Greg Puciato, the lead singer and frontman for The Dillinger Escape Plan and, more recently, The Black Queen, has been in the music business for nearly two decades, having recorded albums on labels such as Relapse, Sumerian and Cooking Vinyl, among others. But his last two albums with The Black Queen have been self-released without a label, a decision he called in a recent op-ed as "not just a statement of intent, but also of refusal."
In the essay, titled "Why My Band Decided Not to Sign with a Label," Puciato makes a point to say he’s "not advocating for going it alone versus a label," adding that "they can almost act like parents in a lot of ways, nurturing you and supporting you." But much of the essay then explains how, at this point in his and his bandmates’ careers, they no longer felt they needed a label and that, in terms of signing, he "started to really loathe the idea, in fact, and see it as a waste of potential." In summary, he writes, "There are so many avenues now, so many possibilities, why limit yourself to any rules at all, except for the rule of being true to yourself?"
Fair enough -- after years navigating the record business, it’s reasonable to want to go it alone. What is notable is where the op-ed appeared: as a blog post on Spotify’s Spotify For Artists platform, alongside other stories such as "Yuno: What I’ve Learned Doing Everything Myself," "How Spotify Puts Fans First" and "Lance Allen and the New Secrets of DIY Success."