How Indie Artists Like Ruby Waters Are Making It Work Without a Label

It’s every starry-eyed artist’s dream to sign a record deal — or so the conventional wisdom goes.

The recorded music industry has been built on the label model from its earliest days, with record companies providing funding to artists in exchange for rights to the music.

As recording has become cheaper and more accessible, though, the whole paradigm is shifting. Now, many artists are choosing to remain independent — or, in the case of major Canadian breakouts like The Beaches and Nemahsis, seeing success as independent artists after leaving a label roster.

That dynamic has been changing for decades, with strong independent streaks in DIY-minded genres like punk and hip-hop, but the internet has upended the industry to such an extent that artists across all genres are weighing the benefits of independence.

Of course, independence doesn’t mean doing it alone. Self-releasing artists with wide commercial reach still have strong support teams around them — in fact, going without a label makes the rest of the team that much more crucial.

Billboard Canada takes a deep dive into what indie artists need and how to stand out from the crowd, with insight from musician Ruby Waters and new artist services company Small Fry.

Keep a Strong Community Around You

When you don’t have a label fronting funds or tapping into established release strategies and promotional networks, you need to make sure you’ve got a strong community around.

Ontario indie artist Ruby Waters knows that first-hand. She’s become a major breakout Canadian indie rock act in the last five years, with two Juno nominations, international tours and millions of streams under her belt.

She credits her friends and fans with her ability to grow independently.

“The main force to my independence as an artist really comes down to the love and support I’ve had from my day one homies and fans throughout my whole ass musical journey starting from back when I was singing on the street,” she tells Billboard Canada.

Waters has been hustling for a long time, busking as a young teenager before her 2018 single “Sweet Sublime” gained traction on Reddit. That gave her some industry buzz which she translated into signing with leading agency Paradigm and a tour opening for City and Colour.

That’s the point at which many young artists might also sign a record deal. But Waters carved her own path instead.

“Not signing to a label right away has allowed me to flower on my own terms as an artist a little more,” she muses.

Waters has built an artistic persona that radiates authenticity. Her 2024 debut LP What’s The Point is packed with well-crafted grunge-pop songs that capture the angst and ambivalence of coming of age. Sometimes when artists sign with labels too early or too young, their identity can be diluted through outside influence, but Waters’ relatable, unfiltered energy is all natural.

“Writing has always been a really strong and important medicine for me,” she says. “I’m just gonna continue to keep it real and write raw, uncut tunes.”

Follow The Roads That Lead Where You Want to Go

Waters is part of a growing cohort of rock acts charting an independent course, from L.A. indie rock breakouts Cryogeyser to Brooklyn art-psych group Crumb.

One of the reasons to sign to a label is that they know how to break acts. But artists can now build fanbases organically online, harnessing the potential reach of sites like Reddit, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Canadian acts like singer-songwriter Alex Nicol and jazz-pop group Fleece, for instance, have been able to translate viral videos into real listenerships and fanbases.

At the same time, the ease of releasing and promoting content online doesn’t mean it will reach the right ears. Elliott Gallagher-Doucette of artist services company Small Fry explains that the internet ecosystem is a double-edged sword.

“With the removal of barriers for recording and releasing music, there's also the bottleneck or sort of existential question that a lot of independent artists face which is, "how do I get myself heard amidst a really oversaturated online music ecosystem?"

Gallagher-Doucette, who also plays in the band Dumb Crush, recently co-founded Small Fry with coworkers Jesse Northey and Sophie McKinnon at Victory Pool. An offshoot of that label, Small Fry works with indie artists, signed and unsigned, to help with all the pieces around a record deal.

“There are a lot of opportunities for artists, especially in Canada, to find critical paths to sharing their music and building their audiences without the mechanisms of a traditional label deal,” he says. “We founded Small Fry as a means to formalize those activities and create access to infrastructure and capacity for independent artists.”

Artist services companies like Small Fry, or distribution services like the popular, Sony-owned AWAL (home to big recent breakouts like Laufey, The Beaches and Djo), can support releases without taking the same royalty cut — or any royalty cut — that a label would.

Label deals often leave artists at the mercy of a label’s sign-off on release plans and timelines, as well as heavily in debt for promotional costs that need to be recouped before an artist sees a dime in royalties.

Of course, not all labels are created the same, and labels can provide much-needed infrastructure and resources for artists.

“I think ultimately it just comes down to how much an artist wants to keep: whether that's keeping the rights to their music or keeping their money in their pocket,” Gallagher-Doucette adds.

While there isn't a one-size answer, every artist should be aware of the career paths they could take, and roads they don’t want to go down.

Waters, for example, hasn't leaned into social media as heavily as independent peers like Indie Issue cover star Connor Price. She’s built her fanbase both online and IRL, with a packed touring schedule that has seen her play with some of her heroes, from City and Colour’s Dallas Green to American blues-folk artist Shakey Graves to rising pop-R&B singer Tia Wood. She calls those shows the highlight of her career to date.

“I’ve been amazed, inspired and blown away by them all. I’ll be forever thankful to have had the chance to share stages with countless beautiful souls,” she says.

Asked how she navigates her online persona, Waters’ answer is true to herself. “I think it’s really important to not give too much of a fuck about what people think and to work your ass off,” she says. “Virality can be helpful but it really doesn’t have to be the goal, and it never has been for me.”

Don't Be Afraid To Go For It

It’s not the easiest time to be an indie musician, amidst soaring touring costs and a crowded digital landscape where individual streams are often worth fractions of cents. Waters encourages new artists to give it their best shot anyway.

“I sometimes worry that all of the intense financial, industrial, and personal pressures will scare off up and coming/new artists from believing in themselves,” she says. “I hope that everyone is able to find a way to overcome that fear and just go for it. PUT OUT THE SONG! DO THE THING!”

“Here for a good time not a long time,” she adds.

Gallagher-Doucette and his coworkers have been around the industry — ten years between them — and he says what keeps them going is seeing the real-world impact of the music and artists they support.

Music is a labour of love. Even as artists can now do everything alone — recording, mixing, and releasing all from their bedroom computer — it takes a community to see a project take on life beyond clicking “upload.”

Gallagher-Doucette says he’s noticed that some artists are afraid to activate that community, but that’s the best support network people have.

“I think some people are really sheepish to tap the people they know and say ‘hey, I'd really love it if you listened to my music and let me know what you think.’ The reality is we're in a digital landscape where music discovery is driven by artists already having pre-existing traffic.”

That means that if people in your immediate circle are listening and sharing your stuff, it can be the best way to start a ripple effect outward.

Waters, after all, traces her success back to her day ones. For independent artists, those are the people who make the dream come to life.

Ruby Waters plays a Billboard Canada Live Spotlight Series showcase at NXNE on June 14, 2025, at Lee's Palace in Toronto. More info here.

Billboard Canada’s parent company AMG co-owns NXNE and its brands are official media partners of NXNE.