Record labels and Copyright

1. Record labels
Reba Ali

2. Record labels & what they do
A record label is a company that publishes the marketing of music recordings and
music videos. There two types of record labels; Major and independant :
Major record labels
Since 2012 there are only three ‘Major record’
labels as EMI had been acquired by UMG;
- Universal Music Group
- Sony Music Entertainment
- Warner Music Group
Independant
Record labels that don’t have major record labels of the ‘Big
Three’ to control them are known as independant (indie) records.
The name ‘indie’ means that they are a group or organisation
whether big or small are not in any way affiliated with a major
record label. They can even have corporate structures and still be
an indie label. Generally people expect these labels to produce
music that is non-mainstream and something a little more original.
Also, it means that they are more artist friendly as they wouldn’t
force the artist to do what they don't want. However, their finacial
doubt would restrict them in some areas.
Independent labels are often considered more artist-friendly.
Though they may have less financial clout, indie labels typically
offer larger artist royalty with 50% profit-share agreement, aka
50-50 deal, not uncommon.

3. What do record labels do?
What does a record company do?
There are quite a few things that need to be done in order to create a single or a whole album and all of that
would have a bill to it which would be done by by the record label.
There needs to be financial stability for:
- Recording - studio and engineer time
- Mixing - to make sure all the sounds can be heard
- Mastering - sorting out the final copy
- Pressing - actually making the CDs
Record companies tend give their artists money in advance so that artist can use it to live on while making the
CD/ album.
Getting the money back
Any profits from the album makes helps to pay back this money.
If it is a flop, it is very unlikely that the artist will be expected to return the money.

4. Decide whether your artist would be signed to a major
or independent record label and why.
At first our artist would be signed to an independant
record label because it would give us more creative
freedom with our projects as they offer the artist
royalty of 50% profit-share agreement (50-50 deal).
Although, independant record labels are
artist-friendly they tend to deal with more financial
problems than major record labels as well as artist
recognition.
Although, once they do get a lot
more recognition it would be best to
move on to a major record label or
one of their subsidiary label that
would be funded by a major record
label but have more independence
which means they could do a lot
more for the artist.

5. What existing record label would your artist be most
suited to?
Our artist would be most suited to Capitol records because
there are similar artists in the record label and those who
really made electropop trendy e.g. Troye Sivan, whose albums
specialise in electropop. Also, using a record label that has
Universal Music Group as their parent company is very
beneficial as they are one of the major record labels which
means there won’t be financial problems in promoting the
artist.

6. What is copyright and how are record labels responsible
for it?
Copyright is something that affects a lot of music these days. Copyright law is which restricts anyone from
using someone's work without there permission. Record label use copyright so they can control where their
work can be used band making sure others have permission for use otherwise they can sue. Copyright can
either be granted to someone or sold to someone. I also have to ask to use this music as i have to ask permission
to use the producer's work.
I need to make sure that I have permission to use this music which means I would write a letter to the artist or
their management asking for permission. I have to make sure that I won’t be using this music video for
commercial use or any other use other than educational. When I create the music video, I must ensure that I
credit the artist and their production company.
What do you need to consider as you are using copyrighted music? What are
you not allowed to do with your music video? What can you do?

7. How are you going to use what you have learned about record labels and
copyright in your productions?
I will try to see what type of record label and the style of music that would be
specialised in. This means finding the conventions of a record label logo and get an
idea of what to include however, this also means breaking some of those conventions
to make it more unique and stand out from the rest. Record labels tend to be quite
simple with only a few colours but still effective which is how I would want mine to be
so people would be able to easily recognise the logo. For copyright issues I would have
to make sure everything used in production like the song for the music video is
credited to the artist since it’s not mine in the first place and the reason for using the
song would strictly be for educational purposes.

8. My record label : Monarch Records
I’ve kept it quite simple and used quite a literal representation of the
name itself. The name Monarch had two meanings which is a type of
butterfly but also means a head of state role representing leadership.
I also kept the colours simple with just a pop of colour to make it
stand out. I chose only to have orange so it's obvious that it is a
monarch butterfly. This was put into a circle so not only it looks
more professional but also it looks more of an icon that can easily be
put on to products like a sticker.
Monarch Records

9. Final logo
This is the final logo created for Monarch records label which is a British label
focusing on the electronic pop genre, but will also feature other genres as well for a
variety. We kept the theme of the butterfly because monarch also means a type of
butterfly. The name was chosen as it signifies some power especially in the
independant music industry. The butterfly signifies flight and freedom which is an
extremely important message to artists as it means they would have freedom with
their music and can take it to any level possible compared to how constructive Major
record labels are with their artists. The distressed look of the logo is what would
make our record label stand out.
We would scout artists from sites such as Youtube as it would be fair to give a chance
to artists with actual talent who are trying to make a name for themselves within the
music industry. We would be able to enhance their skills making them more
successful as more of their music develops giving them more creative freedom since
we are an independent record label which allows flexibility. The sort of artists signed
to this label would be Lady Gaga, Halsey, Melanie Martinez and Troye Sivan since
they all specialise in the electropop genre. However, it would be beneficial to have
artists specialising in different genres as it would bring variety to the label.

10. Permission letter
Bedford Academy,
Mile Road,
Bedford
MK42 9TR
T: 01234 301500
E: info@bedfordacademy.co.uk
150 5th Avenue New York,
NY 10011
New York, USA
21st October 2016
Dear Astralwerks
I would like to ask permission to use a song from an artist that is signed to your record label. I
ask permission to use Halsey’s ‘Gasoline’ for my A2 Media studies coursework for which would
only use it for educational purposes. One of the tasks we have for our coursework is to create a
music video where this song will be utilised with no added financial or commercial use. The
music video itself would not include anything that would offend the artist or breach any
copyright rules.
Sincerely,
Reba Ali
Co- Editor and Camera person
Monarch Records
Halsey is signed to
Astralwerks and Capitol.
However, Capitol records
is their distributor.
Monarch Records
Astralwerks
headquarters
address
What job role I had in
the making of the
music video
Our official record
company logo
Header to make the
letter look more
professional but also
more easier to
identify our record
company.