Eric Hutchison, An Independent Artist, Scores a Top Ten Album, Sounds Like This, on iTunes

Earlier this week, independent singer-songwriter Eric Hutchison found his album Sounds Like This, released August 28, in the Top Ten albums on iTunes. It has fluctuated from No. 5 to No. 9. Currently, his LP is No. 7. How did this happen? Maybe it was the fact celebrity blogger Perez Hilton mentioned him on his website. Either way, Eric is up there among the best. Oddly enough, he is signed to no label, major or indie.

How does this happen? Many sites such as Tunecore submit original music to music services such as iTunes and Napster, allowing independent artists to upload their music, promote it, and profit without ever having to sign a contract in their life. The beauty of the internet is extraordinary.

So why would one choose to be independent? Well, in a hip hop driven Top 40, it is tough to release any pop rock music that will make it into the top songs. Major label recording artist P!nk released "Who Knew" last October, only finding it to fail horribly, never making it to even the top fifty songs. Once she released her catchy "U + Ur Hand," she capitalized and rereleased "Who Knew" just a few months ago. Kelly Clarkson, signed to RCA Records, released "Never Again" only finding it to peak at No. 8 on Billboards top charts. Her album My December peaked at No. 2 on the Top 100 albums before falling out of the top thirty just months later. Take another Idol chapter, Elliot Yamin. RCA snubbed him a record deal while he went on to sign with independent label Hickory Label. Again, why would some do this versus having major distribution? Simply for the pleasure of making music they believe in and not being forced into singing cheesy tunes that will live only two months on radio. With major labels losing more and more money, having independent artists create their own vision and being an active part of their careers will only hurt labels more.