A music label is a brand or a trademark that markets and promotes music recordings and music videos. It is also known as a record label. A music label manages all the the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion of sound recordings and music videos. It also has an important role of enforcing copyright protection to the song recording and video. As well as all of this, it also talent scouts, focusing on finding and developing new music artists. Music artists have a connection with their music label as they maintain a contract with the label and the manager.
EMI Music is one of the fourth largest business groups in the family of music labels. In 1931, the year the company began; it opened the famous recording studios at Abbey Road in London. It’s success as allowed it to form many subsidiary labels such as Parlophone, HMV, Columbia and Capitol Records.
In 1948 British Tape Recorders were developed within EMI. This was a huge development, as it attracted The Beatles. From 1960 to 1995 EMI’s headquarters were moved to Manchester Square in London. This became a hugely iconic building after the stairwell featured on the cover of the Beatles’ “Please please me” album. As well as this, another shot within EMI’s headquarters was featured on the Beatles’ first double disc greatest hit album.
As well as EMI’s success with bands such as The Beatles, they also had respectable contracts with Classical artists such as the Philharmonia Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, ensuring not to limit their clients.
The company was under management of Sir Joseph Lockwood from the 1950’s to the early 1970’s, which proved to be to their advantage as within that time period they formed contracts with some of the most popular bands and artists of the time, such as: The Hollies, The Shadows, The Beach Boys, The Beatles along with hit solo performers such as Frank Sinatra, Cliff Richard, and Nat 'King' Cole. This made EMI one of the most well-known, famous and successful record labels at the time.
In 1971, THORN Electrical Industries merged with EMI Ltd. to form Thorn EMI. They later bought Virgin Records from Richard Branson, which then became one of its highest-profile and most expensive acquisitions in record music history.
However, in February 2010, EMI Group reported to be in serious debt of £1.75 billion, which then lead it to sell its recorded music operations to Universal Music Group in November 2011.
Sony Music Entertainment is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies. It is mainly controlled by Sony Corporation of America, which one of the many subsidiary companies which include: Columbia Records , Epic Records , RCA Records , Sony Music Nashville , Columbia Records UK and many more!
The company began as the ‘American Record Corporation’ in 1929, one of the most difficult times in America, The Great Depression. However, by 1938 by the company was acquired by the Columbia Broadcasting System. However, it was not until March 1968 that CBS and Sony formed CBS/Sony Records, a Japanese business joint venture. This was a smart company decision, as Sony was one of the developers behind the compact disc digital music media, which meant the company could begin supplying some of the first ever compact disc releases for the American market by 1983.
Within the huge company, many artists were signed such as Andy Williams, Johnny Cash, Barbra Streisand, Sly & the Family Stone and many more. In the 1980’s to the early 1990’s, when Tony Martell was head of the label, artists like Ozzy Osbourne, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Electric Light Orchestra, Joan Jett, and Henry Lee Summer were signed. In November 1987, the Sony Corporation of America acquired CBS Records, which hosted Michael Jackson, for $2 billion dollars, making the company all that more respectable.
The company was renamed as Sony Music Entertainment on January 1, 1991, as the license for the CBS trademark expired.
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