A variety of tenacious artists, industry observers and experts in independent music descended upon GRAMMY House: Growing Wild Independent Music Community Panel on Thursday, Feb. 1, to discuss industry trends and share career strategies and tips days before the 2024 GRAMMYs.
Speakers and panelists included Stan Founder and CEO Denisha Kuhlor, independent recording artist Cocoa Sarai, Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava, SymphonyOS Co-Founder and CEO Megh Vakharia, VP Label and Artist Relations Chris Maltese,and CEO and President of the American Association of Independent Music Richard Burgess. Taking place at GRAMMY House 2024, presented by Mastercard, the event was held at Rolling Greens in Downtown Los Angeles.
A flooding rain earlier in the day couldn’t dampen the event, as clouds cleared and organizers dried out. In fact, the resilience spoke to a larger theme.
“When I first started, I was saying yes to everything,” said independent GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Cocoa Sarai. “I had my first concert, I cried the night before. I thought nobody was going to come.” Despite those fears, Sarai was undeterred. “That night, someone showed me a video of a line outside. So from there, I put my head down and kept working.”
A profession not for the faint of heart, the life of an independent artist can be as tenuous as it is fulfilling. From the high-highs when one is flying on air, to those low-lows of rejection and setbacks, the music-makers that operate outside the legacy record label system are famously one-stop shops. In addition to honing their artistry, musicians must also navigate the complex and often monotonous aspects of the business side of their passion. It’s that dichotomy that was the topic of discussion for much of the event.
“Everything is figure-outable,” noted Denisha Kuhlor, founder and CEO of Stan, a fan engagement and community-building software platform. “You have to remember that all of the bigger artists were experimenting one day too… it’s important to remember that when you fail and an experiment goes wrong, you can only win if you stay in it.”
“Don’t forget, it’s all a long game,” mused another panelist, Megh Vakharia, co-founder and CEO of SymphonyOS, a technology platform that helps independent artists reach new audiences. “Plan for that long game and take care of yourself along the way. I was talking to a manager last night and he said it takes seven to eight years to develop an artist. You need to give yourself that time.”
While seven to eight years may seem like an eternity for artists hungry for success, it was Sarai who represented the epitome of a grassroots artist at the Growing Wild event. The Brooklyn native kicked off her passion for singing in church as a child, decamped to Los Angeles and found ways to boost her streaming numbers, promote her work and grow a following organically. From those humble beginnings, she subsequently collaborated with artists ranging from Dr. Dre to Nas and Anderson .Paak, appearing on the latter’s album Ventura, a 2020 GRAMMY winner for Best R&B Album. She’s always ideating ways to expand her brand, including the release of her 2023 single “Concrete Rose” as an NFT.
“[With everything that happens], I have to focus on the fact that I love this and really can’t stop,” Sarai said of the importance of being undaunted amid the inevitable obstacles that may arise along the way of an independent artist’s journey. “I love making music and what I do.”
Water-cooler topics of the moment were also front of mind at the GRAMMY House on this day: “Did anybody think they were coming to a music industry panel in 2024 and not talk about AI?” laughed moderator Chris Maltese, VP of Label & Artist Relations at Vydia. “ It’s a massive force disrupting the entire business, from songwriting, composing to even imaging and licensing.”
“AI’s a very touchy subject, because it affects everyone in every field,” mused Kakul Srivastava, CEO of the music creation platform Splice who provided a cheerier view of the technology. “On my side, I use AI as a tool to save time, and I think that's going to be the biggest revolution.”
He pointed out that the burgeoning technology specifically can benefit indie artists most. “There’s so much work, whether planning a song, making an advertising campaign, or all of these rote pieces or administrative tasks. AI can come in and give artists and creators the tools to make the process super simple, so artists can actually focus on things that actually matter,” he explained. “AI can be a big time saver.”
It’s a point that Sarai echoed. “At first, I was gung-ho against AI, I didn’t even want to hear about it,” she joked. “Everything I was hearing was that this was bad. ‘They're replacing you!’ But once I started to recognize it as a tool, now ChatGPT has been saving my life. Most labels have a team working for them, but I have to figure everything out on my own. “
Universal Music’s recent headline-making decision to pull their music from TikTok also was top-of-mind. “There’s an interesting window right now [for independent artists],” said Srivastava. “Take advantage of it.”
“Regardless where you are in the industry, start with getting comfortable with being uncomfortable,” noted Maltese, alluding to another major motif of the afternoon. “It’s like jumping into ice baths. Nobody likes doing that — it’s about the benefits you can get from it. People succeeding at the highest levels are pushing themselves to do things that they aren't used to doing. The sooner you understand that’s part of the journey, the better off you're going to be.”