A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label", derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry, recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and promote their singles on streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists, who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets.
The Orchard is an American music and entertainment company, specializing in media distribution, marketing, and sales. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music, based in New York City. In 2019, the company sold off its film and television division, which was renamed 1091 Media.
Warner Music Group Corp. is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment (SME). Formerly part of Time Warner, WMG was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 2005 until 2011, when it announced its privatization and sale to Access Industries. It later had its second IPO on Nasdaq in 2020, once again becoming a public company. With a multibillion-dollar annual turnover, WMG employs more than 3,500 people and has operations in more than 50 countries throughout the world.
ARTISTdirect is an American online digital media entertainment company.
V2 Records is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to [PIAS] in 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from Universal in 2007.
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment and managed by the American umbrella division of Sony.
The Zomba Group of Companies was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was placed under the RCA/Jive Label Group umbrella. In 2011, the RCA/Jive Label Group was split in half. Multiple Jive Label Group artists were moved to Epic Records while others stayed with Jive as it moved under the RCA Music Group. In October 2011 Jive Records was shut down and their artists were moved to RCA Records.
An unsigned artist, unsigned band or independent artist is a musician or musical group not under a contract with a record label. The terms are used in the music industry as a marketing technique. Bands that release their own material on self-published CDs can also be considered unsigned bands. Often unsigned bands primarily exist to perform at concerts.
The Rajon Music Group was formed in July 2000 by John Evans after the merger of 3 leading independent record labels. Consequently, the group became one of the largest independent record labels in Australia.
Fontana Distribution was a division of San Francisco-based Isolation Network. A minority stake of the company was owned by Universal Music until INgrooves acquired Fontana Distribution from UMG in 2012 to form INgrooves Fontana.
Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resources, relationships and experience required to share their creative vision with a global audience."
PIAS is a British recording, licensing, distribution, sales and marketing company for independent music. The company was founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot in Brussels, Belgium, and has over 250 employees, with 19 offices around the world. The group funds and partners with independent labels and artists.
IRIS Distribution - now The Orchard - is a digital music distribution and marketing firm based in San Francisco, CA and New York City. Co-founded by Matt Laszuk (CEO), Bryn Boughton (CMO) and Eric Ferraro in 2003, IRIS distributes digital music, ringtones, and video to over 450 digital retailers in over 85 countries. It also promotes label catalogs through various outlets, including social networking sites, newsletters, and label profiles. The company offers its technical, marketing, and legal services to a wide range of independent artists and labels from all genres. Artists distributed by IRIS include She Wants Revenge, Le Tigre, Lou Reed, Mogwai, and many more.
Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation is a manufacturer of CDs, DVDs, UMDs, and Blu-ray Discs. The company has many plants worldwide. Although it primarily services Sony Music Entertainment-owned record labels, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, it also manufactures discs for other labels, home entertainment distributors, and video game publishers.
Ingrooves Music Group is a global independent music marketing service and distribution company which provides custom services for artists and independent record labels, owned by Universal Music Group. They utilize proprietary distribution systems and maintain a focus on analytics and reporting technologies, as well as their own platform that artists and labels can use to manage business.
Best Before Records is a British boutique independent record label based in London, England.
An independent record label is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).
MNRK Music Group is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had been acquired by the present-day Entertainment One (eOne) in 2005. In April 2021, after the acquisition of eOne by Hasbro, the company announced that it would sell eOne Music to The Blackstone Group.
