Record label
- 1. From my research I have found three record labels that we could use for our band… 1. XL Recordings 2. Lizard King Records 3. Island Def Jam 1. British independent record label Since the late 1990s XL has expanded into other genres such as freak-folk, alternative rock and hip-hop and UK Garage They broadened the musical horizons of the label whilst maintaining a standard of working with artists they saw as original and inventive They are now the home to a range of artists including: Adele, The Prodigy, Radiohead, Dizzee Rascal and M.I.A Specialises in promoting and releasing albums from over-sea artists I think XL is a good choice because it has signed many alternative rock bands, and Vampire Weekend would suit the mixture of genres XL promotes. Also, some of the bands are from over-sea artists and although the artists listed are mostly from the UK, the UK and American music charts are very similar and work together a lot in the industry. In the UK, Indie music is quite popular so Vampire Weekend would be expanding their fan base to the UK even more, if they were signed to XL. XL is independent meaning they may give their artists more freedom of expression and stylisation than other major labels such as Sony. Furthermore, this is the actual record label for Vampire Weekend. So this would be my first choice, not only based on the fact that this is the real record label for the band, but it also seems the most appropriate from my findings. I found an interesting article on Vampire Weekend in relation to XL recordings: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/jan/20/vampire-weekend-indie-label-number- one * “This band is the first, signed to a British indie label, to reach the pinnacle of the US charts for almost two decades.” (*Quote from article) “We are stronger and more confident than we have ever been," said Richard Russell, founder of XL, who first signed Prodigy as a 19-year-old. "There used to be a huge gap between the capabilities of the majors and the indies, but we have grown while their capacity has shrunk as the market gets smaller. The indies have grown up now, we can compete." (*Quote from article) 2. New York and London-based independent label founded in 2002 by Martin Heath and Dominic Hardisty
- 2. The label signed US band The Killers in July 2003 Lizard King's distribution goes through ADA in America and Pinnacle in the UK Former artists signed include The Killers (who later signed to Island Records following their immense success) and Clear Static Current artists include Santogold and Surefire I researched some of the current artists because I hadn’t heard of them. Santogold/Santigold released the song “Creator”which I recognised, whereas when I searched Surefire on youtube, there were no official music videos, just amateur videos of a folk band performing, so I am guessing it’s a folk band. Therefore, Lizard King Recordings seem like a very small record label specialising in niche music genres. I don’t think Vampire Weekend would suit this record label because they are more recognised than some of the other artists signed and they have a wider fan base, and this record label might not be able to provide them with the amount of opportunity and exposure they need. 3. The Island Def Jam Music Group is a record label group formed in 1999 when Universal Music Group merged two of its daughter companies, Island Records and Def Jam Recordings, to create a label group Island Def Jam is one of three UMG units in North America to deal primarily with mainstream pop, rock, and urban performers They have signed artists such as Killer, Mumford and sons, jennifer lopez, keane, and Tinchy Stryder Island Def Jams sign a variety of artists from different genres and from the UK and USA. It is also collaborative between other record labels, and on their site they list bands signed to Mercury. This is a huge record label featuring lots of artists, but for Vampire Weekend I think it is too big and they need an Independent label specialising more on their genre of alternative rock and pop combined.