When it comes to music artists and their battle for creative freedom and ownership, it ultimately boils down to one simple flip of the switch – the shift to independence.
Independent music artists have been dominating the charts in recent years, reflecting a movement away from how the music industry has previously been run.
As one music industry insider tells WHO, “Record labels still hold a lot of the money and power in the industry, but that’s slipped considerably in the last few years. Songs are being broken through social media, and people aren’t relying on Spotify/Apple or radio to tell them what to listen to, which are partnerships that traditionally labels have been able to influence to get their artists heard.”
Bottom line: this isn’t just a trend. It’s a power shift. And as artists take back control, they’re not just changing how music is made…they’re changing who it’s for.
From the one-and-only Prince to WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! singer-songwriter RAYE, artists have both pioneered and been open about the struggle that comes with making that fateful move to back yourself and start riding solo.
Last week, on March 19, 2026, New Zealand singer-writer Lorde revealed that she’s now an independent artist after her contract with Universal Music Group expired late last year. While her comments on the move indicate that the shift was amicable, RAYE’s 2021 journey to independence was less smooth sailing, and many artists before and after her have shared similar sentiments.
RAYE performed at the iHeartRadio Awards live on Thursday, March 26, and since she departed from her label Polydor, has won 15 music awards, with six secured on one single night at the 2024 BRIT Awards. It’s safe to say this independence thing is working out well for her!
As industry A-listers like Taylor Swift make appearances at the iHeartRadio event, we thought it was high time we pulled together a list of some of the most notable independent artists rewriting how art should be created and distributed.
What does independence actually mean for music artists?
While it’s easy enough to imagine independent music artists through the lens of publishing rights battles and broken contracts, it’s not like there’s a noticeable difference in sound. Instead, much of the indie life is characterised by wearing multiple hats and having a jam-packed schedule.
It’s the push and pull that many creatives can relate to – that is, having creative freedom, but also having absolutely no time.
For many artists, the move towards independence is often catalysed by these overarching concerns: the desire for more creative control, better ownership, speed and flexibility, more direct fan connection, and industry friction.
However, for people outside of the industry (like myself), the independent lifestyle is often painted as freedom – freedom over creative decisions, album releases, and the rights to your work – and the difficulty of forging ahead without industry connections is glossed over.
Why do artist leave their labels?
In an interview with Fashion Journal, Australian singer-songwriter Madeleine Jane Woolley – who performs under the name Maddy Jane – said that being an indie artist is “overwhelming but at the same time, the usual.”
With taking control of your creative, business, and financial decisions comes relinquishing your record label’s financial support and marketing infrastructure. Overwhelming? Yes. The standard? Yes. Worth it? Many independent artists would have to agree.
So, here are some of the pioneers of the independent music movement and the pains they took over their past and present stints without a label. Spoiler, there are more than you think!
Notable independent music artists
From serving some serious independent stints that shaped artists’ identities to remaining label-free today, singers’ move towards independence signals not only a power shift in the industry, but also in audiences’ sway over artists’ futures.
Prince paved the way
If there’s one thing I love, it’s a good Prince quote…and boy did he have some golden ones.
Prince was known to be a staunch advocate for creative independence when it came to his music. The most notable example of this was when he wrote “SLAVE” on his face, comparing his restrictive contract with Warner Bros. to slavery. The Purple Rain artist was fed up with the label owning not only his output and music, but also his name.
After leaving Warner Bros. in 1996, Prince went on to form his own label, NPG Records – short for “New Power Generations.”
Speaking about freedom in music, Prince said: “When I first started out in this music industry, I was most concerned with freedom. Freedom to produce, freedom to play all the instruments on my records, freedom to say anything I wanted to”.
RAYE
British singer-songwriter RAYE went independent in 2021 and is known for being a symbol of label frustration. After constantly being held back by album delays and a lack of creative trust, RAYE left Polydor after being signed since she was 17.
After becoming independent, the artist released My 21st Century Blues and won six BRIT awards in 2024, setting the record for the most BRITs won in a single year and marking a massive win for independent artists everywhere. At the 2024 ceremony, she won Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best R&B Act, and Songwriter of the Year.
Since then she’s received Grammy Award nominations, including Best New Artist and Songwriter of the Year, won two Ivor Novello Awards, four Global Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, and oh, also has her name and memory on a plaque attached to her ex-boyfriends favourite pub. Now that’s talent and commitment at its finest!
Lorde
Lorde – a New Zealand singer-songwriter known for her debut studio album Pure Heroine and more recently Solar power and Virgin – announced her independence on March 19, 2026 after her contract with Universal Music Group expired quietly at the end of 2025.
She explained to fans that she was looking for a “clean slate” after signing with the label when she was only 12 years old. Although, she doesn’t seem to have any animosity towards the team at UMG, describing them to fans as “incredible people” that she “adores” in a voice note on a WhatsApp community/SMS service.
“The truth is that a 12-year-old girl pre-sold her creative output before she knew what it would be like and before she knew what she was signing away. I’m sure I’ll have a deal again, could well be with Universal, but I knew that I needed to take a second to have nothing being bought or sold that comes from me.”
For Lorde, her newfound independence is about a “clean slate” and the “newness” of having “no master.”
Adds our music insider, “Labels are good at mass scale. Think about production of merch, physical records (vinyl), creator campaigns in international territories, plus data and analytics teams in all territories. For someone to build that infrastructure and run it, it would be so expensive.
“Lorde is arguably at a point in her career where she doesn’t need that/isn’t influenced by it, which is probably part of her decision to step back and take some time to think on what she does next.”
Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper is another musical artist who embodies what it means to pursue channels outside of traditional labels. Blurring the line between mixtape and studio album, Chance the Rapper released Acid Rap in 2013, making the mixtape free to stream and download by uploading it to the mixtape website DatPiff. The artist promoted the song through untraditional channels at the time, leveraging social media and blogs.
Since then, this hip-hop artists has released music with cult-heroes like T-Pain, Lil Yachty, Jay Electronica, Kanye West and Justin Bieber, merging jazz and gospel melodies and securing profit through massive touring, merchandise sales, and a notable $500k deal with Apple Music for an exclusive on his 2016 Coloring Book, rather than album sales.
By leveraging platforms like Soundcloud and Apple Music, Chance the Rapper has been able to maintain his initial integrity and win Grammy awards for his free, independent projects.
Frank Ocean
As the saying goes, “bro is anywhere but the studio.” Maybe that’s because he doesn’t need one to make music…
After fulfilling his Def Jam Recordings contract in 2016 with the release of Endless, Frank Ocean quickly released Blonde independently through his own label, Boys Don’t Cry. This alternative and contemporary R&B artist also made waves by setting a new blueprint for artist independence, gaining full ownership of his master recordings and creative control.
Nemahsis
Nemahsis, who’s real name is Nemah Hasan, is a Palestinian-Canadian artist known for Stick of Gum and represents the empowerment behind the shift to independence in music. She continued to prioritise integrity over conformity after being dropped by her undisclosed major record label in 2023 for her activism for Palestine and views that were too “polarising” for the label.
Embracing this new phase of independence, she released Verbathim in 2024, earning herself Juno nominations and proving that authentic storytelling is what audiences crave.
Other artists with stints of independence
Other major artists that have embraced independence throughout major stints in their career include Chappell Roan, Clairo, Azealia Banks, and Phoebe Bridgers.
Chappell Roan was initially signed with Atlantic Records but was dropped in August 2020 after the poor performance of her early pandemic releases, including the now break-out hit Pink Pony Club. Following her rise to fame as an independent artist, Chappell was then signed with Island Records in 2023. I bet Atlantic is kicking themselves now!
Clairo started independent and is a testament to the DIY to viral pipeline after producing hit songs like Bags in her room and promoting them on social media.
Phoebe Bridgers also pursued the hybrid-independence pipeline, co-founding Saddest Factory Records in 2020.
Huge shout out to Azealia Banks for altering my brain chemistry with 212!
After this 2011 breakout song led to multiple record signings, this American rapper, singer and songwriter split from traditional labels in 2014 and launched her own label, Chaos & Glory Recordings. While she’s occasionally signed to record labels since then, she’s continued to remain known for her independence.
When are the iHeart Radio Awards?
The 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards will be airing live from Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 26th. This means it will go live in Australia around 11:00 AM AEDT on Friday, March 27.
Australians can watch the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards through the iHeartRadio app or the iHeart website which will be streaming the event live.
Highlights are also typically shown across the KIIS network as well as multiple social media accounts.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
