J.R. McKee: 'The Person Who Owns the Master is the Person Who Profits the Most'

‘If you want to make money in this business, you have to become the label. Artists come and go, they last 3 years, 5 years, or 1. But every label you can think of has been around since at least the 80s.'

ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / April 6, 2022 / There was a time when getting signed to a label was considered a mark of success. It meant people really wanted to hear your music, and now you had a way of getting it to them; it meant someone would be promoting your art, and it meant you'd be getting paid.

But something people have been failing to consider for decades now is the difference in profit for labels versus artists. The price that artists pay for working with a label ends up being astronomical when you consider that, most of the time, the majority of profits and creative control falls in the hands of the label.

There are countless examples of this phenomenon throughout music history, from the 1950s until today. At the height of their fame in the 1990s, TLC was only making 20 cents per album despite selling millions of records; their label's contract stated that the group would only be making seven percent of each album sale. That means 93% of the revenue they generated went directly into the pockets of their label at the time.

Record labels make and distribute albums and handle promotion, in exchange for the majority of an artist's revenue and the rights to the music itself. That's right- when you work with a label, the music doesn't really belong to you.

So are labels obsolete? J.R. McKee, a music industry veteran turned Streaming Executive, seems to think so. Artists today can make a name for themselves, retain ownership of their masters, and control their own images if they employ the right strategies. Streaming Executive is a term he coined to acknowledge the distinction between the streaming business and the music business; that distinction is invaluable for artists working to make a name for themselves.

Instead of preying on artists, McKee's purpose is partnership- helping them reach new levels of success and assisting with distribution of their work while they retain creative control over their work, their brand, and their image.

MPR Global, a streaming label founded by McKee and spearheaded by President Drew De Leon and Head of Content Jasmine Elizabeth, provides advice for artists when it comes to creative direction and promotion. But J.R. McKee stresses that the artists have to put in the work, too.

On Real Industry Plugs, the podcast McKee hosts alongside fellow industry expert Boomman, McKee states: "Most people start with nothing. What people need to understand is- you're in the best era ever to build an audience from scratch, for free."

But that doesn't mean you can build a career off of a single viral video or TikTok trend. Those things can be a great starting point, but independent artists have to go into their careers with a plan and a great understanding of who their fans are and what they want.

J.R. McKee's been around the music industry for 17 years-on the creative side as a songwriter, and on the business side as a marketing and A&R executive. He got started in the industry with his independent label Family Ties Entertainment, which sold over ten million records. Needless to say, he knows the industry inside and out, which puts him in a unique position to show up-and-coming artists how it all works.

One of MPR Global's highest-profile clients serves as a great testimonial for McKee's methods. She paid her own dues in the music industry, writing songs for superstars, but her career truly hit its stride after a personal rebrand.

Well versed in the industry and familiar with the "business side" of things, this artist's choice to work as an independent artist in addition to her partnership with MPR Global, has spoken volumes about the benefits of working independently.

With J.R. McKee's connections, insights and strategies plus her own laser focus, her song "Hrs & Hrs" reached the top of the Billboard R&B charts and stayed there for weeks. Working with MPR Global has allowed her to gain the recognition and visibility she needed to take the next step in her career: a new landmark licensing deal with Def Jam Records. This artist's career is now backed by Def Jam's legacy and influence and MPR Global's innovative marketing and insight- all while retaining full ownership of her masters.

Far from being an anomaly, this L.A.-based artist's success is just one example of McKee's multilayered strategy for helping artists take off. In 2020, he launched an online masterclass called Streaming Business 101, a way to share case studies of artists he's worked with in order to help new artists find their own way.

"The best people now don't work for major labels, they work for themselves… [They say] I don't need that, I can do this on my own." With insight from a high-level industry executive in hand, up-and-coming artists have the chance to learn that they really can do it- as long as they have the drive.

Find J.R. McKee and MPR Global on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Listen to Real Industry Plugs podcast here.

Reach out at [email protected].

SOURCE:.MPR Global