Record Label Research

Music Institute (record label) Research

Finding the correct media institute or record label for our music product would be an essential part of our media products venture; this is because if the correct institute or record label is chosen then the artist as well as the media product can be marketed properly and much more efficiently. Choosing the correct record label can also help us to maximise our views as well as to maximise the amount of target audience being reached out to, this is because different record labels specialise in different fields for e.g. A&E records specialises in developing artists that produce work in the rock genre and therefore can reach more rock audiences than XL Recordings which can be seen as more of a hip-hop label.

Since our media product is of the grime genre we will be researching different record labels to try and find out which record label would be best for us.

Def Jam

Def Jam recordings is an American based record label which is owned by universal music group. This record label focuses more on the hip-hop genre which has produced many popular and well known artists such as Kanye West, Young Jeezy and other artists. Although the record label is American, Def Jam could be a potential record label which can help distribute and popularise our media product, though it is American Def Jam has signed British artists in the past, these British artists were popular artists such as N-Dubz. By looking at the fact that Def Jam has signed British artists before, it tells us that it is not impossible for our media product which is British to be taken on board this record label. However although Def Jam are popular and do have a significant amount of consumers at their disposal it will not fit our requirements as most of their audiences are fans of the hip-hop genre as well as most of their artists being from the hip-hop background. This means that Def Jam may not have enough resources or sufficient experience when dealing with the grime genre and therefore may not have the time and effort to help our media products in development.

Boy Better Know

Boy Better Know is an independent grime record label which is based in the U.K. mainly in London and has produced successful artists such as JME, Skepta and Wiley. Although they are successful artists they are also the runners of the Boy Better Know record label. Boy Better Know is an ideal record label to produce our media product seeing as they focus mainly if not then entirely on grime which means that they can give us their time and knowledge as well as their focus and experience on distributing our media product. Although Boy Better Know is an ideal record label for our media product Boy Better Know wouldn’t have any room for expansion in to other areas of genre’s such as collaborations etc. also because Boy Better Know is new and recent record label they do not have as much market share as record companies that have been in the business for longer than they have, or as the same amount of experience which means that our media product may not get the correct marketing.

XL Recordings

XL recordings is another British independent record label which works with various artists from various genres such as Giggs, Gorillaz, the prodigy and more. XL recordings has been producing and working with artists since 1989 which means that XL has a lot of experience as well as contacts with in the music industry which is very valuable to an up and coming artist. Also because XL has been running since 1989 their marketing tactics as well as market share and experience can be viewed as an important asset in to distributing a successful media product seeing as they have many doors of opportunities that are already open which means that there would be little or no complications when dealing with our media product.

The record label that we have chosen to go for would have to be the Boy Better Know record label. This is because the record label is mainly if not entirely focused in to the grime genre which means that their market share should be grime fans. The reason that this is important is because XL and Def Jam may have a considerable amount of market share but only a small percentage of that market share may be grime. Also for a new and recent record label Boy Better Know has produced millions of views online which shows that for a new and recent record label they still have a lot to learn meaning they have so much more potential. Going with Boy Better Know would be the best choice since if Boy Better Know realise their potential and can grasp their potential then they can easily become one of the leading record labels and therefore being part of this would help our media product to be recognised.