Why do record labels still exist?

FoxEye · 6 Aug 2015 at 19:44

I'm just wondering, because I know next to nothing about the music industry, so I fully expect this to turn out to be a silly question.

You often hear how little money from an album sale actually reaches the artist. Apparently they get practically nothing from streaming sites too.

So why do artists still try to get signed by record labels these days? With the internet, why do record labels still exist, and have so much influence and power?

I hate the idea of wanting to support an artist I've just found (via YouTube or whatever), but knowing that if you buy a track/album, most of that money is going to some suit with a business degree rather than a shred of creativity.

I guess I am prejudiced against people with business degrees, for that matter

There are places like bandcamp, but it seems as soon as people get reasonably well known, the first thing they do is sign with a record label.

So why, if the relationship is so one-sided?

OhEsEcks · 6 Aug 2015 at 21:59

Distribution. Album art. Setting up recording sessions and all the time and money involved in that. Promotion. Handling of gigs, touring, interviews. There's a lot of stuff involved.

If you want your music to reach a wider audience, you want to be signed to a major label. Despite the ass ****ing majors are known for.

However, it's easier than ever these days to self release and promo with social media and platforms like bandcamp and soundcloud and youtube. They're just not going to reach as much of an audience as people on majors. Unless a major comes across them on one of those platforms (Justin Bieber was found this way doing music on Youtube).

Caged · 6 Aug 2015 at 22:04

Good luck getting yourself onto a Radio 1 playlist without a label.

OhEsEcks · 6 Aug 2015 at 22:14

Caged said:
Good luck getting yourself onto a Radio 1 playlist without a label.

To be fair, BBC does have BBC Introducing which features unsigned and little known bands / artists.

We do need another John Peel though.

FoxEye · 11 Aug 2015 at 15:52

Caged said:
Good luck getting yourself onto a Radio 1 playlist without a label.

There's a whole world of music besides the garbage they play on R1. Which is mostly manufactured tripe where the "artists" don't even write their own songs.

Haven't listened to that **** station since I was 16

ttaskmaster · 11 Aug 2015 at 16:06

The biggest benefit is probably the massive legal protection in case someone rips off your song, claims it as yours, or just nicks it and plays it without paying you royalties.

Caged · 11 Aug 2015 at 20:40

FoxEye said:
There's a whole world of music besides the garbage they play on R1. Which is mostly manufactured tripe where the "artists" don't even write their own songs.

Haven't listened to that **** station since I was 16

Excellent missing of my point.

Vonhelmet · 12 Aug 2015 at 13:59

Marketing. Lots and lots of marketing.

bloodiedathame · 13 Aug 2015 at 14:52

A label has a network. A label has funds.

My band were signed to a small label a little while ago, we had recorded ourselves and done all the artwork so it was nearly ready off the shovel. Label paid for:
- Mastering for CD and vinyl
- Additional artwork to make print ready
- All CD and vinyl production costs
- PR

v0n · 13 Aug 2015 at 23:21

So, your band recorded catchy single. You now need video. Video needs director. Director needs script. Script requires locations, actors and extras. And loads and loads of props. All of it needs money. Money needs producer. Location crew to find it and set it up. Props crew to set the scene. Crew with lights. Crew with cameras. Electricians. Best boys. Carpenters. Painters. Decorators. Health and safety guys. Make up artists. Wardrobe department. An extra track full of sponsored instruments. Food truck. Mobile cabins for your band to stay in between the scenes. Hotel. Insurance. Second crew to shoot "making of" for you DVD. PR crew to invite carefully selected journalists for "exclusive behind the scenes" interviews and photos. Lorries, drivers and chauffeurs. There, your shoot is done.

Guy takes the footage, drives to editing company. They put rushes together into raw footage, with director looking behind their shoulder. Then it needs grading. Then it needs sound. Then it needs long version and short version. You know, like that time for when MTV can't be bothered to play the entire "November Rain" by Guns'n'Roses because they need commercial break every 4 minutes in prime time and the thing is like two lifetimes long to the first solo, and maybe three times longer after that. So now you have your video. But wait. How does it reach TV station? Well, it needs distribution.

So it goes over to distro house of the label. They QC it. For audio levels. Broadcast colour safety. Flashing images that could trigger photosensitive epilepsy (Harding Test in UK). Then they give it rating. Alcohol. Tobacco. Sex. Violence. Commercial products and labels used in footage. Then they re-cut your video into region and channel specific versions.

The one for MTV pre-watershed and post-watershed where all the logos on t-shirts are blurred and all the swear words are silent (needs new audio). The one for airlines and hotels, where the slightest nudity, branding or violence is cut out completely. The one for UAE and Middle East where all the dancers are fully dressed head to toe. The one for BET network, with double the scenes with bruvs and sistas. The one without flashing scenes.
Then each of those is converted from film or 23.98fps HD master to PAL. The each one of those converted to PAL again but without interlacing, all progressive, either motion comp or slight blend - for cable TVs streaming in h264. And each of those converted to NTSC. And each one of those converted to PAL again, but with special slate for French market and audio re-mastered at EBU R128 -23LUFS. And then someone gives it ISRC on asset level and UPC on product level, so they don't get mixed together. And then someone puts them all in CMS. With all the metadata. For the region to order from for all the stations in their country. At specific premiere date. Usually different for each country.

And then you need to feed it into all digital services. One for Vevo/YouTube. One for Brightcove. Then cut all inactive pixels especially for Apple. One for the iTunes single. One for the deluxe album edition. One for BR extras. Then you need to send each version to archive, so it doesn't get lost when someone needs it again next year.

Bored to death yet? Want to do it all from your bedroom? That's just duties and tasks of one, single department at The Label.