7cult Records is a new independent record label, helmed by digital marketing executive Dalton Piché. It’s mission: use data and advertising dollars to achieve greater certainty with its signings.
It’s the latest in a growing trend of newer independent labels founded by digital gurus, like Broke Records and Black17, leveraging their knowledge of the internet and their lean operations to move fast and ink signings out from under the incumbent major music players, which are often stymied by many levels of bureaucracy.
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Piché has had a history working within the major system before he decided to start 7cult. Through his digital marketing company, Pulse, which is still in operation today, he has run campaigns for artists like Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, Ed Sheeran, Sienna Spiro, Martin Garrix, Wiz Khalifa, Shaboozey and John Summit. But recently, Piché’s firm sent a surprising email to its clients, stating that “we’ve decided to stop providing our services to major labels,” citing that the slow pace of the “major label system has prevented us from delivering the level of service we strive for.”
His approach now is to build a company based on what he calls “focused audience testing” to figure out what is actually working for an artist, rather than using a traditional rule book. It’s an attempt, he says, to achieve “100% certainty that our efforts will have impact,” despite the recorded music’s reputation for being a high-risk sector. The 7cult records team is built up of talent primarily with marketing and technology backgrounds, rather than just traditional label jobs — a calculated choice to try to achieve a fresh take on the modern label. As part of their public launch, the company is also announcing the appointment of artist management veteran Maria Rodigan as the company’s senior vp.
So far, the company has had early signs of success signing acts like oskar med k, Blue and Romme, but the team has much greater aspirations. They want to break a “superstar,” says Piché.
Below, Piché and Rodigan speak to Billboard about the launch of 7cult, their approach to advertising spend and why Pulse sent that email to clients.
Dalton, you’ve said: “If we’re going to get involved, we want to know with 100% certainty that our efforts will have impact.” Record labels have always been seen as a business full of uncertainty — a business where you sign many artists and have a relatively low batting average. How do you think 7cult is doing business differently that allows for more certainty with your efforts?
Piché: Our approach is to get the data upfront, before we sign an artist. There have been occasions where we’ve collectively loved a project but haven’t been able to land a winning test (successfully tested Meta ads on an unreleased project that delivered a conversion cost under $XX), which leaves us uncertain that we’re the right partner, so we’ve walked away. It’s not a lack of passion; we just want to be honest about whether we’re the right fit.
Advertising is a big part of how we kick off new releases, and because we’ve already gone through the testing process, we come out with a level of ‘certainty’ that we’ll be able to impact the project in a big way.
Rodigan: Being independently funded is a big part of what makes this possible. We don’t have layers of approval or outside pressure to hit signing quotas, so we can test quickly, make decisions quickly and move at real pace once we do commit. That speed means when the data tells us something is working, we can back it immediately and fully.
Your marketing company, Pulse, recently announced that you’d no longer be taking clients from major labels. Why?
Piché: Many reasons. Majors think very differently, and often don’t get involved in marketing projects until there is already proven momentum or a viral moment happening. Independents naturally need to be more intentional and resourceful with how they invest in projects. Simply put, advertising is a more structured and predictable way to bring attention to new music, but you can’t go viral with ads. We find with majors we’re also dealing with too many layers of approval and ‘explanations required’, campaigns stopping when we should be doubling down and team members way too focused on ‘reach’ and ‘impressions’ (less important metrics, in our opinion). Perhaps in a few years they’ll be ready for this approach.
It seems you’re trying to rethink how labels work for artists in 2026 and offer non-traditional approaches. Can you elaborate on what some of those non-traditional approaches actually look like?
Piché: One of the biggest differences is how we approach launch. Most labels still segment markets, breaking an artist in one territory before rolling out to the next. We take a global approach from day one, running our advertising across markets simultaneously so fans can find the artist wherever they are, rather than waiting for a territory-by-territory rollout.
In-house, we’re built around three core pillars: digital, community and content. Those are the areas we believe drive real momentum for artists today, so that’s where we’ve invested in our own team rather than outsourcing.
Rodigan: We’ve also been intentional about hiring people from outside the traditional label world. Our team comes from a mix of backgrounds, not just labels and that brings fresh thinking to how we build campaigns. It means we’re not defaulting to the way things have always been done, and our strategies feel more modern as a result.
Do you see 7cult as a label that is in the business of making superstars in the traditional sense? Those who dominate in zones like radio and press and become celebrities beyond their music, or do you think a successful artist looks different for 7cult?
Piché: We are very much in the business of making superstars. We still believe radio and press are important for raising profile; we’re just firm believers in spending in the right places at the right time. Traditionally, you see a lot of labels overspending in these areas when there’s little to no momentum. Our approach is to focus on digital first to spark that momentum, and then lean more into the storytelling.
You use “focus audience testing” to help determine how you promote a record. What does that mean?
Piché: This would refer to our advertising. With each campaign we’re utilizing 100+ pieces of content, across a wide variety of audiences (the listeners we target with our ads). This is optimized constantly to maximize the value of each dollar spent.
Tell me more about why oskar med k represents a blueprint for what 7cult is capable of in the future?
Piché: With oskar, it’s always been about the music. Behind each new track there’s always been a high volume of ad-testing on demos, top lines, etc… and with each new release the momentum has continued to build. The project was built ‘digitally’ and from there we put the time and effort into the story & branding. We believe this serves as a blueprint because it did not require Oskar to post daily on socials, or to go ‘viral’ himself. It required consistent testing, aggressive marketing, and great music.