Lesson 4

In this lesson we had to, research into independent record labels in the UK, find out about the Big three and discuss the difference between major and independent record labels. This was a very productive lesson, as it gave me more insight into the major conglomerate companies and the subsidiary companies.  It also gave me more information about what the difference are between major and independent record labels, when coming to producing music videos and albums. Finally it also gave me an insight on the different types of, independent record labels there are, in the UK. This was a very helpful lesson, as it gave me and Sarah alot to think about, when deciding on the record label, that we would want our artist, Beau, to be involved with e.g. major or independent.

Lesson 3

In this lesson, in groups of 4 or 2, we had to present our case study on a well known music video director. I and Sarah decided to do our case study on, David Fincher; most known for producing music  videos for Madonna and Michael Jackson e.g. Vogue and Who is it? He also worked with the likes of, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith etc. This lesson was a very productive lesson, as it gave me and Sarah the opportunity to take in information about other music video directors; it also gave Mrs Raji the chance to see how well we could work in groups and how organised we were, in regards to presenting our case study and putting everything together.

Lesson 2

In this lesson, as a whole class we looked at digi packs. Mrs Raji brought in some of her digi packs, from her collection; this lesson helped alot as it gave me some ideas, on how I would execute my digi pack, when coming round to making or designing the product. As a group, me and Sarah did decided that we wanted our digi pack to leave an impression; and the only way we could leave a lasting impression is by actually making a digi pack, instead of just using photo shop to design the album cover. We thought that we would excel by actually having a digi pack product, as both I and Sarah have great amount of knowledge in art. This will also bright out my interest for photography; we have decided to take some photos, of the main singer, and base our design around his image.

Moodboard-Beau

Here you can see the mood board that I and Sarah created. The vision behind the mood board was based on the selling point of our singer, the guitar; we wanted to show that our artist’s song is based around his guitar. So as a group, we decided to fill the guitar in with images of artists with the similar concept to our artist, Beau; the main artists that can be recognised in the mood board is, James Morrison and Ed Sheeran, who both have the ability to play the guitar. We then, also decided to fill the guitar with random indie people, these photos help to display our artists style; checkered shirts, jeans, Converses and hoodies (optional). Another thing we decided to do was to add images of different parts of London, e.g. the tube, the bus and city buildings, these display some of the places we would like to shoot the music video; finally we decided to add words around the guitar, that we associated with these artists and our artist, Beau e.g. originally, indie, acoustic and guitar.  

Beau and the suggestions for the record labels

Beau and the suggestions for the r ecor labels from Yazmin Ahmed

Capitalism, creativity and the crisis in the music industry (de-commodification)

The music industry is changing rapidly; the big changes are, all largely the consequences of the development of the internet and of digital media formats which can be reproduced and distributed by anyone, effectively cost free. The losers are those musicians and corporations who have traditionally made their living through selling various types of musical commodity; most obviously recordings in physical format such as vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, etc. The winners are those at the extreme ends of the distribution chain; consumers or users at the button, such as; Apple iTunes store, Google (through YouTube), etc- they are at the top.

One of the central features of this transformation in the music industry is the effective

de-commodification of music. In the 19^th century, with the development of a market for sheet music, and the spread of the public concerts, music became something which could be bought and sold for profit. One of the key effects of the technological changes which I have already mentioned has been severely to weaken the commodity status of these recordings. A commodity always depends for its status and its value on the its relative scarcity; once the reproduction and distribution of that commodity became effectively free, then it means that they suddenly have nothing value to sell.

The aim for musicians is to generate enough income for a decent standard of living which will enable them to keep making music. This may be the same for independent record companies which have never generated large profits above those which are reinvested in support for new music. In the case of large record companies, however, the aim is not simply the generation of acceptable income for their employees, but the long term, uninhibited, and unlimited accumulation of capital.

Independent record labels in the uk

Audiobulb Records: is a Sheffield based independent record label holding a global artist roster – brought together under the banner of ‘exploratory electronic music’. The label was founded in 2003 by David Newman with the aim of promoting a new generation of innovative electronic artists. Audiobulb Records has promoted artists by releasing physical CDs, digital download albums, online multi-media pieces and custom audio software and hardware. The work of the label has been featured on various known publications, from XLR8R to The Wire magazine. Audiobulb Records is also the home of open access projects including "Root of Sine" & "Endless Endless".

Parlophone: is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which later became EMI. George Martin joined in 1950 as assistant label manager, taking over as manager in 1955. Martin produced and released a mix of product including comedy recordings of The Goons, the pianist Mrs Mills, and teen idol Adam Faith. In 1962 Martin signed rising new Liverpool band The Beatles. With Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer, the Fourmost, and contemporary Mancunian band The Hollies also signed to the label, Parlophone in the 1960s became one of the world's most famous and prestigious record labels.
For a long time Parlophone claimed the best selling UK single "She Loves You", and the best selling UK album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The label also achieved placement of seven singles at #1 during 1964, when it also claimed top spot in the album charts for 40 of the 52 weeks during that year.

The Rocket Record Company: is a record label founded by Elton John, with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon and Steve Brown among others, in 1972. The name is from the hit, "Rocket Man". The label was originally distributed in the UK by Island and in the US by MCA Records, both of which Elton John was also signed to (after 1976). The first artists signed to the label were Stackridge, who completed two albums for Rocket after moving from MCA. It also became the home of Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka (whose three most successful U.S. mid-1970s albums were on Rocket), Colin Blunstone, The Foster Brothers, The Hudson Brothers, Blue, Kiki Dee, Judie Tzuke, The Lambrettas, Junior Campbell, Brian & Brenda Russell (who had an early, rare-to-find disco hit "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do"), and the Dutch band Solution. John offered Iggy Pop & The Stooges to sign to the label, but they declined. After John left his British label, DJM, in 1976, his records were also released on Rocket on both sides of the Atlantic.