Rocking in a Free World

And though digital distribution—through Apple’s online iTunes store and other avenues—is the best-known nontraditional way to sell music, it’s not the only way. Indies are also getting attention for their bands via commercials and even TV programming.

There’s no doubt that in terms of retail sales, the recorded music industry is shrinking. “In 1999, the industry was $14.6 billion. Last year it was approximately $10.5 billion,” says Rich Bengloff, president of the New York City–based American Association of Independent Music. “That’s retail, including digital downloads, mobile, subscriptions, et cetera. That’s everybody’s cut—the retailers, the wholesalers, et cetera.” But during that eight-year period, he adds, independent labels’ percentage “has increased seven of the eight years.”

Part of that (relative) growth is due to the indies’ openness to untraditional forms of distribution and promotion. In 2007, 12 percent of Rhymesayers’ business was digital distribution. This year, Sayers projects 15 to 18 percent. Besides releasing four or five full-length records and five or six singles in 2008, the label is overhauling its digital presence, redeveloping its Web site, and building out a digital store that will be interconnected with Fifth Element.

Opening the Fifth Element store was a risk in an industry moving away from physical record sales and toward digital distribution. But with its focus on independent recordings, there was no store like it in the Twin Cities at the time it opened. To Sayers, that provided a unique opportunity. Plus, it offered a growing Rhymesayers fan base a hub for music, tickets, and merchandise.

“It was also strategic because there was a big problem at the time with independent artists getting paid and having any regularity to their product getting out there,” Sayers says. “For us, it was very easy to keep all those independent distributors honest, because we were also buying a couple thousand dollars’ worth of product from them every month.”

Rhymesayers now has 16 artists on its roster. The label focuses on building and maintaining momentum for its current lineup, rarely signing new artists. “It’s a challenging thing developing an act from scratch,” Sayers says. “It’s hard to have a roster full of that.”