to Spotify/Youtube/Soundcloud for making these data analytics available to upcoming artists

stevensamuel
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This was such a necessary video. Artist need to KNOW that they can operate and thrive even without the assistance or supervision of a label. Especially major labels. Brent and his team are a testament to self belief, passion and critical thinking. DONT SIGN if you don't have to.

conduitofthegospeldarrellb
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yesss my boy boy Brent finally getting recognized, definitely underrated, hope he blows up as big as Chance did

ryancarson
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Brent Faiyaz’s x Sonder’s music is the soundtrack to my life

jtgault
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The key thing for an independent artist to take away from this video is that they found a way to put up their own money! 30k into a project is a lot of money for an indie artist but they got it done. Find people who believe in you and are willing to invest in you whether it's time or money. You need a team to really sustain in this industry. It took me a long time to figure this out.

iEKNOWS_
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His project “INTO” under the name SONDER is super underrated. The production is on a whole new level.

melle
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Thats what I like, musicians take charge of the business.

themawaali
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I’ve been a Brent fan for so long I used to watch this video so much and I always wished that he would blow up, and here we are. I’m so glad and so proud. He’ll never see this but I’m so grateful that he’s blowing up.

jaylenfields
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I can't overstate how happy I am Sonder/ Brent bucked the system. Chance and others paved the way.... I hope this continues, as I feel creates a more continuity of the sound as well as creative control of his content.

Lexlugr
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It's so so so sad that this man's talent isn't appreciated enough.

omoaston
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Perfect example of being an artist in the music industry without “selling out”. Folks be reading too deep into everything now and days.

NYCKZ
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Seen him in SF. He put on a great show. Got to meet him afterwards, super cool and humble dude.

ty
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Brent is the kind of success story that encourages me as a underground artist with a small following. Seeing how he’s developed his skills and slowly blown up after seizing each and every opportunity he’s been giving has been inspirational! Mans has quickly become a mainstay in the industry and for good reason. Dude is too nice! I know if I put in the work, I can reach a larger audience some day too, but for now, I’m happy being a supporter. My turn will come too. Salute to Brent🔥

itsrealkenna
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Ayyyyee Brent is an amazing artist. Hope he blows up.

lambovii
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Im so happy he got some recognition he had been the soundtrack to my life for the past year. All love for him <3

ameliali
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Vice this was amazing but too short. The manager had insights and Brent is so cute with a great voice

hayaglamazonluxe
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I've been saying this for 4 years- artist/labels need to run like data-driven tech startups. Doing so leads to long term success in this new digital age. Actionable metrics. Things like predictive analytics becomes viable due to so much data available. Structured at that ya digg. Its too easy. I feel like the next HOV type artist, Will be a technologist and a lyricist-- the future.

zanderceo
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I wrote a whole dissertation/thesis in 2015 about this exact thing. I titled it 'Can I kick it...Independently?'. I need to get that shit published ASAP.

Sandman