This might be a dumb question but why do big artists still need distribution deals given how easy it is to put music on streaming platforms now?

@safe

presumably for marketing but this is a good question

you can pretty much pay your way onto any platform that a label is gonna get you on off of purely distribution (youtube ads, billboards, etc.)

and of course physicals dont exist + u can get on streaming with a press of a button

Probably more steps to releasing songs than you think there are. I'd imagine most artists would rather use another company's infrastructure than build their own international firm.

Is it really that hard for big artists to stand out though?

playlisting is vital nowadays

marketing

physicals are difficult obviously

more than anything its the promotion exposure and playlisting
it doesnt sound like as much as it is but a label is gonna get you on complex, on rap caviar, on radio etc

also its wild that you have to go thru a third party to get on streaming at all instead of signing up for an account like YouTube and having that direct uploading ability. like lowkey RIAA should have some s*** where u go thru them to upload everywhere

once you're already a big artist you definitely have a big advantage
but the issue is a lot of big artists are already in long term contracts
having a distribution deal like drake does now can simplify things as well. he doesnt have to figure s*** out, the label will push the songs, get them attention, foot the bill for videos etc

yea fr
I dont understand why there isn't an easy way to do this without using a random ass website

Streaming platforms have so much music that artists will need to have a professional service to push their music to the Frontline of the streaming platforms for higher exposure to the users.

So artist need the labels?

Marketing and sales are not the artists expertise

you should manage artists