Research: Institutions

Media Institutions

What are media institutions?

Media institutions are companies that control the production and marketing of music recordings and videos. It is vital that a popular artist is signed to a larger record company or label, as bigger companies usually correlate with more successful artists. This is because larger companies have better connections and usually have a better reputation, therefore more people are aware of the music and the music videos these companies release.

What are the main media institutions?

These are some of the largest media institutions in the music industry, according to Nielsen SoundScan around 4 large companies dominate most of the market.

Universal Music Group - One of the largest music companies and dominates around 30% of the market, it is a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Vivendi. Universal identify and develop recording artists and songwriters as well as own and operate businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content (music videos) in more than 60 countries. Universal own multiple record companies such as Republic records, Island records, Def Jam recordings and Virgin Records. Artists such as Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Adele.

Sony Music Entertainment - An American label and company owned by Sony and is the oldest label in the history of the recording history. Labels such as Columbia, Epic, RCA, Syco and Relentless all work as a part of Sony Music. In 2004, Sony Music Entertainment and Bertelsmann Music Group merged to become Sony BMG Music Entertainment, they are now the second largest record company behind Universal Music Group. Artists signed to Sony include, Beyonce, Calvin Harris, and Shakira.

EMI Group Limited - EMI group are a large British music recording company and are a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and Sony/ATV Music Publishing. EMI also own a group of record labels including, Parlophone, Virgin Records and Capitol Records. Artists signed to EMI include, Coldplay, David Guetta, Gorillaz, Snoop Dogg and AC/DC.

Warner Music Group - One of the "big three" recording companies, it was formerly owned by Time Warner. It operates some of the largest and most successful record labels in the world including, Warner Bros Records, Parlophone and Atlantic records.

Advantages and disadvantages of being signed to an institution 

Advantages

• Being backed by a large record company can be very advantageous as they are likely to have connections and have the budget to distribute and advertise music, as opposed to independent artists who mostly have to use their own budget for advertising and distributing.

• A large budget from a record company also means production quality of music videos are a lot better, therefore attracting more fans and more recognition

• An artist can heavily rely on their label to ensure their success due to labels being very selective over who is signed. Not every artist is signed, usually ones that are seen to have potential are.

Disadvantages

• An artist may be limited in terms of what content is featured in their music and what the lyrics are about as labels will make decisions on these. The artists will be restricted from making certain independent decisions as they are usually under a contract.

• If the artist is not as successful as the label anticipated, they may let go of the artist by not renewing their contract, "dropping" them from the label.

• It can be very difficult to get signed to a label as there is a lot of competition in the music industry and no one knows what large institutions are looking for in particular.

Conclusion

In conclusion, different media institutions sign different artists. This can be due to a certain labels preference, or in industry competition, for example if an independent artist is making a lot of sales by themselves, labels may compete to sign that artist as they are aware of the profit it could bring. When I create my music video I will be choosing Universal Music Group. This is because they are the largest record company that exists right now and have previously served many audiences worldwide, gaining positive brand recognition while doing so and being able to globally market their artists, ensuring their success. I believe Universal will be the best company to work with especially with the correct use of synergy, to make my music video a success.