Which major record label are you researching - what is its UK and US market share?
I am researching Sony Music Entertainment Inc. as my major record label. They were responsible for 23% of physical sales in the music industry in 2010 and 22.7% of digital sales. It also one of the “big three” record labels in the music industry along with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.
How is your label a conglomerate i.e. how many different companies does it own (even if they're not all music related)?
Sony Music Entertainment Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, a Japanese based multinational conglomerate founded in 1946. Their Headquarters are based in Tokyo, Japan. They are one of the world’s leading manufacturers for consumer and professional markets. They have four key segments of their company: music, electronics, pictures and financial services (which are based in Japan only.) They own brands such as PlayStation, VAIO (computing), Sony Ericsson (mobiles and tablets) and Bravia.
Is your chosen label a global institution i.e. an example of globalisation?
Sony Corporation is a Japanese company; they are a global institution with affiliated companies in South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, Hong Kong and many more across Europe and the Americas. Their brands are exported all across the globe, in America, Europe and many more. This means that wherever you are, Sony and its products will have some form of presence in technology e.g. TVs, their Music artists and their merchandise or films.
Is you chosen label horizontally integrated i.e. what subsidiary labels does it own? When did it buy them?
It owns 26 (13 of which are based in the US) subsidiary labels with offices in over 45 countries. It originally started out as American Record Corporation (ARC) through the merger of several small labels in 1929 and later evolved into Sony Music. Due to the Great Depression in America during the 1930’s they bought Columbia Phonograph Company (and its Okeh Records subsidiary) in 1934 for $70,000, because they were suffering from economic problems. ARC was then bought by Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1938. They made Columbia Records their flagship label with Okeh Records as their subsidiary.
American Recordings, Arista Nashville, Battery Records, Beach Street Records, BNA Records, Columbia Nashville, Columbia Records, Day 1, Epic Records, Essential Records, Flicker Records, LaFace Records, Legacy Recordings, MASTERWORKS, Polo Grounds, RCA Records, RCA Nashville, RCA Red Seal, RCA Victor, Reunion Records, Roc Nation, Sony Classical, Sony Music Latin, Star Time International, Verity Gospel Music Group, and Volcano Entertainment.
Is your chosen label vertically integrated i.e. does it own its own companies for the production AND distribution of their music?
In 1982, along with Philips, Sony launched the first Compact Disc (CD). Sony own their own manufacturing company Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (Sony DADC) primarily to manufacture the CDs of the artists represented by their label and their subsidiaries, but is also used manufactures for other labels. In 1983 they opened their first manufacturing plant in Terre Haute, IN they then went on to produce their first CD in 1984 (Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA.)
How does your chosen label distribute its music?
Sony DADC also deal with the distribution of Sony’s music, therefore Sony is a good example of vertical integration. They sign their artists and they go on to record music in a studio with Sony equipment and they go on to control the marketing and distribution of its produce. For example digital products like downloads are available to buy from the websites of their artists i.e. a Sony site. They also own RED Distribution who work to distribute and market the music of over 60 independent labels. Sony have also signed to work with other digital distributors, YouTube and Apple. Along with Universal MG and Abu Dhabi MC they have their joint venture in the form of VEVO, a premier destination for premium music videos on the web powered by YouTube. Sony also own MyPlay a site which promote the latest artist’s news, music, videos, shopping and more.
Research the A&R department of your chosen label - see if you can find out what's involved any notable agents etc?
The artists and repertoire branch of Sony Music is responsible for sourcing new talent and guiding them through all phases of their music-making and encouraging artistic development. They provide constructive criticism on song-writing, recording, live performance and public appearances and ensure the artist or group are heading in a profitable direction. The A&R department at Sony Music employ scouts, department co-ordinators or office managers, development managers and directors. They have a roster of current artists that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars, as well as a vast catalogue that comprises some of the most important recordings in history.
Clive Davis is someone who has been considered responsible for the finding and success of the late Whitney Houston, has been chief creative officer for Sony since 2008. He also founded two of their subsidiary labels Arista and J Records which later merged together to become RCA Records
Pick one of the artists who is signed to your chosen label, and then try to find out what their deal with the label involves i.e. record deal / contract / royalties. What is a 360 deal? Do they use them - and why?
Convergence of technology - does it produce / sell / promote technologies that are integrated (allow the audience to do more than one thing in one place)?
Convergence of industrial activity - does the label that you're researching deal with every / several stages of the production / distributions processes (this is virtually the same as being vertically integrated)?
Can you find an example of how your chosen label achieves synergy? I.e. pick a single by an artist on one of its labels and then try to find out how the major utilised its other companies to sell that single e.g. does it also appear on a film / game soundtrack? Did they use it in an advertising campaign to sell some of its technological products i.e. a phone?
Sony Ericsson advert – look at song choice
How does your major label approach plugging / marketing? I.e. pick a single by an artist on one of its labels and then try to find out how the star 'plugged' that single (guest appearances, articles in magazines etc.)
Does your label still sell analogue products e.g. vinyl / cassettes? If so, why?
How has your major label embraced digitalisation? I.e. how many ways can the audience access its products digitally?
Has your major label had any (legal) issues with digitalisation?
In January 2011 Sony were involved in a lawsuit with George Hotz after they sued him for computer fraud and copyright infringement. They sued Hotz and his associates for their involvement with jailbreaking and reverse engineering the PlayStation 3. In April 2011 they reached a court settlement, including a permanent injunction against Hotz doing anymore hacking work on Sony products in order to prevent are more firmwares being decrypted. Hotz made his findings public by using social networking
networking sites and blogs.
In April 2011 hackers broke into the PlayStation network and subsequently stole personal information of approx. 77 million users.
Has your major label been an early adopter? I.e. did it get on board with social networking at an early / late stage?
How has Web 2.0 benefitted your major label?
Has you major label engaged with portability / miniaturisation? I.e. does it sell / endorse products that make music / devices smaller and easier to take with you?
Does your major label cater for mainstream audiences? Are there any ways in which it could be seen to cater for niche audiences too?
Through the process of digitalisation more and more products are available to purchase through the web 2.0 due to its interactive platform. Before music that catering a niche audience may have been hard to find because they didn’t sell it to such a mass audience and only in specific places, whereas now a majority of music is available to purchase and download from several outlets e.g. iTunes, amazon.com and other MP3 download sites.
How do active audiences get involved with major labels?
What do major labels do for fans?
Do major labels cater for audiophiles? How?
Releasing on analogue forms as well
How do audiences tend to consume the products of major labels? i.e. what are the options and can you get any sales figures etc.?
How has Web 2.0 benefitted audiences?
How do meta-tags / personalisation benefit audiences?
What are the advantages of streaming for an audience? Where do audiences go to do this?
What are the advantages of downloading for an audience? Where do audiences go to do?
What's the problem with peer to peer file sharing? What is the industry reaction to this when treated as a form of piracy?
Do audiences view sampling as an easy way to write a single, or as a valid form within music? Are there any examples of successful sampling by an artist signed to your major label?
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