(October 5, 2015) When we started SoulTracks over 12 years ago, the general public saw soul music as being about big artists on major labels like Sony, EMI, Polygram and Universal. People were buying CDs, and iTunes was a brand new idea. Vinyl was dead and music streaming services weren't yet born.
But by the end of 2005, we had become a part of the burgeoning independent soul music scene, where artists outside the major label world found their creative voices and also found their commercial lives via internet radio, online stores, and music editorial sites like ours. So that year we inaugurated the SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards, with a simple idea: To create the first major awards dedicated to independent soul music artists. To honor those artists who weren't getting the shine they deserved from the Grammys or even the BET Awards.
(October 5, 2015) When we started SoulTracks over 12 years ago, the general public saw soul music as being about big artists on major labels like Sony, EMI, Polygram and Universal. People were buying CDs, and iTunes was a brand new idea. Vinyl was dead and music streaming services weren't yet born.
But by the end of 2005, we had become a part of the burgeoning independent soul music scene, where artists outside the major label world found their creative voices and also found their commercial lives via internet radio, online stores, and music editorial sites like ours. So that year we inaugurated the SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards, with a simple idea: To create the first major awards dedicated to independent soul music artists. To honor those artists who weren't getting the shine they deserved from the Grammys or even the BET Awards.
Four years later, the major labels appeared to be rediscovering soul music, so we reluctantly added a new category, "Major Label Album of the Year," to make sure we recognized and supported major label artists like Maxwell, who won that year for BLACKsummersnight. We continued that for the next few years, but it never quite felt right. While our hearts were in the right place by giving awards to strong major label releases, the decision may have diluted the original purpose of the Awards, to honor independent artists who weren't getting the recognition from the mass media or other award shows. Indie artists face a different dynamic and more obstacles, especially if they are releasing music themselves.
So, it is now 2015, and the world has changed...a lot. CDs sales are continuing a decade-long sales slide, vinyl is a small but surprisingly growing niche, and music streaming by YouTube, Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music is the wave of the future. It is a difficult time for all artists releasing music, as reduced album sales across the board and limited broadcast radio playlists make "breaking through" all the more difficult. For soul music artists, Tyrese's triumph this Summer, topping the Billboard 100 with his independently released Black Rose, was a seemingly pivotal moment that showed the potential power of independent soul artists. That encouraged us and others in the indie world, even as we were reminded that not every artist has a hit movie (like Tyrese's Fast And Furious 7) to help them sell their music. But it was this potential -- and the corresponding challenges -- that made us want to again remind the world of the courage and creativity it takes for independent artists to do what they love and bring us the music we love. And they deserve annual kudos more than ever.
So, with the 2015 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Awards, we'll be going back to our roots, reminding our readers (and ourselves) of what our Awards have been about from the beginning: to be the largest awards dedicated exclusively to independent soul music artists. So all categories for this year's awards will be available only to independent artists and their music. And as we compile the hundreds of nominations we've received for this year's awards and prepare to have SoulTrackers place their votes later this month for their favorites, it will be with a renewed focus on celebrating the indie soul world, and to acknowledge the unique challenges of being an independent artist, expressing music not for the money or the fame, but because it is a part of who these talented people are. It's a special event in the musical world that will truly go back to its foundation. And we can't wait.
By Chris Rizik