Institutions (Music Industry,music channels,music magazines)

                       A Guide to the Music Industry

Major institution

·      A major institution has mass financial backing therefore; it enables them to own their own distribution channel.

·      A major institution has more than a 5% worldwide market share for the sale of songs and music videos.

·      This institution manages numerous smaller businesses.
·      A major institution are influencial in the music industry
·      A major institution are likely to produce/promote mainstream artists/bands.
    

The four major institutions in the music industry:

            

                                                                   

According to IFPI (2005) the world music market shares for the four major institutions are as followed:

Universal Music Group: 25.5%

Sony Music: 21.5%

EMI: 13.4%

Warner Music Group: 11.3%

Minor institution

• Minor institutions do not have mass financial backing like a major institution because they are independently funded.
• Minor institutions tend to focus on independent artists and bands.
• Minor institutions sometimes co-fund projects with major institutions.
• Minor institutions do not have a mass market share like the 4 major players.

           

Sire records of the Warner Music Group

The organisation that we have chosen to produce our artist.

History

What media/companies does it own? Is this significant?

Sire Records

•   Founded in 1966 by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottenhrer
• Earliest release 1968 distribution by London Records 
• Founded in USA
• Website  sirerecords.com

Warner Music Group (WMG) owns Sire Records; Sire records is a American record label which has experience in producing punk rock artists and bands such as 'The Ramones' and 'The Replacements'. This division of WMG is significant in providing evidence WMG produces records of the punk rock genre, which is going to be the chosen genre of our artist.  In addition, due to WMG being one of the big four music companies its involvement with Sire Records gains Sire Records recognition as a reputable record label which is significant in this current climate, where there is a decline in record sales affecting finance in the record industry.
 

Does it have a production and distribution element?

WMG has a production and distribution element

• Sire Records is distributed by its parent company WMG; WMG are able to distribute to a mass audience and also has a mass following due to its experience in fulfilling audience needs and expectations.
• WMG also distribute music online through various channels such as YouTube and iTunes.
• WMG has merged with MTV network, which enables music from the WMG to be heard on a mass platform.
• WMG has also merged with AOL, leading to the creation of AOL Time Warner, allowing Internet users to view WMG content through a popular Internet browser.

What artists are signed to them?

 The Ramones

The Replacements

Other artists include: Never Say Never, The Veronicas, The Maine and Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows.


The majority of artists signed to Sire Records are influenced by the rock genre.

Benefits: 

• Our artist's chosen genre is punk rock which is a influenced by the rock genre and this suggests Sire Records will be able to use their past experiences when working with our artist.

• Sire records already has a audience for the rock genre and variations of this genre.

 Disadvantages: 

• Sire Records already have world renown artist on their record label which might cloud the development of up and coming artists.
•  The majority of artists signed to Sire Records are from the USA, therefore it gives UK artists less of an advantage.

What do you notice about the genre of music?
I have noticed the punk rock music genre has a young demographic, whom expects a punk rock song/artist to deliver a important message which conveys global issues. If this message is not conveyed the audience are less likely to believe in the artist/music therefore it is significant to address in order to create a effective artist/song.

Would they be a suitable organisation to work with for this project?
I believe Sire Records would be a suitable organisation to work with for this project because although they say they are not genre specific  they have produced notable rock and other sub groups of rock artists/bands over the years such as The Ramones and The Replacements. By producing these great bands they have shown they are competent of finding great talent and nurturing it into household brands which cross over centuries. As a group we hope to create a product which has longevity and could potentially follow in the footsteps of the likes of The Ramones and based on past experience we believe Sire Records could do this.