Record Labels and Music

Production

Describe a typical music recording session in a

professional recording studio and who are the people

involved?

● There are many different people involved in the development of music in

the studio, for example the producer, writer, musicians, these people all

come together to create the perfect song.

● A typical recording studio generally consists of three rooms, the studio

itself, where the sound for the recording is created, the control room,

where sound from the studio is recorded and manipulated and the

machine room, where noisier equipment is kept.

● The process starts with a sound check, where they make sure all the

equipment is working and the artist is happy with how they sound, they

then record the band and lastly the vocals, they do a few takes to make

sure the song is perfect.

What is the A&R department at a record

label and what are their responsibilities?

● The A&R (Artist and Repertoire) department are the first point of contact

between the artist and the record label, they are responsible for finding

talent and recommending them to the label to sign.

● They are expected to understand the current tastes of the market and

find artists that will be commercially successful, this is why A&R people

are often young and many are musicians, music journalists or record

producers.

● Also the oversee the record process, for example finding the right

producer, scheduling time in the studio and working with the artists to

choose thee best songs.

● Once the recording process is over the A&R department consults with

marketing, promotion, the artist and their management to choose one or

more singles to help promote the record.

Detail how a deal between a record label and an artist

usd to work.

● In the past, a variety of different deals would be struck but usually the

deal would protect the label.

● The artist would be paid a sum of money by the label as an ‘advance’, to

record some material - the artist would begin to get a cut of profit

(usually about 15%),

● The labels would have the records physically manufactured, and use

distribution method to get the product into shops, and to get promotion.

● During this, the label would arrange tours and merchandise, as another

revenue stream.

● The publishing arm of the label/independent publisher would collect

royalties, from airplay and other materials and take a cut.

Can you think of any corporations who might operate or

operated like the ‘large corporation’ mentioned above?

● An example of a large corporation that operates like this is the major

label ‘Universal Music Group’ (UMG).

● UMG are the largest music corporation in the world, this is shown by how

they own approximately 40% of the music industries market share.

● This market share means that they are able to provide the facilities to

make someone become successful and this is also helped by their

contacts allowing them to promote and distribute.

In the ‘Secrets of the Song’ programme, various pieces

of technology were mentioned or used, what were they?

● A piece of technology that Mark Ronson

was seen using in this programme was

an Apple Macbook, he used this in the

process of recording to pick certain

sounds and beats to create inspiration

and come up with a sound for their

piece.

● Guy was seen with an old sound board,

as he mentions was originally from the

Abbey Road studio, this shows how

recording music used to be, before

Macs and other technologies were

introduced to the recording process.

How did the Gorillaz record the album ‘The Fall’?

● A Gorillaz album called ‘The Fall’, released in

2011, was recorded differently to other albums,

this is because it was recorded on the American leg

of their tour on their co-founders iPad!

● Albarn said of the recording: "I literally made it on

the road. I didn't write it before, I didn't prepare

it. I just did it day by day as a kind of diary of my

experience in America. If I left it until the New

Year to release it then the cynics out there would

say, 'Oh well, it's been tampered with', but if I put

it out now they'd know that I haven't done anything

because I've been on tour ever since."

● They used apps on the iPad for example, Musigian,

Solo Synthesizer and Studio Mini XL Recording

Studio

Describe what is a 360 degree contract and why it came

about?

● A 360 degree contract is a business relationship between the artist and

the label, when the label agrees to provide financial and other support

for the artist and in turn, the artist agrees to give the company a

percentage of an increased number of their revenue streams.

● This is an alternative to the traditional recording contract, in a 360 deal

the label supports the artist in a lot more areas covered than traditional

contracts on the the condition of recieving a percentage of the revenue.

● During the 2000’s, revenues from music fell dramatically and profit

margins traditionally associated with the record indistry dissapeared, the

360 deal therefore reflects the fact most musicians income now comes

from sources other than recorded music e.g. live events.