Episode notes
What happens when independent artists no longer have to wait for a record label to fund them?
Los Angeles independent rapper CENO has an album coming November 6 called The Album.
It hasn’t been released yet.
But 6 figres has already been generated around the project.
No major-label album release. No hit record driving the numbers. No millions of streams.
How does an independent artist generate six figures before the public has even heard the album?
The answer involves a new platform called Imblem and an entirely different way of thinking about the relationship between artists, their audiences, creative works and royalties.
But the $ is only part of the conversation.
The bigger question is what this could mean for the future of the music business.
If an independent artist can build substantial financial support directly around an unreleased project, what happens to the traditional label negotiation?
What happens to A&R?
What happens when fans can do more than stream, like and comment?
And what happens when an artist walks into the room already having demonstrated that people are willing to put real money behind the project?
In this episode with Ceno, we discuss:
• How an unreleased independent album generated $420k • Why he believes fan participation could change artist leverage • What Imblem is and how he used it • Why the traditional music financing model may be approaching a major disruption • Whether followers and streams are actually the best measurements of an artist’s value • The difference between having fans and having people financially committed to your success • His personal journey and the life experiences behind The Album • Why each song represents a different chapter and mental state in his life • What happens on November 6 when the experiment meets the marketplace
There’s music here.
There’s technology.
There’s money.
There’s controversy.
And there’s a much larger debate about who gets to decide which artists and creative ideas deserve a chance.
What if the next major disruption in music isn't how we listen to it — but who gets to participate in its success?
Two great freestyles by Ceno come right before and after the interview and stay tuned until the end to learn more about the podcast.