Task 1.

14: Record Label Case

Study

Major Record Label

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony music is home to some of the worlds greatest artists such as
Beyonc, One Direction, Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake, Celine
Dion, Rita Ora and many more. The label Columbia was formed in 1887
and to this day, remains the oldest label in the history of the recording
industry. From this, Sony Music evolved, accumulating the best in the
business to invent a world class record label and industry leader. In the
UK, labels such as Columbia, Epic, RCA, Syco, Commercial Group, RED,
Relentless, Black Butter and Insanity all make up the Sony Music family. The
chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK is Jason Iley.

Pros of a Major Record Label Cons of a Major Record Label

Money- Most of the bigger record Lack of attention- Major record

labels will have a big financial
advantage over any self-produced
music. This money gets used to
produce music, tours and music
videos for the artist.
labels sign a high amount of new
musicians and often tend to drop
many all at once, all depending on
what works well. Therefore, its
extremely competitive.

Connections- There is many media
outlets that can further promote
the artists music. For example,
agents, music channels, radio
stations etc. This gives the artist a
better and higher chance of
succeeding in the business.
Passion for music- There are many
people who work there just for the
money and have little interest in
music, whereas those that who in
the indie labels are usually more
committed and dedicated.

Size of record label- If the record
label is popular and well known,
then the more strings they can pull
in the industry. They can use
contacts to promote the artist and
the record making it go further.
Difficult deals- Many labels want to
sign artists for multi album deals
which give the album a high level
of control of the artist and also
their choice of music.
Independent Record label

Domino Recording Company

Domino Recording Company, generally known as Domino, is a British
independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based
in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a
German division called Domino Deutschland and a French division called Domino
France. Founded in 1993, by Laurence Bell and his partner Jacqui Rice, the label's
first release was the Sebadoh EP Rocking the Forest, licensed from Sub Pop
records for release in the UK. 2003 was the label's 10th anniversary! Some of the
companys current artists include the Arctic Monkeys, Sons and Daughters, Blood
Orange and there are many more.

Pros of and Independent Record Label Cons of an Independent Record Label

Love for music- Those that work at
indie labels do it because they
have a high standard of love and
interest towards music. They will
work extremely hard so that they
can succeed their goals.
Money- This is a massive con for
this type of label. This means that
they have to think creatively for
promotion ideas. Also, they cannot
distribute to a larger audience.
The money will affect things such
as tours, recording, packaging,
etc.

Freedom to work with whomever Size-Although a smaller size allows

they want The artists dont have
to experience the pressure like
what the major labels experience,
so they can do wells in the charts.
Its more to do with the quality of
their music.
them to more accessible to the
artist it also means that it is
harder to exhibit their artist due to
little money and less contacts.
This results in them being less
powerful than major labels.

Close relationships- There are Disorganised- Sometimes, certain

fewer staff, therefore everyone
can gain closer relationships to
people that understand and enjoy
their music. It is highly unlikely
that they would change their
appearance as an artist or music,
just ton please others.
situations can get confusing. For
example, the accounting or things
may not be followed up or
forgotten about. This could be a
consequence due to small amounts
of staff and not enough people to
help out.
Self-Produced
Macklemore

Macklemore was born Ben Haggerty in Seattle, Washington in June 1983. He

developed an early fascination with hip-hop at the age of six after hearing Digital
Underground for the first time. This fascination developed into a full time passion
by the time he was a teenager. At the age of 14 Macklemore started writing his
own lyrics. Since 2000, he has independently released one mixtape, three EPs,
and four albums. He has significantly collaborated with producer Ryan Lewis as
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. His real name is Ben Haggerty, but he is formerly
known as Professor Macklemore.

Pros for a self-produced record label Cons for a self-produced record label
Easier to produce your own music-
This is because you can work to
your own timetable. Music can be
recorded in own time and when
time is available.
Keep your own rights- This is due
to the fact of having no contacts
and being able to keep your own
image. The artist can decide on
when and how their music is used
and the price of it.
Its all on the artists own terms-
Its all in their own terms so the
artist decide when their music is
going to be released, tour dates,
signings, the type of music you
produce and how you the artist
markets themselves
Keep your own money-
Time consuming- It is a full time
job to promote a record and will
require days of work to produce a
finished product.
May not have the contacts to
promote releases that Major/Indie
labels have- Therefore artists will
struggle to release pieces of
music. The major and indie labels
have agents, promoters and media
links which help them. It takes a
lot of time to builds these
contacts.
Learning when doing it- During the
making of the music video, it can
take time to figure out how to
distribute the music in the right
way, also ensuring the best
results. Artists will have to take
everything in so they can make it
work properly and end up with a
professional finished looking
product.
There is no money behind the
release to help promote the artists
music- Major and indie labels will
always have a budget to help
release their album. Independent
artists will need to finance it
themselves and have the burden
to distribute it as much as possible
therefore can become in debt.