GET CREATIVE
A Record Label in Your Pocket
UnitedMasters
Distribute Music & Find Beats
Music industry veteran Steve Stoute has launched the careers of some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Now he’s on a mission to level the playing field for everyone.
It all comes together with UnitedMasters, a one-stop shop that gives indie artists major-label support and infrastructure—while letting them retain complete control over their work. “Every musician should be able to distribute their music how they want to,” he says.
With the UnitedMasters app, you can publish your music in minutes—from cover art to track listings. Getting your work up on Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and other digital services is as simple as choosing songs from your device to upload. Then it streamlines everything from payments to stats analysis.
Best of all, there are no auditions, no signing over rights in perpetuity, no limits on how to express your creativity. And the fee structure is simple: UnitedMasters charges 10 percent of revenue. Artists keep 90 percent.
No one should tell an artist how their music should sound.
—Steve Stoute
Barely out of high school, NLE Choppa is a poster boy for the service. After being courted by several major record labels, the rapper opted to go with UnitedMasters. Like many young artists with a dedicated fan base, he’s racked up millions of view on YouTube with with no record label support. His single “Shotta Flow,” released through UnitedMasters, has been certified platinum by the RIAA
We spoke to Stoute, UnitedMasters’ founder and CEO, about how Will Smith opened his eyes to what’s wrong with the music business—and why apps’ disruption of the industry has only begun.
How do you describe the United Masters app?
It’s literally a record company in your pocket. I’ve worked in this business for decades and I’ve seen the shift coming for a long time. Musicians need to figure out how to make things better for their bottom line—beyond just selling merch at concerts. UnitedMasters is it.
There was a time when indie artists would travel and sell their music out of the trunk of their cars.
And now the iPhone in your pocket is equivalent to the trunk of your car. It’s that simple.
You’ve always focused on partnering musicians with brands throughout your career. How did you make the leap with UnitedMasters?
In 1997, I produced the soundtrack to Will Smith’s movie Men in Black. The album sold 10 million copies. But the real winner financially was Ray-Ban, which made the glasses from the film. They made more than Will Smith on that movie! I knew I had to figure out how to get in those rooms and make those deals.
How does UnitedMasters affect the creative process?
No one should tell an artist how their music should sound. I did that for years. Executives would say, “That trend is over” or “You should do this sound.” But the internet is democratic. There doesn’t need to be a sounding board anymore to determine quality. Now sometimes musicians sing purposely off-key. It’s fine! We can’t restrict creativity.
A musicians can get started with the app in minutes. Is there a downside to having such a low barrier of entry?
Absolutely not. We have 190,000 artists on UnitedMasters. They deserve to be able to go straight to platform. The best will blossom.