Lost & When You Smile. These two started a new chapter for me. Cool seeing them go 10x farther than expected. Appreciate everyone who’s shared, streamed & every DJ who’s spun them. 🤞🏼 (ps. got another slappp otw)
This screenshot means everything to me.. I might frame it ha.
Since 2016, scroll down any Takis record on Spotify or Apple & you’ll see a list of labels under every song. They own them. Add YouTube & the remixes, at least 350 million streams with a label underneath.
What f*cks artists up isn’t just insane $ terms, rarely is about that tbh.. it’s ownership, because ownership means control.
Labels didn’t just own my released music, they controlled all my music, released or not.. & are the reason 100+ songs I love never got heard.
They can block & take down your YouTube, IG, TikTok, Spotify. Accounts you made years before. Passwords won’t save you lmao.
I never wanted a “stage” name... it’s my last name. My dad immigrated from Greece, got thrown into high school in Canada not knowing a word of English. I really care about that & I can’t separate Takis music from Peter Takis or the history that gave me a shot.
That’s where control = ownership of your artist name. In my case, that was my last name. & that became leverage & felt like censorship when these mfers don’t need a password or even lawsuit to shut you down. They just do it.
Not gunne lie, I def woke up to my YouTube being nuked for using my own music in a mix, almost lost my SoundCloud for uploading a remix I made (for my own song).
But I agreed to long ass deals. I own that. Walking back on agreements is corny. 0% blame (1% shade). I now know that artists have more power than we think.
Btw it’s not lost on me that I’m writing a manifesto caption while promoting a song called “When You Smile”
I believed “you’ll never get on a playlist without us” “nobody is on the radio indie” “can’t collab with major artists without” then I became independent.
& my first record out the deal was a collab with a legend. Then on Friday my first solo single, no label, no collab, just Takis got more playlist support & radio adds than my last 5 records combined over 3 years under a label I thought I needed.
Feels like I just left a cult lmao.. what a wild month.
PS: someone ask Alex Jones to investigate how an indie single got more industry support than a conglomerate could get in 3 years. 🤔 *adjusts tin foil hat*
“Often” is out now. It feels like an upgraded version of the sound that started it all... those emotional future bass remixes. The wild west YouTube bootleg days & SoundCloud edits with ripped acapellas haha… that’s how most ppl first found my music.
Looking back, it’s cool to see only one of these records has been a collab. “Often,” & tbh all the songs from this chapter, feel more personal, more mature & a lot more honest.
“Often” also marks my 5th release with @ultrarecordsofficial , an experience I’m proud to have grown through. (Tldr… I hope y’all like Often & the 5 Takis records this year. I’m inspired for what’s next & grateful for all of the love.) 🤍
