Although he admits being signed onto a good record label propels a musician to some good heights, Reggae and Dancehall musician, Epixode believes, being on your own is the best option if you have the means.
The Atia singer said as a musician, the ideal thing is to go independent if you have the financial muscle so that you are able to control your own affairs.
“You see if you are grounded financially, you don’t need a record label. Money is all you need to plug yourself into the main league.
“You can employ the services of experts to do your distribution, promotion and make yourself known within a short period of time.
“Paying to be on billboards and getting your songs on the streaming platforms is all due to money.
“If you are an artiste and even naïve about promotion or distribution, you can employ the best people in the industry to do it for you”, he told Graphic Showbiz in an interview recently.
Speaking about the disadvantages of signing onto a record label, Epixode said you did not get to keep the rights of your music when a label was in the picture, adding that you did not own the rights to your catalog.
He added that you are not 100 percent in control of your craft where the record label redirects your path because they were looking at the business side of the deal.
Citing an example of a contract he once signed that he claimed almost ruined his career, Epixode said the contract stated that he could not miss a show regardless of his condition.
“I was told I cannot miss a show in whatever condition I was in. More so, I cannot do remixes of my songs after I end my years with them for the next 10 years.
“The sad thing is as a young artiste who might be enticed with a car or probably a house, it is very tempting and one would be in a hurry to sign the contract and you might do yourself a great disservice at the end of the day,” he added.
Away from that, the 2023 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) Best Reggae/Dancehall Song of the Year winner expressed his gratitude to Ghanaians for supporting his Atia song.
“I am overwhelmed by the huge support for Atia and I pray I get the same any time I bring out something new,” he said.
In addition to Atia, Epixode, real name Theophilus Nii Arday Otoo, has other songs such as Faya, Wahala Dey, Jehovah, Dear Me, My Girl, Pray For My Enemies, Dutty and Gyal Dem Suga.
Source: Graphic Showbiz
