Record Label Research

Record Label

 

If I was going to release my promotional package for my new artist, Tempany, my artist would need a Record Label. A Record Label is a company that coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion of music for a artist. They also enforce the copyright for sound recordings and music videos.  One of the generic conventions of a digipak is that the Record Label's logo will be displayed. For my digipak designs, I used Universal Music Group's logo because that is the record label that Nina Nesbitt, the artist who originally sung the song I used for my music video, is signed too. Therefore, I need to research different record labels to see which one would be the most suitable for my artist.

 

Universal Music Group(UMG)

 

Universal Music Group's roots can be traced back to 1934. It is the largest music company in the world and one of the 'big three'. It is owned by the French Media conglomerate Vivendi which also owns companies such as Universal film. UMG owns Universal Music Publishing group which is the second largest music publishing company in the world. In 2010, the company employed 6,967 people and had a total revenue of $6 billion. Some famous artists that are signed to the record label include Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Tom Jones, Elton John and Ellie Goulding.

 

EMI

 

EMI is the forth largest buisness group and family of record labels in the recording industry. EMI was originally a British multinational music company head quatered in London, United Kingdom. EMI own some other record companies such as Parlophone and part of Virgin Records. The revenue for the company in 2009 was £1.072 billion. Famous artists singed to EMI include 30 Seconds to Mars, Lilly Allen, Foo Fighters, Gorillaz, Coldplay and R.E.M. On September 21st 2012, the sale of EMI to UMG was approved in both Europe and the United States by the European Commission and the Federal Trade commision. This deal came with the condition that the merged company divest one third of its total operations to other companies with a proven track record in the music industry to still make sure that the music industry market has some diversity.

 

Sony Music Entertainment (SNE)

SNE is the second largest music corporation in the world. It is owned and controlled by the Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation.

The company which evolved into Sony Music was founded in 1929. Its Revenue for 2010 was $5,672 million. The company also own other smaller record labels, the most famous being Columbia Records. Famous artists include Alicia Keys, Backstreet Boys, Fatboy Slim, Johnny Cash, One Direction and Whitney Houston.

 

Independant Labels

 

There are many independent labels across the world. An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organisations of a major record label. A great number of bands and artists start on independent labels. In the UK there are lots and lots of independent record labels such as Bleeding Heart Records, O Rosa Records and Stolen Recordings. A full list of notable UK independent labels can be seen here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_independent_UK_record_labels

 

 

 

I have decided not to go with a Independant Record Label. Independants give more control to the artist about what music they would like to produce. However, they lack the connections and subsidiary and parent companies that can provide other resources which they cannot.

This leaves me with a choice of the 'three' major record labels. I have decided not to go with Sony Music Entertainment. This is because they mainly focus on the American market, which could be useful for my artist to 'crack' America but for the launch of her career in the UK, not so good. EMI own such record labels as parlophone which have a good track record with making successful artists. However, since the company was brought out by the parent company of UMG, vivendi, I feel as if my artist would be better off being part of Universal Music Group, their original company. They have all of the resources to promote my artist across several different mediums.