Case Study - Major and Independent Record Label

 

For my case study I have chosen to study XL Recordings as an Independent record label. They represent artists such as Adele, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead and The White Stripes.
http://www.xlrecordings.com/


For my Major Record Label I have chosen to study Sony Music. They represent artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Susan Boyle, Jimi Hendrix and One Direction.
http://www.sonymusic.com/

Lesson Notes - Rough Trade Records: The Story of

On 20^th February 976 Geoff Travis (Cambridge graduate) opened a small, but hit independent record shop on Ladbroke Grove, London. They sold an alternative to mainstream music by obtained records from America that were being sold for 25 cents to $1. The summer of 1976 was all about punk rock and Rough Trade catered to this taste in music with such artists as The Clash and their debut album The Crash (they demonstrated that alternative could be mainstream) and they imported Punk Mag from New York.

They later recruited Austin Palmer, a reggae DJ, to take care of their reggae section. Buzzcocks, a Manchester based band, came along in 1977 and proved that you don’t need a major record label as they did a 1000 press run that were funded, produced and distributed by the band. Rough Trade also sold records by Desperate Bicycles in March 1977, there was also the band Scritti Politti that made and assembled their record sleeves at home they were enabled to produce their own record labels without being signed to major record labels.

At the time Virgin, CBS, EMI and Island control what was distributed in the shops i.e. radio play for example Rod Stewart and Elton John were dominating the radio play as they were signed to major record labels. Rough Trade’s rule was that they always took records to sell in their shop even if it was only 25 copies. They then recruited Richard Scott in 1977 and then offered a mail order service to people. They were then approached by other shops to sell their records as they weren’t available to buy them from wholesalers. Similar shops then popped up around the U.K. in other major cities like Revolve in Bristol.

Rough Trade took on experimental music that was rejected by major record labels other record labels started to appear such as Mute Records setup by Daniel Miller in 1978 signing Depeche Mode and Yazoo. There was also Factory Records and Postcard Records, then in 1977 Rough Trade formed their own label for post-punk records. They were up against some labels such as RCA, Decca, CBS and EMI.

If an artist was signed to a major record label, they are likely to be contracted for 4 albums and receive only 10% of the profit. If an artist were signed to Rough Trade, they were signed for as long as their agreement lasted and they received a 50/50 split.

In 1978 Rough Trade signed Stiff Little Fingers and it was the first indie (the alternate to mainstream) album to sell over 100,000 copies and it reached N^o. 14 in the charts. In 1980 they had an appearance on Top of the Pops. In 1976 there were approximately 12 independent record labels, but by the late 1970’s there were about 800. The punk artists challenged Margaret Thatcher’s ideology who, at the time, was PM.

In 1983 they signed Aztec Camera who later went on to be signed by a major record label. Robert Wyatt signed with them he was the keyboard player for Scritti Politti and released a single in 1982; “Shipbuilding” reached N^o. 36 in the singles chart. The lead singer had wanted to make hits and it was thought you were granted more success with a major record label in 1981 they changed their musical direction and released “The Sweetest Girls,” it reached N^o. 60 in the charts.

They started to work with Cartel, a distribution service. Also in 1982 Rough Trade brought in an accountant and found that due their lack of money they had to shut down the shop. The shop was then sold off to 3 former employees in December 1982. Richard took over the distribution and Geoff managed the record label, but a rift started to appear between them.

Two Mancunian songwriters, Morrissey and Johnny Marr, they were part of the band – The Smiths. In April 1983 they took a demo tape to Rough Trade and indie music began, but they were offered a conventional contract of at least 4 albums. Rough Trade then hired London Records for an expensive advertising campaign. The Smiths started to move further up the charts. Rough Trade became more business orientated, they then went international and had offices in Europe. Following this they handed over trade to a management trust as a result all staff no longer received the same pay.

The Smiths got a No.1 album and 6 top 20 hits, but they had no manager so this meant that they dealt with record label themselves. In 1980 they attempted to sign to EMI, but were unable to due to their contract with Rough Trade. After their 4^th album they signed to EMI, but never released a follow-up. Indie then became the mainstream.

In July 1990 Rough Trade moved to a new office and then their financial peak came crashing down. Rave and dance became the new mainstream. Cash flow projections were ignored and they were forced to ground to a halt. In 1991 two thirds of staff were axed and Rough Trade’s assets were frozen. They ceased trading in June 1991. They had written the “rulebook” for independent music and record labels.

In 1991 Geoff moved half a mile from the original shop with Jeanette Lee. 1993 brought them Pulp, who they started to manage and ’95 brought them a N^o. 2 position with “Common People.” They had 5 consecutive top 10 singles.

On their 25^th Anniversary Jeanette and Geoff decided to bring Rough Trade back. New York based band, The Strokes released their E.P. on Rough Trade even though they hadn’t yet signed a record contract. 5 months later they signed The Libertines and then Arcade Fire followed along with Andrew and the Johnsons. They had been managing Duffy for 4 years under a development deal she then released “Mercy,” this became the first N^o. 1 for Rough Trade.

Lesson Notes

http://www.zimbalam.co.uk/ Offer to sell your single on iTunes, e-music, amazone MP3, Tesco and HMV etc for the fee of £19.99 for a single and £29.99 for an album.

3 Major record labels

• Warner 11.3%
• Sony 21.5%
• Universal  25.5% (and 13.4% from the recently taken over EMI)
• (There used to be four the latter being EMI but they were recently taken over by Universal.)

A "major" is defined as a multinational company which together with the companies in its group has more than 5% of the world market for the sale of records and/or music videos. There are also 1000s of Independent Labels which make up 28.4% of the world market sales for records and music videos.

E.g. Def Jam Records was formally an independent record label, but was taken over by Universal and became a subsidiary, they have signed artists such as Rihanna and Ne-yo.

XL Recordings are a British Independent Label they have signed artists such as Adele.

Past Questions

Jan 2009 - Production and distribution Methods
Jun 2009 - Impotance of technological convergence to audiences and institutions
Jan 2010 - Domination of global institution selling to national audiences agree / disagree
Jun 2010 - Siginificance of continuing development of digital technology for audiences and institutions
Jan 2011 - Issues raised by media ownership in productionand exchange of texts

Music Industry Terminology

Convergence of Technology - By converging from analogue to digital more opportunities arise e.g. MP3 format plays on more than one kind of record player.

Convergence of Industrial Activity - the coming together of new media technologies.


Synergy - 2 or more industries combine to produce a result that they can't necessarily achieve by themselves. e.g. TV/Music Industry/Commerce/Advertising Industry
M&S/X-Factor
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (Neversoft - Video Game Developer)/AC/DC (EMI - Record Company)


Conglomerate - a company of companies often a multi-industry company. e.g. Universal and Warner are both record labels and movie producing companies.


Globalisation - A record company that sells its products across the world.


Analogue Music - Pre 1980's cassette, vinyl and WAV format of music.


Digitalisation - It was introduced in 1984 - the conversion of analogue to digital i.e. tape and vinyl converted to a digital form of music e.g. CD and MP3.


CD and MP3. - CD and MP3 format of music - post 1980's


Vertical Integration - The merger or takeover of companies operating at different stages of the production / distribution process, for example EMI records owns a CD pressing plant (production) and HMV (distribution.)


Horizontal Integration - The merger of competing companies from the same line of business and involved at the same level of activity, for example Sony music are a major record label, but they also have their subsidiary labels such as Epic, Arista and Columbia.


Major Record Label - The largest 3 record labels are known as being the "major" ones (Sony, Universal and Warner) They are typically owned by a global conglomerate.


Subsidiary Label - Another brand, but owned by another trademark label often one of the major labels.


Independent Label - A record label not under the control of a major one. Also known as "Indie" label.


Niche Audience - A small select group of people with a unique taste in music.


Mainstream Audience - A big majority of people with a popular taste in music. i.e. the music played on the main Radio Stations and TV Channels.


Fans - A person who is a supporter of a band / artist and has a liking and enthusiasm for them.


Active Audiences - People that involve themselves as participants in the process of promoting a band / artist without being paid, they do it for their love of that artist.


Audiophiles - Someone with a strong interest in high quality sound production (usually music.) For example when they hear good acoustics they attempt to recreate it at home.


Early Adopters - People who have early responses to the newest technology, someone who goes out to buy new things upon their arrival.


Consumption - The act of consuming i.e. purchasing products.


Web 2.0 - A term given to describe the 2nd generation of the World Wide Web. A version that offers an interactive platform.


Meta-tags / Personalisation - This is a form of categorising music for example into genre/album/artist/rating.


Download - To transfer music files from an Internet source or distant computer onto your own device.


Streaming - Refers to the way a media text is delivered. e.g. Internet Television is a commonly streamed media text.


Peer to Peer - This is the distribution of music files among peers. For example the early use of Napster and the modern day Limewire. It can be an illegal distribution and the Peers are equivalents in this process. 


Piracy - An act against the copyright law - the stealing of music - illegal copying of copyrighted material.


Portability / Miniaturisation - The state of the music in which it would be portable i.e. easy to carry around for example if you had a MP3 Player, this is a mini version of an alternative music player such as a stereo.


Multi-Track - A method of recording that enables separate recordings of multiple sounds to create a united track.


Sampling - The act and process of collecting a sample.


Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) - An electronic system designed for the use of recording, editing and playing back digital audio. E.g. a computer with digital audio inputs and outputs and audio software.


A&R - Artists and Repertoire - The division of a record label which is responsible for the talent scouting and overseeing the creative development of recording artists.


Record Deal - Contract - Royalties  - A legal agreement between a recording label and the recording artist, the artists makes a record for the label to sell and promote to make up their royalties i.e. the profit.


Distribution - How the music is circulated over an area.


Plugging / Marketing - The act of transmitting information about an artist / band's new album or tour through a media text to communicate to their target audience.