This post will be about record labels. What is the difference between major and indie labels? Who is in charge of signing new artists? Which one would be better for an artist?
What are the major and indie labels?
Record labels are companies that take care of manufacturing, promotion and distribution of recorded music. There are two types of record labels; major and independent (indie) and they are both different. You may think that there are many major labels to go to, but in fact there are just 3. They are Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. Together they are known as 'The Big 3."
All the other big labels such as Columbia, Def Jam, Epic, Atlantic, Island etc. are actually sub-labels. Any other labels that run without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels are independent labels. Labels such as Future Classic, Monkeytown Records, Mad Decent, OWSLA, XL Recordings or Young Turks all belong into the indie label category.
Major vs Indie... which one is better?
There are pros and cons to both of these types of labels and I will explore them both. Usually, a new artist starts out with an indie label and then moves to a major one. That however depends on the artist and how s/he is filling to establish herself/himself. Some artists stay with the same labels throughout their whole career. It comes down to preferences and which direction they want to take.
Major Label - PROS
- Networking and connections within the industry. Being in the business for many decades, they know who to go to and who will benefit them both the most.
- Funding. Major labels have a lot of money and they invest in a lot of it into their artists. This will be very useful to do high quality recordings, global physical distribution, digital distribution, world tours, music video shoots and anything that will take the brand further.
- Major labels are huge and so this makes them more respected in the industry. For example, they have a bigger chance to get their artist to do an interview for Rolling Stone magazine than an indie label would. Major record labels are established and have a big impact.
Major Label - CONS
- If an artist doesn't make a good first impression and have successful sales, the label might lose interest and move onto their other artists that are more successful. At the end of the day, they are big businesses and want to work with artists that make them the most money. If the artist does well, s/he will get good responses.
- When a major label signs an artist, they own them for the duration of a contract. They have the creative control over the artist and their music.
- Possibilities of small royalties.
- Employees come and go and there are many employees within a major label. This could cause confusion, miscommunication or a change of relationship.
Indie Label - PROS
- The relationships between the artist and the indie label tend to be much better. This is due to the fact that there are far less people working at the label and it's more like a big family. The label cares about the artist and tend to genuinely enjoy their music. They believe in them and help them grow in all ways.
- The artist gets to keep their rights once the song is recorded, which is a big benefit.
- The indie label might consult the artist about their music but the artist has creative control over their music.
- Indie labels have much smaller rosters of their artists and so they will be getting more attention.
Indie Label - CONS
- Since they are independent, they do have much smaller budgets due to their lack of funds. This could also have an impact on the marketing of the artist's work.
- Due to being a small company, an indie label does not have the power of a major record label when it comes to connections and power in the industry.
- Indie labels tend to be less formal, and more laid back and some things could go overlooked (correct payments etc.)
Who is involved in a label?
CEO - In charge of the whole company. President/vice presidents in charge of different departments as well.
Legal department - Responsible for all the contracts or any legal issues.
Business Affairs department - In charge of any payments and bookkeeping.
A&R department - aka artist and repertoire. This department is in charge of signing and discovering new talent. They help with pretty much everything and are the middle men between the artist and the rest of the label.
Promotion department - They try to sell the artist to the public in the best way (for example working with radio pluggers so they play their new songs on the radio or have their music videos played on music channels etc.)
Artist Development department - They plan the artist's career while they are signed to the label.
Marketing department - They create marketing plans and help with the publicity, promotions and sales.
Publicity department - Generally arrange newspapers/blogs/magazines to write about the artist or any other coverage that exposes them.
New Media department - They help out with the social media platforms. Has been added in the recent years since internet and technology became a big part of our lives. They help the artist create an online presence.
Record Label Liaison department - The decision makers when it comes to releasing an album - release dates etc.
Sales department - They work with record sales shops to get the artist's work to the retailers.
Art department - In charge of all the artwork.
These charts and departments are showing the set up of big labels. Depending on the label's size, they can have 100s of people working there. This is a big difference between these labels and indie labels. In an indie label, they can have only 5 or 10 people working there. For example, one person might be in charge of many departments at once. For example, they could be doing all the promotions, marketing, publicity and sales at once. This could be a problem for the indie labels and the people working there, depending on their roster. It may be too overwhelming and they might be working long hours which could decrease the quality in their work.
Legal department - Responsible for all the contracts or any legal issues.
Business Affairs department - In charge of any payments and bookkeeping.
A&R department - aka artist and repertoire. This department is in charge of signing and discovering new talent. They help with pretty much everything and are the middle men between the artist and the rest of the label.
Promotion department - They try to sell the artist to the public in the best way (for example working with radio pluggers so they play their new songs on the radio or have their music videos played on music channels etc.)
Artist Development department - They plan the artist's career while they are signed to the label.
Marketing department - They create marketing plans and help with the publicity, promotions and sales.
Publicity department - Generally arrange newspapers/blogs/magazines to write about the artist or any other coverage that exposes them.
New Media department - They help out with the social media platforms. Has been added in the recent years since internet and technology became a big part of our lives. They help the artist create an online presence.
Record Label Liaison department - The decision makers when it comes to releasing an album - release dates etc.
Sales department - They work with record sales shops to get the artist's work to the retailers.
Art department - In charge of all the artwork.
These charts and departments are showing the set up of big labels. Depending on the label's size, they can have 100s of people working there. This is a big difference between these labels and indie labels. In an indie label, they can have only 5 or 10 people working there. For example, one person might be in charge of many departments at once. For example, they could be doing all the promotions, marketing, publicity and sales at once. This could be a problem for the indie labels and the people working there, depending on their roster. It may be too overwhelming and they might be working long hours which could decrease the quality in their work.
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