Research into record labels - Miss Georgiou.

A major record label Large companies within the music industry that may also own smaller record labels. Currently in the UK the major record labels are Sony Music, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. These record labels represent many of the leading UK artists from a variety of genres.

Sony Music:

• The Ting Tings
• Ke$ha
• The Clash
• One Direction

Sony Music Entertainment also has it's own share in many smaller record labels which manage big stars in the music industry such as Columbia Records, RCA Records and Epic Records. Artists such as Paloma Faith of the Pop-Jazz genre, Kelly Clarkson (Pop genre) and Example (Dance genre) belong to these labels. Sony records is a more mainstream record label that features artists from many different genres. 

EMI:

• Iron Maiden
• Spice Girls
• Kate Bush

EMI Group Limited, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, was a British multinational music recording and publishing company, and electronics device and systems manufacturing company, headquartered in London, England.
At the time of its break-up in 2012 it was the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and was one of the big four record companies(now the big three). Its record labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records. EMI Group also had a major publishing arm, EMI Music Publishing, also based in London with offices globally.

Warner Music Group:

•  Ed Sheeran
• Wiz Khalifa
• Coldplay
• Katy Perry

The largest American-owned music conglomerate worldwide, it is one of the 'big three' recording companies (the third largest in the global music industry). The company operates some of the largest and most successful recording labels in the world, including its flagship labels Warner Bros. Records, Parlophone Records and Atlantic Records. Universal Records: 

• Sam Smith
• Chase and Status
• Justin Bieber
• Kanye West

Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group. The label has been dormant since 2005, due to Universal Motown and Universal Republic Records being formed and taking all of the artists from the label.

Summary:

Benefits of joining a major record label is that it will be very well established already. This means that there will be a ready made audience for the artist to aim its music towards. Major record labels also have very large funds meaning that the artist will be able to promote their music as effectively as possible, this will mean that they attract their target audience. Major record labels will also have a lot of experience within the music industry, meaning that the artist will not be short of help when it comes to making a tough decision. Networking and Connections, In addition to the deep seeded connections that major labels have made in their many decades of being in business, their even deeper pockets allow them to get their foot in the door to most media outlets. However, a disadvantage of a major record label is that they will take a large percentage of the artists profits. They may also take control over the artists work meaning that it loses its originality and becomes less of the artists work. This could cause disruption between the artist and the label. Artists also Must Fight For Attention, contrary to popular belief, major labels do sign many artsts, but much of what is signed quickly gets turned over. If your music doesn’t immediately stick, you may find yourself having a hard time getting any attention from the label. If this happens, you may find yourself spending more time in a battle for attention than working to further your career. 

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There are also independant record labels, these record labels are less worldwide known compared to major record labels. They tend to manage one or two artists instead of a variety of artists. They also tend to specialise in one music genre instead of a variety like major record labels. An Indie Label is any music recording label that operates without the funding of the organizations of the major music labels. Typically, major labels are global in scale and operate their own distribution and publishing companies. Indie Labels, however, tend to either work with other smaller companies, either in long term partnerships or in smaller contractual relationships for their distribution and publishing, although many indie labels do pay for the distribution services that major labels have to offer.  Some examples of independant record labels in the UK are...

Boy Better Know:

• JME
• Jammer
• Wiley
• Skepta

Boy Better Know is an English grime music collective – a group of musicians, a grime record label and a brand. The collective was formed in North London by JME, his brother Skepta and Wiley. The label was established in 2005, and mostly focuses on Grime and Hip Hop. The label also has its own clothing line.

Rough Trade Records:

• The Strokes
• The Libertines
• Destroyer
• Arcade Fire

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk, very early indie pop and early post-punk bands.

Summary:

A benefit of individual record labels is that artists get the rights to their music. This is a huge benefit of signing a contract with an indie label. With the recent growth in exposure from indie artists, the possibilities of a hit single being reused for other things such as movie, TV and video game soundtracks are greatly increasing. By being allowed to keep the rights to the music, artists have the option to do what they would like once the song has been recorded. Another benefirt is that they sign you because they Love your music. Generally speaking, Indie music labels are smaller companies who are not pressured by a board of directors to sign a specific sound or promote a specific look just for success on the charts. Typically when you are sign a contract with an indie label, they trust that your brand will sell, and work to promote you, not the packaged image that they create for you. However a lack of funds, the most common issue for independent labels, being that they do range so greatly in size and success is funds. A lack of funding means a smaller budget for recording, production of physical disks, packaging, distribution costs, tour support, merchandise, etc. Another significant issue caused by a lack of budget is that proper marketing for the artist is sacrificed, making the artists promote themselves if they want to be seen and heard.