‘The artists who thrive aren’t just creators, they’re entrepreneurs’

This guest column comes from Alex Heiche, founder and CEO of Sound Royalties:

Artists today face a paradox: unparalleled access to audiences, but intense competition for their attention.

Long gone are the days of hounding passers-by and A&Rs with mixtapes and EPs. In the age of social media and streaming, it has become easier than ever to take those first steps and share your music, build a small community of passionate fans, or even have a viral moment on TikTok that has you rushing to the studio to record the track before the interest dies down.

However, as any professional artist will tell you, competition is stronger than ever, and that initial success means little if it can’t be developed into something that supports the next stage of a career.  

The artists who thrive in this landscape aren’t just the most talented, they’re the ones who truly understand how to turn creative momentum into lasting careers. If artists want to have control over their careers, if they want to be the ones making the decisions about when and how they work, then learning about business and becoming an entrepreneur is a necessity.

Take Raye, who performed just a few days ago on Jimmy Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’. Her recent success was sparked by one important decision: choosing the path that best aligned with what she felt her career needed at that moment.

For her, that meant stepping out on her own as an independent artist. That shift gave her the space to explore her ideas fully and led to some of the most compelling music she’s released in recent years. Her story is a reminder that artists thrive when they choose the model that best suits their needs at that stage of their career.

This evening, Sound Royalties is sponsoring the Entrepreneurship Award at the Artist and Manager Awards. This year’s recipient, Craig Logan, is a leading force in both the creative and business sides of music.

Starting out as a musician with the boyband Bros, he became a successful record label executive before founding his own management company, Logan Media Entertainment (LME).

LME is behind stars such as P!nk and Dido and spans a digital and social media agency, two record labels, a sync imprint and a standalone entity to represent visual content creators, influencers and promote talent-led brand partnerships.

Craig’s journey shows the branching career paths and creative projects this approach can deliver, and the extraordinary possibilities that open up when artists embrace both sides of their professional journey.

His journey demonstrates not just his sheer intellect and drive, but how business awareness empowers artists to shape their careers on their own terms and amplify what’s possible.

Craig’s career shows the true power of diversification, and he’s not alone. While artists like Rihanna with Fenty, Jay-Z with Roc Nation, and Beyoncé with Ivy Park operate at massive scale, the principle applies at every level.

For working artists, diversification might mean merchandise, licensing opportunities, content creation, or even establishing their own label or publishing, and developing other artists.

It could be running a Patreon, licensing music to indie games and podcasts, or teaching production online. Multiple income streams create resilience and sustainability.

Successful artist-entrepreneurs recognize and seize new opportunities. Twenty-five years ago, many feared technological innovations like Napster were on the brink of destroying the music industry. Instead, we’ve seen the creation of not only the music streaming platforms that reversed this fate, but also digital platforms presenting entirely new revenue models.

That shift has created today’s creator economy, where hitting 100,000 followers on YouTube, TikTok, or Twitch unlocks new opportunities and introduces your music to an entirely new audience.

But these partnerships can grow even further when artists make effective use of the analytics tools available on modern platforms. Listener and engagement data from platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok have become valuable currency.

These metrics reveal audience demographics, listening habits, and engagement patterns that can be used to negotiate better deals or design more effective campaigns.

Artists and their teams who know how to collect, interpret, and present this data can transform raw numbers into compelling narratives that demonstrate reach, influence, and growth potential – exactly what drives partnerships and funding opportunities.

When I founded Sound Royalties, offering financing to creatives without loss of copyright, without full recoupment requirements, and without taking a percentage of future royalties, was still new. It helped pioneer a shift in the industry. What was once seen as a last resort is now viewed as a strategic way for artists to invest in their own momentum, explore new ideas, and build sustainable careers.

This shift reflects a broader truth: financial literacy and entrepreneurialism give artists options. The stronger your financial position, the stronger your negotiating power over what you choose to do and who you choose to work with.

The modern music industry offers extraordinary opportunities for artists who are willing to engage with both the creative and strategic sides of their careers.

Understanding how the business works doesn’t compete with artistic vision; it protects it. And if we want our industry to continue producing works that connect people, push boundaries, and carry meaning, we need to empower artists with the tools, financial support, and freedom to build careers on their own terms.