Label Recognition

So just in case that long post was a bit daunting, I figured I would write a smaller post on something a bit less controversial. Actually, way less controversial. And yes, it is related to music.

If you don't really follow music this won't mean much. In fact, it will probably bore you to tears.

It seems to be a pretty well accepted axiom that a key to success, or at least a measure of success, is to be signed to a major label. I mean, how else are you going to get your CD on the shelf at target? Or playing on the radio?

But it seems to me that, for the majority of music that I listen to, the band is going to be far more successful on an indie label. This isn't about indie elitism or anything like that, it just seems like the Big Four and their subsidies need to seriously reconsider the way that they operate if they want to stay around.

Suppose a band is signed to Universal. Besides providing money for recording and production, Universal is going to pimp them out to radio stations, department stores, promotions, advertising, the whole deal. Some bands get more of this than others, to be sure, but the gist of it seems to be that the major bands are given this attention, and in the process Universal (could be BMG or Warner or EMI, or any of the companies they own) is throwing out money to get exposure. Some bands stick and become popular, others fall to relative obscurity and, even if they headline concert tours and stay on department store shelves, they really aren't making bank. They'll have their fans, but for the most part, the advertising didn't do much.

I think the problem is that huge labels rely on signing hundreds of artists in order to make money. And, it works, the people involved are certainly making a lot of money, but they also stand to lose a lot to piracy. Their biggest bands get pirated, they have nothing. And the rest, well, they'll have their fans, but if they aren't big enough to be massively pirated to significant financial loss, they aren't bringing in lots of money either.

And the problem is that the company relies solely on its variety of music to draw fans, on individual bands, rather than recognition and loyalty. Nobody's going to say "they're signed to Atlantic, they must be good" because Atlantic has signed the Blue Man Group and the Velvet Underground and everything in-between, you just can't say anything about a band because they're signed to Atlantic. The label really doesn't tell you anything about the quality or style of the music, you're not going to find many die-hard Atlantic fans, and there certainly aren't many people paying attention to whatever new Atlantic puts out. The record label is solely the means of distribution, and relies on the individual bands as the brand name.

Now take an example like Hydra Head. I can say, well, they've signed Isis and Converge and Jesu and Kayo Dot and Sunn O))) and Botch and Cave In, if I see an artist I don't recognize and they're on Hydra Head I may consider buying them based on the label alone. Same goes for something like Southern Lord. The label has a level of quality attached to it, and not only that, but a certain style or at least attitude of music, so that the label alone gains loyalty. Hydra Head (or Southern Lord, Robotic Empire, Neurot Recordings, etc.) doesn't need to promote its artists, signing them and letting them tour with other artists is enough to gain exposure and a fan base, because fans of bands on that label are already paying attention to who they sign. The label has recognition beyond just being well known, they have a reputation that the major labels lack.

This also means that they don't have to worry as much about piracy, because they already have a steady fan base for their label, and while they're certainly making bank off their top artists, someone downloading a song off them is possibly gaining interest in the label, whereas, again, nobody's going to download the new Gnarls Barkley single and think "I need more Atlantic!" Since the indie labels don't rely on megastars and singles they don't need to worry so much about their singles being pirated.

More than just that, bands that could never be pimped out on a major label can make it big and make the smaller label money. You aren't going to hear a band like Daughters on the radio, it would do nothing to help them because the general radio-listening public isn't interested in that sort of music. On a major label, it wouldn't be worth the money to heavily promote them, they would just slip into the obscurity of the back catalog. On a label like Hydra Head, though, people will notice when they get signed, see them touring with other bands on the label, buy their music. By building up a specific reputation, the label doesn't need to pay to promote each band, the act of signing them promotes them, and brings in revenue for the label.

What major labels need to do is specialize. And I realize they do this (Warner has Roadrunner) to some extent, but there's still an obscene amount of advertising for bands on Roadrunner, it's less a self-promoting label and more the face they put on to sell music to Hot Topic (I realize Roadrunner used to be an independent label, but this is as it stands now). Warner seems to be getting on this more than the other big labels, at least, they've also got a sizable share of Sub Pop which does have that label recognition, but for the most part the label advertises individual bands separately. I couldn't even tell you what label most of the stuff I hear on the radio is signed to.

Basically, I think that if the big record labels want to stay alive, they need to specialize, gain a specific reputation, keep their library manageable enough that it's possible to keep up with them. That seems to be the only way they can really gain the attention of devoted (rather than casual) music fans, and while casual fans may be the biggest audience, they're also much more likely to pirate a few singles and never pay a cent. Big industry record labels need to gain the consumer respect that indie labels already have if they want to stay alive and reap the benefits. Then they won't have to shell out millions to promote every band they sign, and maybe they can keep their CDs down to the $10-$12 price of most indie labels. Good for the consumers, good for them.

See, I told you there would be music.