Task 4 a2
- 1. Record Labels and Permissions
- 2. Record Labels What record labels are and what they do: A record label is both a trademark and a brand that is related to music videos and music recordings by working with the marketing, distribution, copyright and production of these music videos. It can therefore be said that they are also publishing companies managing the brands and trademarks. Artists need a record label in order for their audiences to become wider, for them to market and promote their music/albums and to allow audiences to view the tracks through MP3, TV, radio etc.. There are two different types of record labels that an artist can have: Independent or Major labels. One of the major differences between these two labels is the funding. Major record labels will chose to sign on artists that they feel will conform to the modern music taste of the different audiences and will then spend millions of dollars/pounds to fund and promote their artist. On the other hand independent music labels have less funding and have to help promote the artists music in different ways, this allows them to form a personal relationship with their fan base. Independent labels also tend to sign local artists and they usually focus on just one genre.
- 3. Our Record Label: Major or Independent? I think our artist is more suited to an independent record label. The reason for this is because our artist is new and has not yet received much recognition or promotion, meaning that the fan base is small and local. The fact that our artist is local further contributes to why I think she is best suited to an independent label as they usually sign local/underground artists. The music video will be quite low budget and simple as apposed to some pop, R&B, dance and hip-hop genres. Although our song includes some aspects of pop and you might expect it to therefore be a high budget major labeled video, it also has some rock within it and so we will try to convey both sides of the genres.
- 4. LAB RECORDS After researching various different independent record labels, I think our artist would be best suited to LAB records, a Manchester, UK based pop-rock label which was established in 2007. This is because this independent record label specialises in pop- rock which is the exact genre that our artist also specialises in. This means that the label management team will be able to help our artist portray this genre well, meaning that it will also bring her a specific fan base for her particular style of music. The record label has only been around for 4 years but the bands/artists which they have signed soon became regulars on some of the most well known live events in Britain, such as festivals. Some of the artists they sign are more popular and well known than others but include Young Kato, Adam Barnes, Katie Sky, The Summer Set, Anavae, The Hush Sound, Cartel, HELLOGOODBYE, and Portia Conn.
- 5. what is copyright and how are record labels responsible for this. Copyright is the protection of original ideas/pieces/products. It is basically the legal right to reproduce a piece of work, or in other words, to copy it. This is done by reproducing, selling and/or licensing the piece of work. Using music as an example, whoever wrote/produced and starred in the music video is the copyright owner. The copyright owner has authority over who can adapt it or financially benefit from it. Usually the record labels tend to be the owners of their artists songs. This means that they hold responsibility of who can and under what terms people can copyright their original pieces of work.
- 6. What I Can/Cannot Do With My Music Video: Using the research I did on copyright, I have learned that when I produce my own music video I cannot imitate/copy the original video; the ideas must be original and I must make it clear that I am creating a new representation of the song without actually claiming the song. I also have to make it clear that my video is a copyrighted version of the original song. This can be done through the ‘All rights reserved’ phrase which states that the copyright owner contains the rights provided for a copyright law. I can also use the symbol which is a letter C in a circle. This sign indicates that work cannot be reproduced without the copyright owners permission and tells the audience that the author requires permission before using his/her
- 7. My Record Label: Broken Rec
- 8. My Record Label: Broken Records Broken Records is the name of our British independent record label which we created. We have decided that our label will sign artists that are local and new to the industry. We aim to be a stepping stone for all of the artists we sign, in order for them to achieve a fan base, by working with them and helping them produce and release music that fits into the pop-rock genre. Broken records tries to keep each artist with just the one genre of music so that in their time with us they can develop and improve. Our record label logo fits with our genre and includes bright colors which represent the pop and the broken record which brings out the rock aspects of the label. Other artists that our record label would like to sign include Bastille, Kate Nash, Arctic Monkeys, Foals, and Lilly Allen. The reason for this is because our record label specializes in pop/rock and each of these artists also show that they specialize in one or the other. I think that they would be well suited to our record
- 9. What I Have Learned: I have learned what record labels are and what they do. The difference between major and independent record labels. What copyright is and that when I produce my music video I must make it clear that it is a cover, I cannot directly copy what the original artist has included. I have learned the different ways to make it clear that I am produing a copyrighted video (e.g: the C in a circle symbol)