CDs outselling vinyl records for the first time, in 1988, was a major event as it showed that the CD invention was very popular due to being compact and very useful. This meant it overtook the popularity of vinyl records.
The latest major event is the creation of the Ipod Nano. It is another form of the MP3 player but unbelievably better. The pencil thin Ipod Nano packs the entire Ipod experience into an impossibly small design. You are able to hold up to 1,000 songs on an Ipod Nano with 4Gb memory, which you can listen to anywhere at anytime, making it useful as a personal music player.
The “Big 5” record companies are as followed:-
- UMG ( Universal Music Group)
- Sony Music Entertainment
- EMI Group
- Warner Brothers Music
- BMG Entertainment (Bertelsmann Music Group Entertainment)
These five record labels are global giants in the music industry; each company includes subsidiary record labels.
UMG’s subsidiaries include “Island Records”, “Def Jam” and “Motown Records”.
Sony Music Entertainment subsidiaries include “Columbia”, “Epic” and “Legacy Recordings”.
EMI Group subsidiaries include “Virgin Records”, “Blue Note Records” and “Angel records”.
Warner Brothers Music subsidiaries include “Atlantic Records”, “Elektra Records” and “Reprise Records”.
Lastly, BMG Entertainment subsidiaries include “LaFace Records”, “J Records” and “Jive Records”.
BMG Entertainment
BMG was first set up in the early 1990s to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann. It is a 50-50 joint venture between the Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann, set in New York. This label is the No.2 record company in the world, behind UMG. BMG Entertainment owns more than 200 record labels in 53 countries. Here are some of the subsidiaries:- Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, LaFace Records, Legacy Recordings, Provident Music Group, RCA Records, RCA Victor Group, RLG – Nashville, SONY BMG Masterworks, Sony Music Nashville, Sony Urban Music, Sony Wonder, So So Def Records and Verity Records.
BMG FAMILY TREE
BMG
LaFace Records J Records J Records
Many subsidiaries are known for producing a certain music genre. For example, BMG Entertainment owns the record label “So So Def”. Artists such as “Da Brat” and “Sunn.y.” are signed to this label. They are known for the Rap music which they create. This shows that the record label “So So Def” is mainly associated with producing Rap music. Another subsidiary known for producing a certain music genre is “Sony Classical”, which BMG also own. As you can tell by the title, this record label specializes in classical music and classical music only. Artists such as Jamie Bell and Jane Monheit are signed to this label.
Some subsidiaries have high sales whereas others are not so lucky. Record labels such as Jive records (a.k.a Zomba Label Group) specify in rock, hip hop, RnB and pop music. This means that they earn a high amount of music, due to the fact that they are not just associated with a certain music genre. They interest and appeal towards a big audience as they produce all different types of music. Whereas, a record label who only specializes in one music genre is not really likely to have high sales. For example, a record label which only produces gospel music is only attracting a small audience. Therefore this record label is unlikely to have high sales because they only produce one music genre which only appeals to a certain audience.
Music Videos
A music video is a filmed or videotaped rendition of a recorded song, often portraying musicians performing the song or including visual images interpreting the lyrics. The first ever music video was made in 1958 by J.P. Richardson Jnr. Ever since then music videos have made a big contribution to the music industry in many ways. For example, an American sky/cable channel MTV (music television) was launched back in 1981. This is an end-to-end music video programming without any conventional programs. By then, it began to have a wide popularity and influence in the early 1980s. Now that music videos were created, viewers were able to watch music artists’ videos rather than just listen to their songs. This shows that music videos had a big involvement in the music industry.
