Jack Stratton, founder of one of my favorite bands, Vulfpeck did exactly this. He kept the band completely independent and label-free all the way to their 2019

Jack Stratton, founder of one of my favorite bands, Vulfpeck did exactly this. He kept the band completely independent and label-free all the way to their 2019 show where they packed out Madison Square Garden. Pretty impressive! That said, I don't know if most artists have the time/know-how to do all the work required for that. Only tangentially related, but he's done some clever stunts in the band's history, such as releasing an album called "Sleepify" which was 10 completely silent tracks, and told fans to run the album on loop all night when they sleep to game the Spotify system, and the money made from that was used to put on a free tour.