Once upon a time, there was a set way of releasing albums. After months of beavering away in the studio, an artist would relinquish their precious work of art (or best attempt at it) to a major or independent label and await the magical day that the finished product would materialise on shelves. For a long time that was the only choice.

Nothing could be further from the truth in 2017. The emergence of label service providers offering a viable ...