Key media concepts exam
- to develop a case study on a particular record label
- this institution must be located in the contemporary music industry
- the institution must produce and/or distribute music in the UK
- when researching your chosen record label you must focus on 3 key areas; production, distribution, consumption and exchange
what to research?
your research should be based on how you and your selected record label relates to the three key areas.
- The recording of the music, where and how?
- distribution: how the music is promoted? How does it get into shops, played on the radio and made available for payable to downloads
- consumption: how do people consume the music made available? Buying CD’s, downloading music, buying tickets for concerts, buying merchandise.
Where to start?
‘the big 3’
Song/BMG 21.5%
Warner brothers 11.5%
Universal 25%
Sony/BMG
a global record group founded onn march 3rd 2004
a global record group founded onn march 3rd 2004
Sony BMG was a joint 50/50 company between Sony Music entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group
it owned and distributed record labels such as epic records, Columbia records and RCA
it owned and distributed record labels such as epic records, Columbia records and RCA
On august 5, 2008 sony corp. agreed to buy Bertelsmann’s 50 percent stake for $1.2 billion to get full control. The music company was renames Sony music entertainment
Sony’s labels and artists
Sony’s labels include:
- RCA label group
- Sony CGM
- Columbia
- Syco
Some current artists include:
Justin Timberlake
Foo Fighters
Kings of Leon
Bruce Springsteen
Glasvegas
The view
The script
…. And many more.
Warner Brothers
WMG is a global leader in national and interntional repertoire and home to some of the best known labels in the recorded music indrusty including
Asylum, atlantic, cordless, rhino, roadrunner, rykodisc, sire, warner bros, warner music Nashville and word.
In addition to its U.S labels, WMG operates through numerous addiliates and licences in more thenn 50 countries.
Their recorded music business includes growing artist service business, which offers artist management, merchandising, touring, fan clubs, VIP ticketing, sponorships and brand endorsements and numerous third party solutions that facilities the sale of music-based content directly to consumers
Warner/chappell music, is one of the worlds leading music publishers, with a catalogue of more then one million songs from more the 65000 song writers.
In recent years, they’ve grown to become the world’s third-largest recorded music business and third largest music publishing business, one of the music indrusty most successful companies.
Music Industry Terminology - Convergence of Technology
- Convergence of industrial Activity
- Synergy
- Conglomerate
- Globalisation
- Analogue Music
- Digitalisation
- Vertical Integration
- Horizontal Integration
- Major record label
- Subsidiary label
- Independent label
- Niche audience
- Mainstream audience
- Fans
- Active audience
- Audiophiles
- Early adopters
- Consumption
- Web 2.0
- Meta-tags/personalisation
- Downloads
- Streaming
- Peer to peer
- Piracy
- Portability/miniaturisation
- Multi-task
- Sampling
- Digital audio workstation (DAW)
- A&R – artists and repertoire
- Record deal contract – royalties
- Destruction
- Plugging/marketing
