DHB - Insitutions

Solo Task - Deanna Hammond-Blackburn 9164

 

Institutions Research

A well-known record label that signs more indie artists is Domino. This record label has signed the incredibly popular band Arctic Monkeys, and their main music genres are indie rock and indie pop. Although with some more well known bands, the majority are small artists; this means that our artist would have more chance at being signed due as the record label appears to take on new unknown artists, while the popularity of bands such as the Arctic Monkeys means that our artist could have more chance at becoming famous. The record label started in the early 90s and their first release was was Sebadoh's "Soul And Fire" which was a sub genre of grunge, and labels such as Domino, who were releasing more established American rock and unusual British music, were marginalized during the Britpop era. This shows how they started with the indie bands at the time, and how they were 'keen to avoid genres and nametags'. Domino is most known for its large variety of genres which could work in my favour as my song is a mix of different genres. However, it could also work against my song as it could be easily overlooked or disregarded as not being 'indie' enough.

This record label's music is distributed by a company called PIAS Entertainment Group. It was first introduced in the UK in 1988; in the Netherlands in 1989, in France in 1994, in Germany in 1998 and in Spain in 2001. PIAS Recordings is the group's in-house recorded music division, comprising two labels, Play It Again Sam and Different Recordings, head-quartered in PIAS' UK office in Bermondsey, London. In early 2013, PIAS acquired Cooperative Music (and the Coop-owned V2 Records label) from Universal Music Group. This is helpful as they have sites throughout Europe which would mean my music video could be distributed further and gain more international fame. The distributing company is also part of Universal Music Group which is Universal's music company this means the music could be used in some of Universal's productions which would ultimately mean more advertising and distributing of the song.

Another record label which could be suitable is Sub Pop. This label has a lot more alternative artists and subgenre music; alternative rock, grunge, indie rock, hardcore punk, punk rock, alternative hip hop. This label has a lot of unknown artists but also some more popular ones such as Nirvana, Flight of the Concords and Soundgarden, which again is good for my artist as there is opportunities for the artist to be noticed. This record label sold a 49% stake of the label to the Warner Music Group in 1995 which means that the music could be used in film or TV productions, and from my similar product research I know that this is a good way to become more well known.

This label's music and music videos are distributed by a company called Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) which focuses on the independent music business. During 2009, Warner Music Group (WMG) combined Ryko Distribution with ADA to create an independent label service company that provides a suite of services including physical and digital global distribution, physical production, merchandise production and distribution. ADA offers account management, an in-house music licensing function, custom products and services, marketing and sponsorships, as well as digital marketing tools, all which will be useful for my own product.