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What Happens When an Artist Gets Dropped From Their Record Label? It’s Complicated.

As the music business reorganizes, some artists are getting dropped from their record labels. That isn’t always a bad thing.

“Each time there have been major staff layoffs across the label systems, concurrently there were artists released from rosters,” says Leon Morabia, a partner at Mark Music & Media Law. At the same time, the buttons that labels can push — to get radio play, appearances on award shows and late-night television, and prominent press placements — no longer guarantee real fans. To secure the return of unreleased music, artists may have to give the label a concession, either in the form of “an ‘override’ payment or a royalty on sales and streams,” Pantin adds.

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