The Music Business Runs On Independent

Last week it was National Independent Business Week. ROSTR has spent the last six years tracking the working layer of the music industry: the labels, agencies, publishers and management companies that artists work with day-to-day. With last week as the prompt, we pulled the 2025 data on how independent that working layer actually is.

TL;DR

• 97% of the labels, agencies, publishers and management companies on ROSTR are independent

• 98% of the companies added to ROSTR in 2025 were independent

• 95% of the companies hiring on ROSTR Jobs are independent

• More than 8 in 10 company profile views on ROSTR in 2025 were of independent companies

• 80% of artist signings tracked on ROSTR in 2025 involved an independent company

The Companies

• What does the music business actually look like, company by company? On ROSTR, 97% of the labels, agencies, publishers and management companies tracked are independent. ("Independent" here means not owned by Universal, Sony or Warner, and generally with fewer than ~50 employees.)

• The major label families operate at industrial scale. They generate most of the revenue, sign most of the chart-toppers, and command most of the press attention. But there are very few of them. The rest of the music business is overwhelmingly independent: thousands of indie labels, agencies, publishers and management companies fill out the working layer of the industry.

• And it keeps getting more so. Of all the companies added to ROSTR in 2025, 98% were independent. New labels launching, new agencies opening, new management companies setting up — almost none of them belong to the majors. The pipeline of new music industry companies is overwhelmingly indie.

The Activity

• If 97% of music companies are independent, you'd expect that to show up in everything else the industry does. It does.

• In 2025, 80% of artist signings tracked on ROSTR — across labels, publishers, management and agencies — involved an independent company. Signings are the events that move artists' careers forward, and four in five of them happened at the indie level. Majors typically sign artists who've already broken. Indies sign them on the way up.

• The same shape shows up in hiring. 95% of the companies actively hiring on ROSTR Jobs are independent. That includes labels like Mom + Pop, Nettwerk and ANTI- — all hiring as of this week — alongside hundreds of other indie agencies, publishers and management companies. If you're building a career in music, the overwhelming odds are that you'll build it at an indie.

• And the attention on ROSTR follows the activity. More than 8 in 10 company profile views on ROSTR in 2025 were of independent companies. People come to ROSTR to look up the companies behind the deals and the rosters, and most of the time, those companies are indies.

The Contrast

• The most interesting number isn't any one of the above. It's how different ROSTR's picture of the industry looks from the picture you usually get.

• Per MIDiA's most recent market share report, the major labels capture about 70% of global recorded music revenue. They dominate the charts and the airwaves. That share of revenue is the version of the music business that gets covered.

• But when you measure the industry by where the work happens rather than by where the streams accumulate, the proportions invert. On ROSTR, independent labels, agencies, publishers and management companies pull in more than 80% of profile views.

The Final Word

• The music business runs on independent companies. From every angle we cut, it shows. The labels, agencies, publishers and management companies that support artists are overwhelmingly independent.

How ROSTR Supports

• ROSTR supports independent music businesses — and so do our partners at NIVA, NITO, IEBA, and A2IM. If you're a member, you're eligible for a discount. Claim it here.

• And through May 31st, ROSTR Jobs is offering a $150 featured role credit to any independent business member looking to post a job. To claim it, email jobs-by@rostr.cc with the subject line Independent Business Week Jobs Promo and the team will take it from there.

Method

• This report draws on ROSTR's company database (full-year 2025) and the ROSTR Jobs platform (active listings as of late April 2026). "Independent" is defined as not being owned by UMG, Sony or Warner, and generally having fewer than ~50 employees. Recorded music market share comes from MIDiA Research, Recorded Music Market Shares 2024 (March 2025).