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The music industry has redefined itself time and time again, restructuring the systems in place that many have deemed to be questionable — even unfair towards the artists the business is built on. The people that make the business go round are trapped in dirty contracts depriving artists of ownership of their masters, unequal 360 deals and more, but with the rise of music distributors like UnitedMasters, which focuses on developing artist-driven careers, and executives like UM’s own Goldie Harrison, there’s a fighting chance that the industry is on a path towards self-sufficiency.Spending the last two years with and outside of UnitedMasters in different job capacities has given Harrison a bird's eye view of what an equitable framework in the music industry should look like. As UnitedMaster...

Moneybagg Yo is one of the most productive rappers in the game. The Memphis-born talent made his dent in the scene nearly a decade ago with Federal, a mixtape that circulated around Memphis and eventually made its way beyond Tennessee state lines. Following the tragic death of his fellow freestyler and biggest champion, Elo, in 2015, ‘Bagg (as he often calls himself) was propelled to take music more seriously, starting with a mixtape tribute to his late friend.Since then, ‘Bagg has unleashed four studio albums, an EP and 15 mixtapes. While the rapper is driven by tenacity alone — as evidenced by his remarkably long tracklists, with tapes often running over 20 songs — it was his fans who were the driving force behind his latest endeavor. Speaking to Hypebeast, ‘Bagg says his new album is ce...