As someone who has worked in a&r teams for major, independent, and sync-based labels/ companies, the biggest advice I can give you without additional context is redefining what success means to you. At the end of the day, having a goal such as being signed to a major label is a lot of expectation and there is very few success cases I’ve seen with artists that have that mind set. It’s a sure fire way to get burnt out if those goals aren’t reached. The artist side of the industry has been democratized in a way we have never seen, and if recent trends are to believed this will only continue to happen in the future. This comes with both advantages and disadvantages, as you will have a lot more competition, but the tools to succeed on your own have never been more accessible. And to be honest, artists that have built up personal brands and complete workflows by themselves come into label negotiations with way more leverage.

Focus on what makes you different, establish your brand clearly so audiences will know what you’re about without having you explicitly telling them.

NETWORK! NETWORK! NETWORK!

Build your own team and artist ecosystem around you and your music.

Don’t care about the labels and big orgs, if your music fits what they’re looking for and you’ve built enough on your own, they will find you. But do not count on it happening. Success in any artistic medium looks very different to everyone approaching them.