Invictus Records: Growth & Implementation

Context: Independent artists (especially marginalized ones) struggle immensely to grow their careers due to multiple factors. These factors range from a lack of funding, to a lack of coaching and support, to unsustainable low margins from streaming services, to large cuts from record labels, and so much more.

Scale:

● Artists keep only 12–16% of revenue in typical record deals.

● Women are just 2% of music producers (USC Annenberg).

● Streaming pays $0.003–$0.005 per stream—far below livable wages.

● Labels own the music. Artists often walk away with nothing.

Impact:

● Launch a sustainable, artist-first record label

● Produce & release first music from Invictus artists

● Set a new standard for fair industry practices

● Empower a new generation of diverse creators

Solution

Equity-Sharing: Artists retain rights and hold equity in the label.

Transparency: Simple, fair contracts and open communication.

Representation: Focus on underrepresented voices.

Development: Career support, branding, video, and mentorship.

The approach and methodology are outlined below, with a strong focus on risk minimization.

Risks:

Revenue volatility → diversified income streams

Legal/IP disputes → entertainment counsel

Artist turnover → equity incentives

Market competition → niche positioning

Funding risk → blend of capital, grants, crowdfunding

Market Competition

Risk: High saturation in indie-label and

digital-distribution markets may limit

visibility.

Mitigation:

• Niche positioning on women, queer,

and equity-first artists.

• Social-impact narrative differentiates

from traditional labels.

• PR alliances (Shore Fire, EBM) and

collaborations with philanthropic

partners.

Capital & Cash-Flow Constraints

Risk: Early-stage revenues may lag

behind production and marketing

expenses.

Mitigation:

• Lean operations, phased artist rollout

(pilot cohort of 5–7 artists).

• Convertible-note funding tied to clear

milestones.

• Layered capital strategy: grants,

donors, and brand sponsorships to

supplement early revenue.

Artist Performance & Retention

Risk: Some artists may underperform

commercially or exit early.

Mitigation:

• Transparent equity and royalty-sharing

contracts.

• Artist development, mental-health

support, and marketing mentorship.

• Diversified artist roster across genres

to spread performance risk.

Operational & Legal Complexity

Risk: Managing equity contracts and

royalties adds legal/administrative

burden.

Mitigation:

• Retain experienced music attorneys

and adopt royalty-tracking software.

• Quarterly investor and artist

reporting for transparency.

• Engage a fractional CFO or

operations advisor for compliance

oversight.

Scaling & Brand Reputation

Risk: Rapid growth could dilute

mission or quality control.

Mitigation:

• Establish an Advisory Board of

artists and industry experts to ensure

alignment.

• Conduct annual impact audit

(ownership %, representation, equity

outcomes).

• Build scalable systems for digital

distribution, analytics, and marketing.

The current outcomes of this project are the onboarding of several volunteers in various positions to facilitate growth and implementation. Two artists have already signed to Invictus Records, with more currently being scouted to join the ranks.

As for future desired outcomes of the project, those are aided by additional funding.

● Studio space rental

● Artist-friendly contracts & legal fees

● Website & brand identity

● Marketing & social ads

● Signing on more artists

Furthermore, the desired outcome is to develop Invictus Records as an independent, woman-owned record label built to

give artists equity, transparency, and creative freedom. Launching a

new kind of label that doesn’t just sign artists, but shares ownership with

them, especially those historically shut out of the industry: women,

LGBTQ+, and BIPOC creators. We believe that music should empower

not exploit.