MAJOR RECORD LABELS
Definition: Large companies within the music industry which may also own smaller record labels
Purpose: The role of major record labels is to mass produce music from artists that are considers "commercial", this pretty much means producing any music material which forms to 'Pop Culture' at the time and this is where people start to rebel against the beliefs of labels like this. While independent record labels are known to focus more on the quality of music that artists are producing and the raw talent, most major labels prefer to build up an image for their artists making them more of a product - talent is still important but by no means is the only factor an artist can rely on. Also, although their known as "mainstream" and to follow "pop culture", this doesn't mean they just distribute Pop artists. They also produce popular and big stars from other genres such as R&B, Rock and sometimes even Classical and Country - this way they appeal to a lot of mainstream audiences from all different kinds of genres and therefore maximize their profits which allows them to carry on mass producing.
Purpose: The role of major record labels is to mass produce music from artists that are considers "commercial", this pretty much means producing any music material which forms to 'Pop Culture' at the time and this is where people start to rebel against the beliefs of labels like this. While independent record labels are known to focus more on the quality of music that artists are producing and the raw talent, most major labels prefer to build up an image for their artists making them more of a product - talent is still important but by no means is the only factor an artist can rely on. Also, although their known as "mainstream" and to follow "pop culture", this doesn't mean they just distribute Pop artists. They also produce popular and big stars from other genres such as R&B, Rock and sometimes even Classical and Country - this way they appeal to a lot of mainstream audiences from all different kinds of genres and therefore maximize their profits which allows them to carry on mass producing.
Sony Music Entertainment (Sony ME)
Sony ME is the second biggest global record label at the present time. Its parent company is Sony Corporation of America and manages artists much as:
- Beyonce
- Little Mix
- Labrinth
Also, Sony Music Entertainment owns many subsidiary record labels some more known than others such as:
Columbia Records
Artists on this label include:
- Beyonce
- Chipmunk
- Johnny Cash
- The Hooters
Epic Records
Artists on this label include:
Artists on this label include:
- Blondie
- Cher Lloyd
- Paloma Faith
- Olly Murs
Roc Nation
Artists on this label include:
- Jay-Z
- Rita Ora
- Willow Smith
- J.Cole
As well as music, the parent company of Sony ME (Sony Corporation of America) also have links in film industry with 'Sony Pictures' famous for franchising films such as Spider-Man, Men In Black, Ghostbusters, Stuart Little and Resident Evil.
Warner Music Group is the third-largest major record label in the world making it one of the 'Big Four' record labels in the current day. It owns artists such as:
- T.I.
- Oasis
- Lupe Fiasco
Like Sony ME, Warner Music Group also owns smaller record labels known as its subsidiaries examples of these would be:
Atlantic Records
Artists include:
Artists include:
- Wiz Khalifa
- B.O.B
- Trey Songz
- Jason Mraz
Examples of artists from this record label include:
- Ed Sheeran
- Marina & The Diamonds
- Ce Lo Green
- Tracy Chapman
Fueled By Ramen
- Corba Starship
- Gym Class Heroes
- Paramore
- Panic! At the Disco
Time Warner is the parent company of Warner Music Group but as well as just having a record company, this business also has branches in the television industry with a TV network called 'The CW Television Network' which Time Warner broadcasts alongside a company called CBS Corporation. Other television networks which count as subsidiaries of Time Warner are Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN and truTV. The company Warner Bros (yet another subsidiary of Time Warner) are responsible for businesses in the film industry like New Cinema Line, Warner Independent Pictures and Warner Bros Entertainment Inc - famous for films such as Valentines Day, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Harry Potter, New Year's Eve and Project X.
INDEPENDENTS
Definition: Music labels that operate one or few music labels
V Records
V Recordings is a record that produces drum and bass music, based it London. It's founders are DJ Bryan Gee and Jumping Jack Frost. It's one of the longest running labels of it's time since it started releasing music in 1993. Some of their artists include the biggest names in drum and bass from past and present including:
- Roni Size
- DJ Die
- DJ Krust
- Ed Rush
- Optical
- JME
- Skepta
- Wiley
- Frisco
- Belle & Sebastian
- The Gentle Waves
- SixNationState
- Parka
Is it right from a music point of view as well as an industry point of view that 4 companies dominate the music industry?
In my opinion I think that it is fair that 4 companies dominate the music industry as they offer quite a variety of music genres which means it's not necessarily one type of music dominating mediums such as music channels and radios. For example, if we were to look at Sony ME, on one of their subsidiaries they manage Beyonce but then also manage Johnny Cash. The same applies for Warner Music, they manage Wiz Khalifa who is mainly a rap artist but they also have the band Oasis signed who are pretty much the counter opposite. However, I think from an industry point of view it probably isn't fair for 4 companies to dominate the industry because other independent labels that are hoping to grow and become a key player in the industry are finding it much harder since labels such as Sony ME are commercial and are interested in any artist that will sell records and make the company money at the end of the day whereas independent labels such as Boy Better Know are interested in making money but they're more intact with their audience and stick to a particular genre which in comparison makes them sort of niche, therefore not reaching bigger audiences than the dominant labels.
In my opinion I think that it is fair that 4 companies dominate the music industry as they offer quite a variety of music genres which means it's not necessarily one type of music dominating mediums such as music channels and radios. For example, if we were to look at Sony ME, on one of their subsidiaries they manage Beyonce but then also manage Johnny Cash. The same applies for Warner Music, they manage Wiz Khalifa who is mainly a rap artist but they also have the band Oasis signed who are pretty much the counter opposite. However, I think from an industry point of view it probably isn't fair for 4 companies to dominate the industry because other independent labels that are hoping to grow and become a key player in the industry are finding it much harder since labels such as Sony ME are commercial and are interested in any artist that will sell records and make the company money at the end of the day whereas independent labels such as Boy Better Know are interested in making money but they're more intact with their audience and stick to a particular genre which in comparison makes them sort of niche, therefore not reaching bigger audiences than the dominant labels.
What affect do you think this has on the industry?
I think that the fact the industry is dominated by 4 major labels not only makes it harder to grow and work their way up the ladder in the music industry but it also commercializes music a lot for the audiences. Most TV Shows such as 'The X Factor' and 'Celebrity Juice' only have live performances from artists from commercial labels such as WMG and Sony ME, this also applies to big festivals such as Glastonbury, Wireless, V Festival and even Reading who's known for their more indie artists that play - even their line up features artists mainly from one of the 'Big 4'. However, I also think that there's always going to be some types of music or some artists that appeal to audiences more than overs hence why some have mass markets and some have niche markets. The affect this has on the industry is there's a big divide between record labels that make a massive turnover each year and those who don't, for instance their operating income is around £293,265,700 whereas an independent label will sometimes struggle to breakeven if they don't get lucky with the music they distribute.
I think that the fact the industry is dominated by 4 major labels not only makes it harder to grow and work their way up the ladder in the music industry but it also commercializes music a lot for the audiences. Most TV Shows such as 'The X Factor' and 'Celebrity Juice' only have live performances from artists from commercial labels such as WMG and Sony ME, this also applies to big festivals such as Glastonbury, Wireless, V Festival and even Reading who's known for their more indie artists that play - even their line up features artists mainly from one of the 'Big 4'. However, I also think that there's always going to be some types of music or some artists that appeal to audiences more than overs hence why some have mass markets and some have niche markets. The affect this has on the industry is there's a big divide between record labels that make a massive turnover each year and those who don't, for instance their operating income is around £293,265,700 whereas an independent label will sometimes struggle to breakeven if they don't get lucky with the music they distribute.
Are independent labels as successful as major labels, how do you judge this?
No. If you look at record sales, artist popularity and profit then it's fair to say that major labels come out on top in all of them but if we were to measure it by whether the labels fulfill their objectives then I think it'd be fair to say that the two are on par most of the time. For instance a lot of independent labels want to stay niche and their goals can be to find artists that'll only appeal to a very specific audience whereas a major label may look to find the next household name - even though the artist founded by the major label will probably be more well known, the independent label will still have fulfilled the objective set to suit their label.
No. If you look at record sales, artist popularity and profit then it's fair to say that major labels come out on top in all of them but if we were to measure it by whether the labels fulfill their objectives then I think it'd be fair to say that the two are on par most of the time. For instance a lot of independent labels want to stay niche and their goals can be to find artists that'll only appeal to a very specific audience whereas a major label may look to find the next household name - even though the artist founded by the major label will probably be more well known, the independent label will still have fulfilled the objective set to suit their label.
Is there anything that independent labels offer the industry that major labels do not?
Yes, I think independent labels make the relationship between consumers and distributors more personal. A lot of independent labels cater to their audiences needs by producing music the way consumers want it (i.e. possibly CD's instead of digital downloads) whereas the major labels mass produce their records in as many forms as possible at different times all over the world in order to publicize to the absolute maximum and make as much profit from their audience as possible rather than cater to specific needs.
Yes, I think independent labels make the relationship between consumers and distributors more personal. A lot of independent labels cater to their audiences needs by producing music the way consumers want it (i.e. possibly CD's instead of digital downloads) whereas the major labels mass produce their records in as many forms as possible at different times all over the world in order to publicize to the absolute maximum and make as much profit from their audience as possible rather than cater to specific needs.
Your post on record labels demonstrates some understanding of how record labels manage artists in the music industry. You have also considered a range of artists to support the points that you are making too.
ReplyDeleteTo make your post more detailed you need to consider the role of the major labels and consider their role within the media industry in more detail