Record label

A music label, record label or short label [ ' lɛibəl ] is in the music industry, the self-directed department of a record company that distributes its performers under a specific brand name. Each label can be registered with the Company for recovery of related rights while preserving identification plates an individual label code. Music labels are usually run as independent from the record company legal form and form through a majority stake with the record companies consolidated. Publishers are also off the music market talk - for example, for audiobooks - from labels.

Major labels and independent labels

Record labels are thus the sales department of a record company who markets on the basis of a Label catalog his repertoire. Label catalog is the numerical summary of all recorded music published by a specific record label.

The world's four largest record company Universal, EMI, Sony Music and Warner, which together account for between 75% and 80 % of the market there are not even music label, but are in the jargon major labels or also called "Big Four".

A record label that is subordinate to a major music label as a subsidiary, is called the sub-label or sub- label, in rarer cases, as a division (English for department ) or Subsidiary (English for subsidiary). The sub-labels of a record label are usually specializes in a particular style of music: Classical, Jazz, Folk Music, Pop, Rap, Rock, etc.

In addition, there are numerous smaller independent labels (in short:. Indie labels; engl independent of " independent"), which exist independently of the major record companies in the music market. You are in terms of turnover significantly smaller than the major labels and often specialize in a particular style. The indie labels include the netlabel that spread their music across the Internet. Important indie labels include Chandos Records (the world's largest independent classical music label ) and Epitaph Records ( the world's largest independent label ).

Term Origin and History

The usual also in the German term " label" is originally derived from the labels (English: "label" ), which are stuck in the middle of the record and include the logo of the music labels as well as usually music, performers and composers. Even today, those labels - but no longer available at Compact Discs in the earlier form - called "Label ". The name of the brand ' represents a generalization of the label for the brand that uses this label. A similar relationship is found in fashion labels.

Until the early 1950s, the music market in the United States of seven record companies was ( = " record companies " ) dominates Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Decca Records, London Records, Mercury Records, MGM Records and RCA Victor. They were Major record companies called because they united the largest share of revenues to own record pressing plant had its own distribution network and chatted. Independent labels did not have (except for King Records and Modern / RPM Records), however, this production depth and were therefore dependent on or independent label own pressing plants and distribution partner of major labels. The musical style of rock & roll has contributed in 1955 to a general sales expansion in the record industry, which also favored independent labels and contributed to the establishment of further independent record labels. Since the beginning of rock music from about 1970, it is every independent label possible to advance to a major label in the short term, no matter with which it operates production depth. So RSO Records was the phenomenal success of the Bee Gees in 1975 to a major label. The selectivity of the distinction between the two segments is therefore largely been lost.