If you ask around, many will tell you that record labels no longer have a place in the music industry, tales are being told of how they are now in the same ranks as dinosaurs, but this is not exactly the real picture especially for relatively unknown talents.

Since the commercialization of the art, record labels have always played an essential role in introducing the audience to the next big thing while promoting, publicizing, and selling not just the music but the brand.

However, a lot has changed since the internet age, which has opened the doors to a more direct and cheaper means of getting the music out without the involvement of the 'Middle men' that these labels at-times represent.

Albums sales have been badly hit and labels have gotten impatient, cutting back on spending time or funds on artist development anymore.

Very few have the resources to spend on radio promotions while you learn the ropes, the search for that major hit becomes instantaneous the minute the ink drops on the signature lines.

While cynicism may be prevalent as regards these labels especially as there have been more disputes and court cases than wins in recent times, it would be hard to draw up a list of the 10 biggest artists globally who have “made it” entirely on their own without any affiliation to a label, major or indie at some point, a pointer to the fact that they are still needed.

If the whole process towards gaining mainstream success in the industry takes 10 steps over a period of years, a record label can help you get there in five.

With labels, there are different economics at play that can lead to a perfectly hit-driven system, depending on terms agreed in the recording contract.

When the Pop evolution happened in the late 90s to mid 2000s with groups like The Remedies, Plantashun Boiz and Trybemen, labels like Kennis Music and Dove Records were at the forefront of championing the faces behind the new Nigerian sound.

Then with their success stories heralded the birth of more labels like Obi Asika's Storm Records, Westsyde Music and LittleFish, but over the years, the music has stopped selling and the music business has been in the dumps.

The decade has witnessed less interest in purchasing CDS and more focus on streaming and the competitive pool of a large number of talents favours only but a few who get recycled at the high paying concerts and also score endorsement deals.

Labels have been constantly called out to justify their relevance and one that has creatively carved its own niche over the last decade is the Steve Babaeko owned X3M Music Group.

The label in its early years signed the likes of Overdose, Etcetera and 2008 Project fame runner-up, Praiz who joined in 2011 and in an interview he had with Pulse last year as it marked a decade of its existence, Babaeko stated that;

''Music is a passion for me and it’s not going to stop; there are just too many talented people in this country... and we will continue to invest in that.''

While the label enjoyed some measure of success and growth in its formative stages, it wasn't until 2014 that it eventually struck gold with the signing of singer Simi.

Learning from mistakes previously made, the label worked out a plan that will run during her contract period with the aim of massively marketing her into the next big hit. 

‘’I joined because of the structure, the team, the drive and financial backing is there and it is a place where you have to break the norm,’’ Simi admitted in an interview shortly after the deal was announced.

It is said that the best form of marketing is by word of mouth and social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram have helped amplified this.

On both networks, Simi holds a cumulative following of over 4M followers and the label has tapped into this with how active she is on her social media pages, creating conversations and keeping her followers in tune with her releases.

For an artist like Simi, who is not here to offer you much in terms of her sexuality or a high fashion sense, X3M Music focused on her most valuable asset, which is her talent, and at the time despite already releasing a body of work, she was more or less an unknown and required the wings that the label provided for her flight to actual success.

The journey to ''Simisola'' started with the ''Restless EP'' released just before the deal was announced. The 'Restless EP', a project of strictly covers to her favorite songs served as the training ground before the actual match-day. 

Shortly after this, she released the single, 'Tiff' and this was a major point in helping her build the direction of her sound and identify her fan-base.

Hugely promoted on the biggest channels, the listeners got to see her beyond that little girl who was easily knocking off covers, she was fully coming into her own; playful, engaging and always having a message in her songs.

And afterwards, she released a number of other singles including the collaborative anthem 'Soldier' with Falz which eventually led to the ''Chemistry'' EP, further showcasing her ability to put together a cohesive body of work.

The features were few, her style was never allowed to become saturated and outside the circle of artists she worked with, she also maintained creative control over the artistic aspects of her music which has seen her stick with long term collaborator and producer Oscar Heman-Ackah despite the allures of bigger name beat-makers.

It was also reported that Babaeko, who was bankrolling the creation and roll-out of her sophomore album, first with the label, refused to hear snippets of the songs until they were finished, trusting her with the entire process.

Since the release of Simisola in September 2017 and despite the cravings for new music almost every other week from her fans, the label has ensured that the album continue to live out its shelf life.

Well planned video releases tied to different concepts that enhanced her character either as a love child or a humorous character were rolled out with a total of eight videos released within a year and she didn't release a new single until she released 'Lovin' in November 2018.

Simi has stepped into the void that the likes of Chidinma left with her inconsistency. That 'good girl' who has largely stayed away from controversies, added to that humorous character to her persona.

The album churned out multiple number one singles across the country, became the first album to hit the 1M mark on Boomplay, made it into the Billboard World Album chart and was named as the 'Album of the year' at the Headies 2018.

She is firmly established as a powerful force in the industry and now enjoys a number of endorsement deals while headlining her own concerts in Lagos and London in 2018.

Her attention graph has peaked at the very top. She was a trending topic for days in January during her wedding with Adekunle Gold. 

In five years with X3M, Simi has been able to go the full circle, from Promising to Established and now Mainstream.

She has enjoyed that seal of approval from superstars like Wizkid and Davido that has endeared her to an audience even outside the continent and built a profile around her, leveraging on all that she has to offer and it seems guaranteed that many years from now, she will continue to be one of the most celebrated names in the industry.

Behind the visible success Simi is enjoying both on the charts and an increasing fan base is the backbone of her record label that has provided not just support but a structure in actualizing her unfolding her career into an elite position with very few blemish in sight.