Artists have always been able to make music and perform by themselves. But all of that other stuff needed to make it big is expensive (marketing, paying for venues, logistics, recording and producing masters, distribution, etc.), and few artists have the trust fund money needed to handle those costs themselves.

Even Justin Bieber, Lorde, and Billy Eilish depended on record labels to actually profit from their music, though they all broke out on social media platforms on their own.