Industry Research

Record Labels

Major Music Labels Universal Music Group 
American worldwide music corporation- company of media giant Vivendi. 
Huge yearly revenue ($6.552 billion in 2013)
The music group contains labels such as:
Interscope Records (Blink -182, Imagine Dragons)
Def Jam Records (Kanye West, Frank Ocean)
Capitol Records (50 cent & Bastille)

Major Music Labels Sony Music Entertainment: 
American music corporation that is a subsidiary of Japanese Sony Corporation.
2014 revenue of over $4.5 billion. 
The Major label is the parent company of many smaller labels including:
Columbia Records (Daft Punk & Mark Ronson)
Epic Records (Outkast, Mariah Carey)
RCA Records (Foo Fighters & Kings of Leon).

Major Music Labels Warner Music Group: 
American global records company which is the largest American
In 2013 the company has a revenue of over $2.8 Billion. 
WMA contains labels such as:
Warner Bros. Records (Biffy Clyro)
Parlophone (Blur, Coldplay)
Atlantic Records (Bruno Mars & Ed Sheeran)

Independent record labels 
Independent record labels operate without funding of major labels and are often the first step in a musician or band’s career.  
Some well-known indie labels are:
Domino Records (Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand)
Matador Records (Queens of the Stone Age)
XL Records (Vampire Weekend, Adele)
Rough Trade (The Libertines)
Fools Gold (Run The Jewels)

Why are we called "Shotgun Records?"
We are called Shotgun Productions because we are an indie record label, which means we are the stepping stone of our artist's career. We used the phrase "Shotgun!" because that means that we've called out the artist as ours.

RECORD LABEL HIERARCHY: This is how record labels work.
The CEO is in charge of the business of the whole company, and each label also has its own president. Under the president of the individual label, there are vice presidents in charge of different departments:
- The A&R (artists and repertoire) department is often considered the most glamorous department at a record label. They are in charge of discovering new talent.
- Art Department: In charge of cover art, advertisements and displays at music stores.
- Artist Development: Responsible for planning the careers of the artists who are signed to the record label. It promotes and publicizes the artists over the course of their career.
- Business Affairs: This department deals with business. It takes care of bookkeeping, payroll and general finances.
- Label Liaison: This is usually one person, or small group of people, who serves as the communicator/messenger between the record company's distribution company.
- Legal Department : This department is responsible for all the contracts that are made between the company and the artist..
- Marketing Department: This department creates an overall marketing plan for every album to be produced.
- New Media: In charge of dealing with the newer elements of the music business, including producing and promoting music videos for the artist.
- Promotion Department: To make sure that an artist is being played on the radio.
- Publicity: This group is responsible for getting the word out about a new or established artist. It arranges for articles to be written for newspapers and magazines.
- Sales: This department oversees the retail aspect of the record business