So before we talk about the musicians themselves, let's start off with the little but very important issue of ownership. All artists are to an extent owned by the record label.
The power of record labels, from this Balance article:
Record labels are the companies that market recorded music and music videos. Record labels engage in a wide range of functions in the music industry including new artist recruitment and development (known as A+R), music publishing and copyright enforcement. Marketing is one of a record label’s most important functions, as public awareness of the brand is the way that they make their money. Record label logos and their contact information once figured prominently in the center of vinyl records, which is how labels such as Arista, Capitol and Epic became household names.
Control over artists:
Record labels typically set the terms and conditions of artist contracts in their favor. In the case of newly signed artists, record labels can control the type of music they record which can include everything from the way the music sounds to the song lyrics. They may also control album cover art. Depending on the structure of the contract, record labels may also have the ability to set the amount of money their artists earn. While the relationship between an artist and their record label is generally mutually beneficial, there is always the possibility of that relationship becoming a contentious one. The more successful an artist, the greater his ability to re-negotiate his contract to include more favorable terms.
And just like we saw when analysing the film industry with AS, there are three major companies which own record labels who are economically superior to the independent labels. (However just like Warp's Films were often distributed by Universal-owned Studiocanal, many indie labels have links to the Big Three)
These Big Three include:
- Universal Music Group, (known as UMG Recordings or simply UMG) subsidiary of Vivendia thereby leading back to NBC Universal, which can be lead back to Brian L.Roberts. Includes labels such as (include screenshots from website), and thereby artists such as (include screenshots of artists from Google search)
- Warner Music Group (known as Warner Music or simply WMG), formerly owned by Time Warner, then from 2004-2011 independent, and for six years now owned by Access Records (owned by businessman, inventor and philanthropist Leonard Blavatnik), after being publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange!!!)
- Sony Music Entertainment (known as Sony Music or simply SME), a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony, which leads back to Osamu Nagayama.
Examples of Independent Record Labels:
- Warp Records
- Cooking Vinyl
- 4AD Records (Guardian article)
- Matador Records
- PIAS Recordings
- Factory Records (now defunct)
Further reading:
Major vs Indie:
Major record labels offer deals to the world’s most successful music artists. These record labels, such as Sony and Universal Music Group, own their distribution networks that put the music of the artists they sign to exclusive contracts in the hands of the millions of consumers sometimes in a matter of hours or days. They sign a range of agreements with their artists, including licensing and distribution agreements, which give them significant cuts of the artist's earnings worldwide. Major record labels may also own sub-labels that specialize in publishing, recording and promoting various music genres such as country, Latin, jazz and hip hop.
Often with barely enough money to keep their office lights on, independent, or “indie” record labels sit on the cutting edge of the music scene, giving low-paying deals to up-and-coming artists, which help them become known.
These indie record labels are known as such because they are independent companies that do not have a corporate backer. True indie labels have smaller distribution networks than their big label counterparts and typically reach consumers one at a time. However, indie labels have a strong reputation for having their fingers on the pulse of upcoming music trends and for giving chances to unknown artists who eventually become international sensations.
A+M records, founded in the 1960s by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, stands as one of the most successful indie labels of all time, having signed artists such as Sting, Sheryl Crow, and Joe Cocker during its four-decade run.
Bands/Artists have managers and producers, there can often be conflict when it comes to the money, connected to the record label.
There are examples of when artists have taken their record labels to court or taken similar action, like George Michael and Prince.
More and more independent artists are forming their own record labels, like Bicep.
Further examples of the battle against the music industry and internet:
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1117-heres-every-battle-prince-waged-against-the-internet-and-the-music-industry/ ACTS
An act will be either be a solo artist or a band.
SOLO ARTISTS:
- Little Richard
- David Bowie
- Halsey
- Elton John
- Rihanna
- Kendrick Lamar
- Lorde
Bands can consist from up to two to five, sometimes even six, seven or even more members.
(This refers to the largest number of members the bands have ever had, not their current line-up)
DUOS:
- Eurythmics
- Disclosure (brothers Howard and Guy Lawrence)
- Daft Punk
TRIOS:
- Nirvana
- Sly Antics
FOUR:
- Sex Pistols
- Depeche Mode
FIVE:
- Bring Me The Horizon
- Kraftklub
SIX:
- Maroon 5
- Arcade Fire
SEVEN:
- Jamiroquai
EIGHT:
(Notice there being relatives, partners there more than once?
Yes, music can often be a family business.)
Members will often join later and others will leave (Vince Clarke left Depeche Mode, then replaced by Alan Wilder, who 13 years later left) and bands will often break up and also will reunite sometimes (Beatles, Spice Girls), as will individual members who have left also occasionally return (rarely permanently rejoin).
Bands can also have touring members, so in a sense a backing band a band, known as non-core members, examples include:
Arcade Fire: Sarah Neufeld, Stuart Bogie and Tiwill Duprate.
However a solo artist can still have a backing band and not be an official band like Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.
Often however often with bands the lead singer there will be superior, as it is their voice that is one of the primary selling factors of the sound, and this is reflected in their promo products (Annie Lennox mainly singing and being in sharp focus while her other band member is in shallow focus, the lead singer Brett Anderson of Suede having momentum built untappearing in the Beautiful Ones video.
When the lead singer dies, the band can still stay together officially as Brian May and Roger Taylor did while John Deacon left. In the case of the death of Joy Division's lead singer, the remaining members later formed New Order.
When the lead singer dies, the band can still stay together officially as Brian May and Roger Taylor did while John Deacon left. In the case of the death of Joy Division's lead singer, the remaining members later formed New Order.
Whether the singers and bands write their own songs can vary, often others will write their songs for them, or there are collaborations.
With bands it can often be the lead singer doing most of the writing with others collaborating, this often increasing over time, however for example Martin Gore has written most of Depeche Mode's output, including most of if not all of their hits.
RELEASE
An album will be released with singles, and the first single will be called the lead single. There have been however examples of singles released between albums, thereby called non-album singles:
David Bowie's John I'm Only Dancing
Depeche Mode's Martyr
Seeed's Cherry Oh
Kraftklub's 500K
Suede's Stay Together (an extended version was released on the following album)
What's quite common now is too release them with a bonus track, or lots of remixes, Depeche Mode have done this with their most recent singles.
THE MUSIC VIDEO, THE VISUAL COMPANION
Mostly when a single is released there will be an accompanying music video.
There is an exception to this, where there was a music video released before the song was released as an audio file. For example, 500 K's music video was released November 2015 on YouTube, but only in April 2017 was it released officially as a single, before then it wasn't available on Spotify.
THE STRONGEST CANDIDATES
For the singles the songs chosen will obviously as they think will do the best commercially, but also that have the strongest themes and speak to them like Depeche Mode's Where's The Revolution.
Also if an artist is not pandering to mainstream audience and has more unconventional music and challenging themes, they may pick the first single from the album that is the most radio-friendly, and follows the feelgood narrative (same as all other media industries, a film with a happy ending, a newspaper front story of success, a TV show everyone can tune into in order to relax and feel happy/laugh about, a video game that is easy to enjoy playing with no distracting complex narrative like Super Mario Bros.).
Often also while the majority of the album will have a tone not that commercial, the singles will be more "radio-friendly". For example David Bowie's Diamond Dogs album is largely a dark, gritty, urban dystopian narrative dealing with dark issues such as urban decay, teenage prostitution, descent into psychological insanity and totalitarian oppression & torture, the lead single Rebel Rebel in contrast is quite upbeat, making it more commercially appealing and danceable too (when asking my friends which songs of Bowie they knew, a number of them knew Rebel Rebel, they'd never heard any of the other tracks).
The singles will often be released with music videos, though music videos aren't just made for singles (Pimpf).
Often half of the singles will be released after the album is released, so for the audience the music videos are the more important product than the song when the song has been released.
The song might differ often for the video a radio edit will be used for singles (or in the case of David Bowie's Love Is Lost.
Often there will be double-sided released singles, nowadays often a remix is added.
As an artist has released multiple albums there will compilation albums:
They will often mostly if not only consist of singles, some will even be named "The Singles"
Doesn't always have to be named as a single collection:
Elton John's Greatest Hits.
GREATEST HITS
(grime artist Skepta jokingly referred to his debut album as Greatest Hits)
They will often mostly if not only consist of singles, some will even be named "The Singles"
Rolling Stones - Singles 1965-1967, Singles Collection:The London Years
Depeche Mode - Singles 81-85, Singles 86-98
Elton John's Greatest Hits.
GREATEST HITS
- Queen - Greatest Hits (I, II, III)
- Falco - Greatest Hits
SILVER JUBILEE ALBUM
- Depeche Mode - The Best Of Depeche Mode - Vol.1
- David Bowie - Sound + Version
RUBY JUBILEE
GOLDEN JUBILEE
Bowie's Nothing Has Changed (check out Silver Jubilee 40th anniversary albums)
Sometimes to attract an audience there will be new tracks in a compiliation album (unreleased or new songs, or a single like Sue in Bowie's Nothing Has Changed or Suffer Well in Depeche Mode Best Of Vol.1, released with a music video in both cases)
The true Auteur of the Music Video?
Music Videos will sometimes be directed by the artists themselves but usually there are directors who do them (not specific to that medium, often they can also be film directors or photographers or designers or Painters.
A lot of control also comes from the record labels, although it depends with each label.
A lot of control also comes from the record labels, although it depends with each label.
Musicians to have the ability to not have their music played on certain platforms, like Taylor Swift did until recently
Anthrax also did this:http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/anthrax-drummer-explains-decision-to-keep-for-all-kings-off-spotify-after-release/
(MEDIA REGULATION, check is there anything unique about how she was able to do this, obviously indie bands would have to be stupid 2 stop this, not from a commercial but a consumerist perspective).
MARKETING/PROMOTION
Just like we saw with the film industry last year and for all media industries in order to market themselves acts, they will be present on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and some on Tumblr and Snapchat.
HOW SUCCESS
Billboard
MTV Monopoly in the 80s (and 90s)?
MTV Monopoly in the 80s (and 90s)?
Spotify is the biggest music player now (chief named most powerful person in the industry)
In the UK Top of the Pops, in the 80s the live performances replaced more and more by music videos
In the UK Top of the Pops, in the 80s the live performances replaced more and more by music videos
FURTHER READING:
- Has streaming broken the singles chart?
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/cheriehu/2016/10/15/the-record-labels-of-the-future-are-already-here/
Today albums are reissued and remastered a lot, some people find it a bit pointless:
BRANDING
EXAMPLES OF RAISING MONEY FOR CHARITY:
Depeche Mode's Global Spirit Tour
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The growth of streaming has severely disrupted the income of acts receive from the music itself. While Spotify has somewhat curtailed the rate of piracy, the money they receive is still tantamount to very little.
So now
That is why I really need to push the merchandise on my website.
An example, German heavy metal Crematory, of a band who have said they will cancel their tour if bookings do not increase, shows (Blabbermouth article)
https://output.com/blog/how-much-musicians-actually-earn
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| Source: Output |
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