Task 1.

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Columbia Records

Columbia Records is an American recording label, under the ownership of Sony Music
Entertainment. It was founded in 1887, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the
American Graphophone Company.

Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in recorded sound, being the second
major record company to produce recorded records.

The company then went on to release records by an array of notable singers,

instrumentalists, and bands. From 1961 to 1990, its recordings were released outside
the U.S. and Canada on the CBS Records label, before adopting the Columbia name in
most of the world. It is one of Sony Music's three flagship record labels with the
others being RCA Records and Epic Records.

The artists signed to Columbia Records currently include Adele, Barbra Streisand,
Beyonc, Bring Me the Horizon, Calvin Harris, Cline Dion, Daft Punk, Electric Light
Orchestra led by frontman Jeff Lynne, Ella Henderson, James Arthur, J. Cole, Juicy J,
Little Mix, One Direction, Pharrell Williams, Rita Ora, The Script, and more.

Pros of Columbia Records

There are lots of pros of the company Columbia Records. This includes:

Money- Major music labels have a huge financial advantage over Indie or
self producing your own videos. Also, major music labels have the money to
be good at investing in distributing your music/tours/videos etc.

Connections- The major music labels, such as Columbia Records have the
connections to many other media outlets that can further promote your
music, for example agents, music channels, radio stations, etc. This means
that they can help you become more well known.

Size of Record Label- The more well known the record label is, the more
strings it can pull in the industry to help artists out, by using its contacts and
connections to further promote the artist and the record. Columbia Records
is very well known, so they can help out the artists that are signed to them a
lot. For example, One Direction are signed to them, and they have become
the biggest boy band in history, and that was through the help of being
signed to Columbia Records.

Cons of Columbia Records

Although, there are some cons of the company, this includes:

Lack of attention- As major record labels sign many new musicians, they often
tend to drop many at a time depending on what works well at the time, so
there for it is very competitive.

Keeping a fan at the label- This is usually the person that signed you to the
label. As there is so much competition it is important you keep recognized and
interested in. This can be difficult though, as there is so much competition.

Difficult Deals- Many labels want to sign artists for multi album deals which
gives the album high level of control of the artist and their choice of music.
This means that there is little flexibility for the artist though.

Minimal passion for music- Many people who work at Record Labels especially
the big and well known ones, work there just for the money and have little
interest in music in comparison to those who work in Indie Labels. This is a bad
thing, because it means that the people that work there wont put as much
time and effort into the artists and the records that they produce, and they
might not be as nice as the people that work in Indie Labels.

Domino Records

Domino Recording Company, generally known as Domino, is a British independent

record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New
York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called
Domino Deutschland and a French division called Domino France.

It was founded in 1993, by Laurence Bell and his partner Jacqui Rice, the label's first
release was the Sebadoh EP Rocking the Forest, licensed from Sub Pop records for
release in the UK.

2003 was the label's 10th anniversary. There were a number of new releases, as well
as a compilation album and a series of gigs in London under the 'Worlds of Possibility'
banner, to celebrate the label's first decade in October of that year.

Domino celebrated their first UK #1 album in October 2005 with Franz Ferdinand's
You Could Have It So Much Better, and their first UK #1 single with Arctic Monkeys' "I
Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" later that same month.

Current artists signed to Domino Records include, Arctic Monkeys, Orange Juice, The
Kills, Max Tundra, Lou Barlow, Alex Turner, James Yorkston, and more.

Pros of Domino Records

There are lots of pros of the company Domino Records, these include:
Love for music: Those that work at independent based labels do it because
they have high level of love and interest in music. Therefore they will work
extra hard at making sure that you can succeed in the music industry.
Freedom to work with whoever they want: There isnt the pressure there is
on major record labels to do well in the charts if you work for a
independent record label. Independent record labels are more about the
quality of the music.
Close relationships: Smaller amount of staff at independent labels, so
therefore you can gain a closer relationship to people that understand and
enjoy your music, so less likely that they would ever want to change your
image or music.
Artist Friendly Deals: Larger independent labels have more complex deals
whereas smaller labels do not demand any creative control over the artist
and do not lock their artists in any long term contracts, multi album
contracts therefore artists have more flexibility from working at
independent record labels.

Cons of Domino Records

Although, there are some cons of the company, this includes:

Money: The main con is that independent labels do not have a higher
budget than major labels do, and cannot distribute to a larger audience.
They often have to get creative for promotion ideas. No money for big
advances e.g. packaging, tours, recording, budgets, etc
Disorganised: This is not the case for all of them, but due to due to the
informality of indie record labels it means that situations can get confused
e.g. accounting or things may become forgotten about and let slip.
Size: A major pro for Major Label but a major disadvantage for
Independent. Although a smaller size allows them to be more accessible to
the artists it also means that it is harder to exhibit their artists due to little
money and less contacts. Less power than major.

Macklemore

Ben Haggerty (born June 19, 1983) known by his stage name Macklemore
and formerly Professor Macklemore, is an American rapper. His stage name
originated from his childhood, it was the name of his made-up super hero.
Since 2000, he has independently released one mixtape, three EPs, and
two albums. He has significantly collaborated with producer Ryan Lewis as
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

With the young rapper increasingly entering the spotlight, he was

consumed by the allure of sex and a variety of drugs, spiraling downward
from the abuse. At his father's behest, Macklemore entered a 35-day rehab
program in the summer of 2008.

Right before he took steps to become sober, Macklemore had met teenage
DJ and producer Ryan Lewis. The two teamed up and in 2010 released the
Vs. Redux EP. Rather than go the traditional record-label route, the duo
opted instead to work on their full-length debut independently, relying on
their own business savvy, hard work, word of mouth and online buzz. They
released the album The Heist in October 2012.

Pros of Macklemore
There are lots of pros to being your own music producer, and
these are

Easier to produce your own music: This is because you are

basically your own boss, and you can do whatever you want in
your music
Keep your own rights: (no contracts, keep your own image, decide
on when and how your music is used & price of your music)
Keep your own money: (no extras that needs a cut of your money)
It is all on your own terms: (when music is released, tour dates,
signings, your type of music, how you are marketed

Cons of Macklemore
Although, there are some cons to being your own producer, and
this includes

There is no money behind the release to help promote your

music: (Major & Indie labels will always have a budget to
help release your album). You will need to finance it
yourself and have the burden to distribute it as much as
possible therefore can become in debit.
May not have the contacts to promote releases that
Major/Indie labels have: e.g. media, promoters, agents etc.
And it can take awhile to build these contacts.
Learning when doing it: (takes time to figure out how to
distribute your music)
Time Consuming: It is a full time job to promote a record.