With the Internet now being a viable source for obtaining music, netlabels have emerged. Depending on the ideals of the net label, music files from the artists may be downloaded free of charge or for a fee that is paid via Paypal or an online payment system. Some of these labels also offer hard copy CDs in addition to direct download. Most net labels acknowledge the Creative Commons licensing system thus reserving certain rights for the artist. Digital Labels are the latest version of a 'net' label. Whereas 'net' labels were started as a free site or just a hobby point, digital labels seek to give the major record industry a real run for their money.Now its All in the little guys control,and the majors are justing starting to feel the sign of these new times in this digital stage where the we the creators will receive our rightful shares.
In the 1990s, due to the widespread use of home studios, consumer recording technology, and the Internet, independent labels began to become more commonplace. Independent labels are often artist-owned (although not always), with a stated intent often being to control the quality of the artist's output. Independent labels usually do not enjoy the resources available to the "big four" and as such will often lag behind them in market shares. Often independent artists manage a return by recording for a much smaller production cost of a typical big label release. Sometimes they are able to recoup their initial advance even with much lower sales numbers.
On occasion, established artists, once their record contract has finished, move to an independent label. This often gives the combined advantage of name recognition and more control over one's music along with a larger portion of royalty profits. Singers Dolly Parton, Aimee Mann and Prince, among others, have gone this route. Historically, companies started in this manner have been re-absorbed into the major labels (two examples are Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records, which has been owned by Warner Music for some time now, and Herb Alpert's A&M Records, now owned by Universal Music Group). Similarly, Madonna's Maverick Records (started by Madonna with her manager and another partner) was to come under control of Warner Music when Madonna divested herself of controlling shares in the company.
There are many independent labels; folk singer Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records is often cited as an ideal example. The singer turned down lucrative contracts from several top-name labels in order to establish her own New York-based company. Constant touring resulted in noteworthy success for an act without significant major funding. Ani and others from the company have spoken on several occasions about their business model in hopes of encouraging others.
Some independent labels become successful enough that major record companies negotiate contracts to either distribute music for the label or in some cases, purchase the label completely.
On the punk rock scene, the DIY ethic encourages bands to self-publish and self-distribute. This approach has been around since the early 1980s, in an attempt to stay true to the punk ideals of doing it yourself and not selling out to corporate profits and control. Such labels have a reputation for being fiercely uncompromising and especially unwilling to cooperate with the big six (now big four) record labels at all. One of the most notable and influential labels of the Do-It-Yourself attitude was SST Records, created by the band Black Flag. No labels wanted to release their material, so they simply created their own label to release not only their own material but the material of many other influential underground bands all over the country. Ian MacKaye's Dischord is often cited as a model of success in the DIY community, having survived for over twenty years with less than twelve employees at any one time
In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. It is more commonly the company that manages such brands and trademarks; coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, promotion, and enforcement of copyright protection of sound recordings and music videos; conducts A&R; and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers.
Generally, recorded music needs a record label in order to be widely known, reviewed, heard on media outlets such as radio or television, and in order to be available to buy in stores, although the Internet has changed this to some extent.
Record labels may be small, localized, and "independent", or they may be part of a large international media group, or somewhere in between. The largest 4 record labels are called major labels.[1] A sublabel is a label that is part of, but trades under a different name from, a larger record company. Now with the emerge of Digital Distribution systems and revelant content leading the way(myspace,facebook,reverbnation,itunes,fyi stores ect..)the greater revenue share being now more greater than before in the history of the recording business of music.And now we can embrace a new format and sell our music for a fair price, when somebody, with a few lines of code, no investment cost, no creative input, and no marketing expense simply gives it away? How does this square with the level playing field of the capitalist system? In Napster's brave new world, what free market economic model supports our ability to compete? The touted new paradigm that the Internet gurus tell us we must adopt sounds to me like good, old- fashioned trafficking in stolen goods.
So all welcome the technological advances and cost-savings of the Internet.This must be done without destroying the artistic diversity and the international success that has made our intellectual property industries the greatest in the world. This is just the end of a brand new begining which goes back to the old saying ,What goes around comes back around.
