My Chosen Music Record Labels

I had to choose two record labels to give me more in depth knowledge, a major and independent label. I have chosen Sony/BMG as my major music label and Foo Fighters as my chosen artist and Jeepster Records as my independent music label and Snow Patrol as my chosen artist.

Music Industry Terminology

Convergence of Technology-
-Coming together of multimedia digital data technologies allowing words, audio, video, graphics and animation

Convergence of Industrial Activity-
-The idea to produce, distribute and share

Synergy-
-The coming together of two media texts to benefit them both for example a film and its soundtrack will be released

Conglomerate-
-An international company with a wide and varied range of commercial interests

Globalisation-
-The growing tendency of industrial and commercial companies to merge and operate on an international rather than regional basis

Analogue Music- 
-A method of recording music

Digitalisation- 
-A digital revolution that involves the application of technology.

Vertical Intragration-
-The merger or takeover of companies operating at different stages of the production/distribution process

Horizontal Integration-
-The merger of competing companies from the same line of business and involved at the same level of activity

Major Record Label-
-They are the 'Big Three' music companies which are Sony/BMG, Universal and Warner Brothers

Subsidiary Label-
-A company controlled by a holding or parent company

Independent Label-
-A media organisation or activity that is not connected to a major company

Niche Audience- 
-A targeting of a small but significant group of consumers with a media product directed specifically at their interests

Mainstream Audience-
-The uncontroversial, generally accepted attitudes, beliefs and values of the majority population

Fans-
-Someone who has a strong interest and belief in the band or artist

Active Audiences- 
-Any various theories of audience behaviour that see the audience as active participantants in the process of decoding and making sense of media texts

Audiophiles-
-Someone with extreme interests in high quality sounds

Early Adopters-
-People who start using a product or technology as soon as it becomes available

Consumption-
-People buying C.Ds, downloading music, paying for live convert tickets and purchasing related products

Web 2.0-
-The second phase of the internet, where the focus shifts from people receiving information and services to people creating and sharing material

Meta-tags / Personalisiation-
-HTML coding embedded in the site in order to provide search engine spiders with keyword information

Download-
-The practise of selecting and receiving digital information from an online source on a computer, as opposed to sending it by upload

Streaming- 
-A method of relaying data over a computer network as a steady continuous stream, allowing playback to proceed while subsequent data is being received

Peer to Peer-
-The sharing of media material between two parties in an equal relationship

Piracy-
-Distribution of media material that infringes copyright law

Portability / Miniaturisation-
-The quality of being light enough to be carried

Multi-track- 
-A recording device capable of recording several parallel parts or tracks which may then be mixed or re-recorded independently

Sampling-
-the technique of digitally encoding music or sound and reusing it as part of a composition or recording

Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)- 
-A computer, sound card, and editing software that allows you to record, edit and mix audio programs entirely in digital form. Stand-alone DAWs include real mixer controls; computer DAWS have virtual controls on-screen

Artists and Repertoire (A&R)- 
-Is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label

Record Deal - Contract - Royalties- 
-A recording deal is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist or group, where the artist makes a record or series of records for the label to sell and promote

Distribution-
-Promoting music and getting it into shops, on the radio and downloaded for payment

Plugging / Marketing-
-The transmission of information about a media text to a target audience in such a way as to maximise its appeal to that audience

The Brief

Produce a case study from the research of the music industry comparing a major label with an independent label, looking at the production, distribution, consumption and exchange.