Record Labels

2. What is a Record Label?
A record label is the publishing company associated with the
marketing of an artists or multiple artists music videos. They're in
charge of the trademarks, manufacturing, distribution, promotion and
enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and videos. The
record label requires funds for the video in order for it to be
successful. They also have a contract with its recording artists to
ensure the label receives a percentage of the profit raised from the
sale of any music released. Being signed to a major record label
such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and
Warner Music Group broadens a customer base as it allows them to
market their albums/singles and promote their music across a variety
of platforms. Examples of independent record companies are
Domino Recording Company, Dirty Hit Records, Hopeless Records
and Sub Pop Records. Creating music videos is an easy way to sell
music and promote the artist which is why funds are used to pay for
good equipment, costumes, locations and more. This allows the
video to be memorable and unique, often drawing in the viewers.

3. Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment is an American music cooperation
managed and operated by Sony Corporation of America. The
company was founded in 1929 and is the owner of some of the
worlds greatest artists such as Foo Fighters, Britney Spears, Justin
Timberlake, One Direction, Michael Jackson, AC/DC, The Clash,
Miley Cyrus, Dolly Parton and many more. Sony is a conglomerate
music company meaning they have a large budget to spend on the
production, distribution and marketing of their music videos. For
example, Justine Timberlake's 'Can't stop the feeling' (2016) has a
large budget which is displayed in the wide variety of locations and
choreography. This video was promotional for the DreamWorks
animation "Trolls". This intertextuality would increase the
awareness of both the music video and the film, benefiting both
parties financially. Justin Timberlake is the only person lip syncing
along to the song showing he is the artist and the protagonist of
this video.

4. Warner Music Groups
Warner Music Groups is a global, American record
label. This institution has signed artists such as Jason
Derulo, Coldplay, Metallica, Kylie Minogue, Ed
Sheeran, Frank Sinatra, James Blunt plus more. It's a
conglomerate company which owns and runs many
other successful record labels such as Warner Classic,
Atlantic Records Groups, Rhino Entertainment,
Parlophone Label Group and Warner Music Nashville.
Having ownership of different labels with different
genres allows a wide audience to be targeted resulting
in lots of popularity for Warner Music Group. Due to
being a conglomerate company, there is a large budget
to spend on the production, distribution and marketing
of any video made.

5. Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company is an independent record label
based in London and is one of the longest running and
successful independent record labels in the UK. It was founded
in 1993 by Lawrence Bell. It's signed and worked with artists
such as Arctic Monkeys, The Last Shadow Puppets, Blood
Orange, Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand, Wild Beasts, Animal
Collective, The Kills and The Range. This record label signs
artists belonging to the rock and indie rock genres in order to
create a niche audience and has it's first number one album with
Franz Ferdinand's 'You Could Have It So Much Better' in
October 2005. Being an independent institution means there isn't
access to a large budget and as their target audience is so
specific it means their music videos aren't likely to earn the
company much money. However, this label has been running for
over 25 years which has allowed them to acquire a larger budget
to spend on the videos for their artists.

6. Hopeless Records
Hopeless Records is an American independent record
label located in California. In 1993 it was founded by
Louis Posen and works with the genres alternative rock,
punk rock and heavy metal. Some of their most well
known artists include Enter Shikari, Sum 41, Neck Deep,
Yellowcard, Avenged Sevenfold, We Are The In Crowd,
Hands Like Houses and The Wonder Years. An example
of a recent video published is 'Drift' by Hands Like
Houses released on the 14th June 2017. The limited
budget of independent record labels means not as much
money can be used when creating music videos and
raising the awareness of them through marketing isn't as
easy as it is for big conglomerate institutions who have
access to a large budget.

7. Conclusion
To conclude, this research into conglomerate and
independent record labels has allowed me to see some
clear differences in the way they produce their music
videos. The main difference is the budget being smaller
for independent companies and the selection of genres
being more specific and similar for these smaller labels.
I've decided that I'd like my song to fit in with the
Indie/Rock/Alternative genre so having an independent
record label would be the most appropriate. When
creating a name for my own label I'll think of a few ideas
and get some audience feedback to determine what my
target audience would like the best. I'll use Hopeless
Records and Domino Recording Company as inspiration
for my ideas as they are both independent and very
successful in creating music videos the audience enjoys.