Major Record Labels - Ms Georgiou

Major Record Labels:

This can be defined as large companies within the music industry that may also own smaller record labels.

There are many music labels in today's society and some which are more successful then others. I will be researching into who the major record labels are in the music industry now. As well as who those record labels manage and who represent them.

Currently in the industry there are four associations that dominate the market, these include;

• Emi Group
• Sony Music
• Warner Music Group
• Universal Music Group

All of these organisations dominate the music industry from the amount of artists they manage and there reputation of making artists successful from the brand name supporting an artist.

Emi Group manage artists such as Katy Perry, The Beatles, Robbie Williams, Arctic Monkeys, Ruth Lorenzo and Coldplay.

This is the link to the Emi website stating all of the artists they manage;
http://www.emimusic.com/artists/

Sony Music manage artists such as Christina Aguilera, Leona Lewis, Whitney Houston, Kings of Leon, The Script and Alexandra Burke.

This is the link to the Sony Music website stating all of the artists they manage;
http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/artists/

Warner Music Group manage artists such as Estelle, T.I, Bruno Mars, Linkin Park, Sean Paul and Toni Braxton.

This is the link to the Warner Music Group website stating the artists they manage;
http://www.wmg.com/

Universal Music Group manage artists such as Akon, Rihanna, Christina Milian, George Michael, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

This is the link to the Universal Music Group website stating the artists they manage;
http://www.universalmusic.com/artists?filter0=A

As a result of this these organisations have worked and have successfully built up a reputation for being recognised within the music industry for having the most successful and recognised artists worldwide.

Universal Music Group own smaller companies such as Def Jam Recordings. Def Jam Recordings is an American Hip-Hop record label, owned by Universal Music Group. It operates as part of The Island Def Jam Music Group. It was founded in 1984 by Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons and manages artists such as Kanye West, Method Man, LL Cool J, Nas and Git Fresh. Universal Music Group also own Loud Records which was founded in 1992, however the label was shut down in 2002. It was founded by Steve Rifkind and is also a Hip-Hop music label. Artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Xzibit, Twista and Three 6 Mafia were all signed to Loud Records. (Some of this research was taken from Wikipedia).

Sony Music also own other smaller companies such as Work Records, also known as The Work Group or WORK. This record label was run by Sony Music that was the replacement for Sony's Chaos Recordings. The label works by new artists and rising stars initially through Columbia Records, and then subsequently through Epic Records. It folded in 2000 and Epic Records absorbed all of its artists. Some of these artists include; Diana King, Jenifer Lopez, Fiona Apple, Chris Whitley and Midnight Oil. Sony Music Group also own Date Records and some of the artists they manage consist of Ricky Martin, R Kelly, Oasis, Pitbull and The Zombies. Date Records was a sub-label of Columbia Records which had two different incarnations. The first incarnation was a shirt-lived rockabilly label in 1958 which included a release by Billy "Crash" Craddock. The more significant incarnation was relaunched in February 1966 by industry executive Tom Noonan. The most successful acts on the Date Label were Peaches & Hern and The Zombies. The label was dissolved in 1970. Date acts  were transferred to either the Columbia or Epic labels with most reissues of Date material on Epic. Sony Music Entertainment now owns the Date catalogue which is managed by Legacy Recordings.(Some of this research was taken from Wikipedia).

There are also different links within the media industry and the music labels that I have been talking about these links are through TV, Films and Magazines.

Sony Music Entertainment -

• American Record Corporation
• Columbia/CBS Records
• Sony BMG

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Music_Entertainment)

Emi Group -

• EMI Films
• EMI Records
• EMI Televisa Music/Capitol Latin
• EMI Songbook Series

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMI_Group)

Warner Music Group -

• Warner Bros. Records Official Site
• Warner Music Italy Official Site
• Warner Music Latina Official Site

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Music_Group)

Universal Music Group - 

• Universal Music Publishing Group 
• Universal Music Group Distribution
• Interscope-Geffen-A&M
• Island Def Jam Music Group
• Universal Motown Republic Group
• Universal Music Group Nashville
• Verve Music Group
• Decca Label Group
• Universal Music Latin Entertainment
• Universal Music Enterprises
• Show Dog-Universal Music
• Fontana Distribution
• V2/Co-operative Music
• Polydor Records
• Mercury Music Group
• Island Records Group
• Universal Music TV
• Universal Classics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Music_Group

Independents:

This can be defined as music labels that operate one or only a few music labels. Independent labels can only just be successful but operate from a smaller company base. They are traditionally known as offering more 'organic' music rather than manufactured mainstream. 

Here are some examples of independent music labels;

1) Boy better know - Boy Better Know founded by Hassan based in Cannon, is often used in a slang terminology however it is more commonly known to have been established by grime artists Wiley and brothers, JME and SkeptaMay 2009. The song is also featured on both Wiley and Skepta's albums, Race Against Time and Microphone Champion respectively. The song was written because of Skepta's annoyance over 'the lack of women in clubs'. It was played on Channel AKA, MTV Base, MTV Dance and BBC 1Xtra and entered the UK Singles Chart on 6 June 2009 at #97, reaching #79 the next week. The second single from the album V.I.P titled Goin' In was released for download on iTunes on 13 December 2009.

Artists include; 

• Skepta
• JME
• Wiley

2) Red Girl records -Red Girl Records is a London, UK based independent record label founded by Melanie C, also known as Sporty Spice, after parting ways with her record label Virgin Records. All of Melanie's activities are decided upon and funded by herself, alongside her business partner and manager, Nancy Phillips.

Artists include;

• Melanie C

3) Sons Ltd - The Soul of North Staffs or 'SONS' is an independent record label based in Stoke-on-Trent. The company was formed in 2004 by Neil Graham, Seb Clarke, Al Padmore, James Wakefield and Tangwyn Davies. The label consists solely of bands native to the North Staffordshire area and has become a noted figure both locally and nationally, having recently received attention from Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens (6music, BBC Radio 1) as well as Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Marconie (BBC Radio 2) SONS has earned comparisons to Factory Records for its DIY ethic and its unique 'SONS sound'.

Artists include;

• This is Seb Clarke
• The Novellos
• The Title
• Tommy Turbo & The Turbervilles
• La Dies
• The Rough Charm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_independent_UK_record_labels

In my opinion it is right from a music point of view that 4 companies dominate the market. The reason for this is because they have worked hard for what they are recognised for. This means that they are then doing their jobs correctly in managing the artists they do which makes them so successful within the music industry. Without hard work and commitment any business would fail, however being able to dominate a part of an industry as big as the music industry shows the devotion of a business and its employees to be recognised as the best. In conclusion to this I do feel that smaller independent organisations have a lot to be compared with but shows that with the correct business skills they will be able to progress and be one of the major music organisations in the future.

The effect this has on the music industry is that it is a highly competitive industry with many organisations fighting to become the best. This means that businesses are in direct competition with one another and will do anything to come out on top. It also means that organisations are always looking for new artists to sign in order to meet the needs of the changing public. As a result of this by appealing to a wider target audience with the amount of artists they have, organisations when given the chance will take any opportunity they can to gain a better reputation and better artists then rivals which is why the industry has become so competitive.

Independent music labels are not as successful as major music labels in my opinion. The reason for this is because consumers already know what to expect from each organisation in this industry which is why for a new independent label that does not have a reputation as of yet are faced with organisations that have been trading for years. As well as this major music labels have the funds that allow them to research on a worldwide scale to find new artists without having any limits on how much money is spent on marketing or promotion. Whereas independent music labels have limits on how much they are able to spend and the areas in which they can look for new artists.

Independents have more to offer within the industry then major music labels due to the amount of artists they manage. For example a major music label has over 100 artists signed to their music label this means that it is difficult to meet the needs of each artist and keeping in control of each musician. Whereas smaller independent organisations who manage half of that amount are able to see what their artists want and how they wish to be seen by the public as well as having their own input and say on how they are promoted etc. This element is a sufficient example of why some artists prefer to be signed to other music labels instead of others. Having said that major music labels offer a much higher contract rate due to the brand name of the business. This means that artists can be drawn into businesses based on how much they are willing to pay instead of the best ways to suit an artist. In conclusion to this both major music labels and independents labels have good and bad aspects, this means that it is up to the artist/s to research into the best organisation that suits them.

Throughout this piece of work I have referenced Wikipedia as it has been my main source for information.