A
DECADE AGO IN LONDON,
a 15-year-old Elliot Grainge taught
himself how to trade commodities
online. He was drawn to the com-
plex, fast-paced network of day
trading, where risk-takers can reap huge rewards,
but the side gig didn’t go as planned. “I lost all my
money,” recalls Grainge with a laugh. “I decided
that I needed to create a business where there
wasn’t so much day-to-day volatility.”
Grainge, now 26, drew on that same penchant for
data and fascination with the internet when he found-
ed the independent hip-hop record label 10K Projects
in Los Angeles in 2016, inspired by the adage that you
can achieve mastery in any field with 10,000 hours of
practice. His edge? An early grasp of SoundCloud’s
youth-driven rap community, where he broke two of
the platform’s buzziest acts, Trippie Redd and 6ix9ine,
at a time when major-label heads were still trying to
wrap their heads around the platform.
The inventive label has now surpassed 10 billion
global streams, according to 10K Projects, and in
August, Redd notched his third Billboard 200 top
five title with !, which debuted at No. 3.
“When artists come home from the studio and
think the song’s a hit, in this generation, they want it
up within the next 24 hours,” says Grainge, the son
of Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian
Grainge. “SoundCloud became that quick hub of,
‘We’re going to put this out and build a fan base.’ And
there were certain artists that stuck out.”
Drawn to Redd’s melodic cadence and
punk-influenced sound, Grainge invited the Ohio
native to dinner in West Hollywood in 2017. “Elliot
ran through a plan,” remembers Redd, 20, who
signed to 10K shortly after that meeting. “He was
himself, but at the same time, it was business.” The
artist liked that the friendly young entrepreneur
offered him full creative control over his work and
was onboard with his ambitious goal to release
two projects per year. They now get together over
dinner regularly to strategize. “I have a hand in
everything,” adds Redd. “That’s amazing to me.”
Roughly 10,000 hours — a little over a year —
into its existence, 10K hit its stride. In 2018, Redd
dropped two Billboard 200 top five albums featuring
Juice WRLD, Travis Scott and Diplo, while the rain-
bow-haired, controversial 6ix9ine linked with Nicki
Minaj and Murda Beatz for the melodic hit “FEFE,”
which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Grainge has since doubled — and diversified
— his artist roster with new signings like teen pop
singer AUSTN and Puerto Rican rapper iann dior,
whose debut, nothings ever good enough, has
logged 100 million streams.
He’s also forming new alliances. In August, 10K
and the publishing/distribution company Create Mu-
sic Group made a joint strategic investment in music
firm Homemade Projects, which covers touring,
digital marketing, management and merchandise,
with clients including Travis Scott and G-Eazy. Says
Grainge: “They’re a 21st-century company.” The part-
nership includes the joint label venture Homemade
Records, which will be distributed by Caroline. While
the label has yet to announce signings, Grainge says
it will put out music before 2020.
10K has had setbacks. Days before the scheduled
release of 6ix9ine’s debut album, Dummy Boy, last