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Future’s Strange New Album ‘The Real Me’ Makes Me Worry About The State of Music Industry

Future released a mess of an album with ‘The Real Me’, sparking some concerns about an artist’s intentions when making a record.

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How is an artist supposed to make their money nowadays? Touring is the usual cash cow, but concert tickets are dwindling slightly. Merch doesn’t rake in the big bucks in the same way. Long gone are the days when people would actually pay for the music they claim to love. The music industry just doesn’t have money like that anymore. As a result, the artist has switched roles with big corporations, trying to sell their latest records for brand sponsorships. 

It’s dreadful to think about, but an artist’s work has essentially become just another portfolio to sell. So stars are selling their masters outright to collect a single lump sum of cash. It’s morbid to think how little ownership over your work matters, but unfortunately it works out for both sides. An artist wants a little more than passive income. These media conglomerates and trust-fund companies exist solely to capitalize on consolidated assets. Owning an artist’s songs to chuck in an ad without having to deal with the hassle of the artist is golden. 

Back in 2022, Billboard reported that Future sold the publishing for 612 songs from........

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