Today (July 4) is America's Independence Day and the last few years has seen successful artists grab their own independence by releasing on their own labels or independent ones.

Artists such as Aloe Blacc, St. Vincent, Frank Ocean, Chance The Rapper are amongst fellow Americans who have released independently on their own record labels.

St. Vincent was first picked up by small UK independent label 4AD, home to Cocteau Twins, Pixies and Dead Can Dance. 

Frank Ocean released Blonde through his own label, which then went on to sell over 275 million copies in its first week of release.

Chance The Rapper has always released independently, and his self-released album Coloring Book won a Grammy. He was the first artist to get an album into the Billboard 200 based on streams alone. 

In the UK, artists such as Stormzy, Lady Leshurr, JME, Skepta, and Wiley have all released independently.