Unit 39: Sound & Music Industry - Music Industry Overview

Unit 39 – Sound & Music Industry

Music Industry Overview

Record Label:

Record labels are a crucial part of the music industry and are responsible for the success of many famous artists. Their role is to sign acts to their label that they think can be commercially successful and make the label a profit. They’re responsible for firstly finding new, unsigned talent, which is the role of a repertoire coordinator employed by the label. They will see an act live and listen to their demos to decide if they think the act is worth signing to their label, and for what length of time depending on the success and popularity they forecast. If they sign the act to the label, they will always be connected to the act in someway, if it’s mentoring the act or advising them in the studio. The label then will ensure the act records albums to a professional standard in the studio. Often the studios aren’t owned by the label, and often the producer and sound engineer are freelance workers, but sometimes the label employ their own producers and technicians and have their own recording spaces to make the acts albums. Once the album is made the label need to market it via various means, on the internet, via television or radio and at live venues as to publicise the acts album and possibly an associated tour which could boost their popularity. A common structure of a record label starts with a CEO (chief executive officer) or owner who has the final say on all the labels signings, transactions and investments, but he will also have advisors in specific areas, like accounts to mange the labels finances. The label will have a marketing department who will run marketing campaigns to make sure they sell records and create fame for their acts, as this is how they make profit. Examples of major records labels are Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. These major labels have some of the largest acts in the world, and often make money from their sub-labels which are like smaller labels for less mainstream acts, but these sub labels use the marketing and distribution of the larger label to make money. An example of a major label and sub label is Columbia records who have their own reputable acts like Bob Dylan, and their own producers but are a sub label of the larger label Sony Music Group. This is just one good example of how a label can be virtually independent, but still be owned by an event larger label who makes money off the sub label in return for helping their label to sign more acts and make more money. Also there are totally independent record labels that aren’t attached to any major labels, however these labels often experience difficulty and either close down or get bought out by one of the big 3. These labels would operate in the same way as a normal label but on a smaller scale, as often their acts had a cult following and never gained recognition as a mainstream act, or household name.

Live Industry:

The live industry is tied in with record labels, as there’s usually a correlation between a tours success and an albums success, so in other words if the label makes an effort to publicise a band's tour, they will sell more of their albums and merchandise. Depending on the popularity of the act, they may do a small tour, playing small venues in one country, or they may play stadiums around the world in all cities, so the live industry has to be flexible to create a good live sound and set up on any scale. Some of the main roles in the live industry are:

Live Sound Engineers: They are responsible for the overall sound that the audience hears, so they need to balance all the different signals coming into the desk, and send them out of the speakers to create a good sound for the audience.

Lighting/Effects: These people are responsible for the visual side of the show. The lighting often correlates to the vibe of the music, so when an act plays an up- tempo song, this will reflect in a more active light show, where as on a slower ballad, the lighting may not move and it might just be a spotlight on a vocalist. Other stage effects to add a novelty effect could be images appearing on a screen, or props to add interest to the stage show. These would all be taken care of by specialists in a certain area, or roadies if it isn’t to technical.

Roadies/Instrument Techs: The road crew and instrument technicians are responsible for the band instruments and stage set up. They need to ensure all instruments are connected to amplifiers or mic’ed up correctly so there aren’t any problems while the band is playing. The instrument technicians look more in-depth to the sound quality, and they insure the instrument is in tune, and the tone is correct. They also test the effects pedals that change the sound of the instruments.

Management: The tour manager overlooks all the above things to make sure the overall show runs smoothly. They’re also in charge of the tour dates being booked so the concerts can be publicised and tickets can sold. They need to have contacts with the venue owners and tour promoters if the record label isn’t in charge of this. There are also other precautions like risk assessments, band transport and accommodation that are necessary for the tour to go ahead.

Artist Management:

This ties into the last heading of the live industry as an artists management can be responsible for organising an acts tour. However there are other areas of an acts routine that a management company needs to organise, for example television and radio appearances which would boost their popularity would be organised by the management company. Also if an act or artist needs to make a statement, maybe to announce something important they may ask their management to do it on their behalf, to reiterate the importance of the statement. Often managers work for agencies, so they’re sometimes referred to as agents, but they can decide to work just for a band without being part of an agency. Other things they do is organise where and when an act will play shows, as although they’ve organised a tour they may want the act to play a popular festival while in a certain city to further boost their fan base. A band manager will usually take between 15 and 20%  of all money and act makes, which is probably a fair representation of the additional wealth they’ve brought the act.

Publishing:

Publishing companies own the rights to artists songs and recordings, and they manage the money made by those songs, and have it distributed between the artist, record label, musicians that worked on the composition and keep a percentage for the company. They deal with royalties that artists get paid when their song is used to help promote something, like for example the song Welcome Home by Radical Face used on the Nikon camera advert. These companies can be independent companies or they can be part of a large recording organisation like Warner Music Group whose publishing company is called Warner/Chappell. If an artist samples a song illegally or a company uses a song to make them money without permission, the publishing company that owns that song may take legal action against the person or company making money off it illegally. This would be to get the money they feel they deserve for their publishing company and the artist they’re representing.