83-609: Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York . They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists. Most of the Wounded Bird catalogue is licensed from Warner Music Group (including Atlantic Records ) and Sony Music Entertainment . Record label [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company
166-724: A Sony/ATV consortium for around $ 2.2 billion. Other members of the Sony consortium include the estate of Michael Jackson , the Blackstone Group , and the Abu Dhabi –owned Mubadala Development Company . EMI's locations in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada were all disassembled to repay debt, but the primary head office located outside those countries is still functional. EMI Music Publishing
249-551: A "record group" which is, in turn, controlled by a music group. The constituent companies in a music group or record group are sometimes marketed as being "divisions" of the group. From 1929 to 1998, there were six major record labels, known as the Big Six: PolyGram was merged into Universal Music Group (UMG) in 1999, leaving the remaining record labels to be known as the Big Five. In 2004, Sony and BMG agreed to
332-405: A 50% profit-share agreement, aka 50–50 deal, not uncommon. In addition, 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 three" and as such will often lag behind them in market shares. However, frequently independent artists manage
415-562: A US Senate committee, that the Byrds never received any of the royalties they had been promised for their biggest hits, " Mr. Tambourine Man " and " Turn! Turn!, Turn! ". A contract either provides for the artist to deliver completed recordings to the label, or for the label to undertake the recording with the artist. For artists without a recording history, the label is often involved in selecting producers, recording studios , additional musicians, and songs to be recorded, and may supervise
498-479: A bigger company. If this is the case it can sometimes give the artist greater freedom than if they were signed directly to the big label. There are many examples of this kind of label, such as Nothing Records , owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails ; and Morning Records, owned by the Cooper Temple Clause , who were releasing EPs for years before the company was bought by RCA . If an artist and
581-408: A conventional cash advance to sign the artist, who would receive a royalty for sales after expenses were recouped. With the release of the artist's first album, however, the label has an option to pay an additional $ 200,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the net income from all touring, merchandise, endorsements, and fan-club fees. Atlantic would also have the right to approve the act's tour schedule, and
664-454: A deal licensing EMI's catalogue in a digital format for their online streaming music service. This was the first time EMI had licensed any of its catalogue to a streaming music website. Pop star Robbie Williams signed a six-album deal in 2002 paying him over £80 million ($ 157 million), which was not only the biggest recording contract in British music history at the time, but also
747-594: A deal with a proper label. In 2002, ArtistShare was founded as the Internet's first record label where the releases were directly funded by the artist's fans. EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries , also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI ) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At
830-558: A joint venture and merged their recorded music division to create the Sony BMG label (which would be renamed Sony Music Entertainment after a 2008 merger); BMG kept its music publishing division separate from Sony BMG and later sold BMG Music Publishing to UMG. In 2007, the remaining record labels—then known as the Big Four—controlled about 70% of the world music market , and about 80% of the United States music market. In 2012,
913-476: A label want to work together, whether an artist has contacted a label directly, usually by sending their team a demo, or the Artists & Repertoire team of the label has scouted the artist and reached out directly, they will usually enter in to a contractual relationship. A label typically enters into an exclusive recording contract with an artist to market the artist's recordings in return for royalties on
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#1732793414890996-462: A large international media group , or somewhere in between. The Association of Independent Music (AIM) defines a 'major' as "a multinational company which (together with the companies in its group) has more than 5% of the world market(s) for the sale of records or music videos." As of 2012 , there are only three labels that can be referred to as "major labels": Universal Music Group , Sony Music , and Warner Music Group . In 2014, AIM estimated that
1079-717: A loss of £260 million in 2006/2007, in August 2007 EMI was acquired by Terra Firma Capital Partners for £4.2 billion. Following the transition, several artists including Radiohead left EMI, while other artists such as Paul McCartney had left ahead of the takeover. At the same time, the Rolling Stones signed a one-album deal with Interscope Records / Universal Music Group outside its contract with EMI, which expired in February 2008, and then in July 2008 signed
1162-442: A new long-term deal with Universal Music Group . The Terra Firma takeover was also reported to have been the catalyst behind a lawsuit filed by Pink Floyd over unpaid royalties. In January 2011 Pink Floyd signed a new global agreement with EMI. Around the same time, Guy Hands , CEO of Terra Firma Capital Partners, came to EMI with restructuring plans to cut between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs and to reduce costs by £200 million
1245-477: A punitive harassment meant to scare other musicians. The band's troubles with the label resonate through their third studio album This Is War (2009) and were the subject of the 2012 documentary Artifact . In 2008, EMI withdrew from the South-East Asian market entirely, forcing its large roster of acts to search out contracts with other unaffiliated labels. As a result, the South-East Asian market
1328-605: 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. Artists such as Dolly Parton , Aimee Mann , Prince , Public Enemy , among others, have done this. Historically, companies started in this manner have been re-absorbed into
1411-537: A year. As a result, the UK chief executive Tony Wadsworth left EMI after 25 years in January 2008. The cuts were planned to take effect over the year 2008, and would affect up to a third of EMI's 5,500 staff. Thirty Seconds to Mars tried to exit their contract with EMI following the layoff of its staff and due to unpaid royalties, prompting the label to file a lawsuit for $ 30 million citing breach of contract. The suit
1494-544: Is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos , or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture , distribution , marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists , artist financing and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from
1577-534: Is now operated exclusively throughout the world by Sony Music Entertainment; except in Japan where the trade mark is owned by Columbia Music Entertainment . EMI released its first LPs in 1952 and its first stereophonic recordings in 1955 (first on reel-to-reel tape and then LPs, beginning in 1958). In 1957, to replace the loss of its long-established licensing arrangements with RCA Victor and Columbia Records (Columbia USA cut its ties with EMI in 1951), EMI entered
1660-1057: Is now owned by Sony Music Publishing , the music publishing division of Sony Music which bought another 70% stake in EMI Music Publishing. Electric and Musical Industries Ltd was formed in March 1931 by the merger of the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company , with its " His Master's Voice " record label, firms that have a history extending back to the origins of recorded sound . The new vertically integrated company produced sound recordings as well as recording and playback equipment. The company's gramophone manufacturing led to 40 years of success with larger-scale electronics and electrical engineering . In October 1979, EMI merged with Thorn Electrical Industries to create Thorn EMI . On 16 August 1996, Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favour of demerging Thorn from EMI again:
1743-633: Is now owned by Warner Music . EMI was listed on the London Stock Exchange , and was also once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index , but faced financial problems and US$ 4 billion in debt, leading to its acquisition by Citigroup in February 2011. Citigroup's ownership was temporary, as EMI announced in November 2011 that it would sell its music arm to Vivendi 's Universal Music Group for $ 1.9 billion and its publishing business to
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#17327934148901826-454: Is often marketed as a "unit" or "division" of the parent label, though in most cases, they operate as pseudonym for it and do not exist as a distinct business operation or separate business structure (although trademarks are sometimes registered). A record label may give a musical act an imprint as part of their branding, while other imprints serve to house other activities, such as side ventures of that label. Music collectors often use
1909-684: Is owned by Sony Group Corporation ). Record labels and music publishers that are not under the control of the big three are generally considered to be independent ( indie ), even if they are large corporations with complex structures. The term indie label is sometimes used to refer to only those independent labels that adhere to independent criteria of corporate structure and size, and some consider an indie label to be almost any label that releases non-mainstream music, regardless of its corporate structure. Independent labels are often considered more artist-friendly. Though they may have less sales power, indie labels typically offer larger artist royalty with
1992-549: The BBC 's second television transmitter at Sutton Coldfield. It also manufactured broadcast television cameras for British television production companies as well as for the BBC. The commercial television ITV companies also used them alongside cameras made by Pye and Marconi . Their best-remembered piece of broadcast television equipment was the EMI 2001 colour television camera, which became
2075-551: The Choir of King's College, Cambridge . During the era of the long-playing record (LP), very few American and Canadian orchestras had their principal recording contracts with EMI, one notable exception being that of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra , especially during the tenure of William Steinberg . From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, the company enjoyed huge success in the popular music field under
2158-805: The EMI Laboratories in Hayes, Hillingdon developed radar equipment (including the receiver section of the British Army's GL-II anti-aircraft fire-control radar), microwave devices such as the reflex klystron oscillator (having played a crucial role in the development of early production types following on from the British Admiralty Signal School's pioneering NR89, the so-called "Sutton tube"), electro-optic devices such as infra-red image converters, and eventually guided missiles employing analogue computers. The company
2241-630: The OKeh label. RCA sold its stake in EMI in 1935, but due to its 1929 takeover of Victor, RCA retained the North and South American rights to the " His Master's Voice " trademark. In other countries, the Nipper logo was used by the EMI subsidiary label HMV, even though the "His Master's Voice" slogan itself would be retained by RCA along with the logo. In 1938 ARC-Brunswick was taken over by CBS , which then sold
2324-412: The free software and open source movements and the success of Linux . In the mid-2000s, some music publishing companies began undertaking the work traditionally done by labels. The publisher Sony/ATV Music, for example, leveraged its connections within the Sony family to produce, record, distribute, and promote Elliott Yamin 's debut album under a dormant Sony-owned imprint , rather than waiting for
2407-510: The "parent" of any sublabels. Vanity labels are labels that bear an imprint that gives the impression of an artist's ownership or control, but in fact represent a standard artist/label relationship. In such an arrangement, the artist will control nothing more than the usage of the name on the label, but may enjoy a greater say in the packaging of their work. An example of such a label is the Neutron label owned by ABC while at Phonogram Inc. in
2490-547: The American Brunswick label to American Decca Records , which along with its other properties, Vocalion Records and Aeolian Vocalion Records, used it as a subsidiary budget label afterward. CBS then operated Columbia as its flagship label in both the United States and Canada. EMI retained the rights to the Columbia name in most other territories including the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It continued to operate
2573-589: The American market by acquiring 96% of the stock for Capitol Records USA. From 1960 to 1995 their "EMI House" corporate headquarters was located at 20 Manchester Square London, England, the stairwell from which was featured on the cover of the Beatles' Please Please Me album. In addition, an unused shot from the Please Please Me photo session, featuring the boys in short hair and cleancut attire,
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2656-667: The Beatles into the EMI fold. When the Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company (including Columbia's subsidiary label Parlophone ) in 1931, the new Anglo-American group was incorporated as Electric & Musical Industries Limited. At this point, the Radio Corporation of America had a majority shareholding in the new company due to RCA purchasing the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929. Victor owned 50% of
2739-516: The British affiliated Gramophone Company, giving RCA chairman David Sarnoff a seat on the EMI board. However, EMI was subsequently forced to sell Columbia USA due to anti-trust action taken by its American competitors. By this time the record industry had been hit hard by the Depression and in 1934 a much-diminished Columbia USA was purchased for just US$ 70,500 by ARC-BRC ( American Record Corporation –Brunswick Record Company), which also acquired
2822-601: The Christian music market by acquiring Sparrow Records . Due to the increasing divergence of business models, Thorn EMI shareholders voted in favour of demerger proposals on 16 August 1996. The resulting media company was now known as EMI Group PLC. In 1997, EMI Records USA was folded into both Virgin and Capitol. Since the 1930s, the Pathé Records label headquartered in Shanghai , China had been published under
2905-518: The EMI banner and since then, EMI had also been the dominant label in the cantopop market throughout Greater China until the genre's decline in the mid-1980s. Between the years 2004–2006, EMI then completely and totally divested itself from the c-pop market, and after that, all Hong Kong music artists previously associated with EMI had their music published by Gold Label , a concern unaffiliated with EMI and with which EMI did not yet hold any interest. On 21 November 2000, Streamwaves and EMI signed
2988-563: The EMI imprint. On 1 July 1973 the Gramophone Company subsidiary (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.) was renamed EMI Records Ltd as well, and in 1978, EMI launched EMI America Records as its second label in the United States after Capitol. EMI Music Worldwide was also formed in 1978 with Bhaskar Menon as chairman and CEO. In February 1979, EMI Ltd acquired United Artists Records and with it their subsidiary labels Liberty Records and Imperial Records . Eight months later, Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI Ltd. to form Thorn EMI . Sometime in
3071-519: The Japanese EMI branch, remains unchanged from the reflection of Toshiba 's divestiture to the business by EMI buying the whole branch way back July 2007, making it a full subsidiary. In July 2009, there were reports that EMI would not sell CDs to independent album retailers in a bid to cut costs, but in fact only a handful of small physical retailers were affected. In February 2010, EMI Group reported pre-tax losses of £1.75 billion for
3154-630: The Middle East and Africa as well as in Canada , Russia , India , China , Japan , Australia and New Zealand . Gramophone's (later EMI's) Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries dominated the popular music industries in those countries across the Asia-Pacific region from the 1920s until the 1960s, when other locally owned labels (such as Festival Records ) began to challenge the near monopoly of EMI. Over 150,000 78-rpm recordings from around
3237-562: The UK's first commercially available all- transistor computer, was developed at EMI's Central Research Laboratories in Hayes under the leadership of Godfrey Hounsfield , an electrical engineer at EMI. In the early 1970s, with financial support by the UK Department of Health and Social Security as well as EMI research investment, Hounsfield developed the first CT scanner , a device which revolutionised medical imaging . In 1973 EMI
3320-456: The UK. At one point artist Lizzie Tear (under contract with ABC themselves) appeared on the imprint, but it was devoted almost entirely to ABC's offerings and is still used for their re-releases (though Phonogram owns the masters of all the work issued on the label). However, not all labels dedicated to particular artists are completely superficial in origin. Many artists, early in their careers, create their own labels which are later bought out by
3403-546: The United States would typically bear a 4th & B'way logo and would state in the fine print, "4th & B'way™, an Island Records, Inc. company". Collectors discussing labels as brands would say that 4th & B'way is a sublabel or imprint of just "Island" or "Island Records". Similarly, collectors who choose to treat corporations and trademarks as equivalent might say 4th & B'way is an imprint and/or sublabel of both Island Records, Ltd. and that company's sublabel, Island Records, Inc. However, such definitions are complicated by
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3486-407: The album will sell better if the artist complies with the label's desired requests or changes. At times, the record label's decisions are prudent ones from a commercial perspective, but these decisions may frustrate artists who feel that their art is being diminished or misrepresented by such actions. In other instances, record labels have shelved artists' albums with no intention of any promotion for
3569-411: The artist from their contract, leaving the artist in a state of limbo. Artists who have had disputes with their labels over ownership and control of their music have included Taylor Swift , Tinashe , Megan Thee Stallion , Kelly Clarkson , Thirty Seconds to Mars , Clipse , Ciara , JoJo , Michelle Branch , Kesha , Kanye West , Lupe Fiasco , Paul McCartney , and Johnny Cash . In
3652-415: The artist in question. Reasons for shelving can include the label deciding to focus its resources on other artists on its roster, or the label undergoing a restructure where the person that signed the artist and supports the artist's vision is no longer present to advocate for the artist. In extreme cases, record labels can prevent the release of an artist's music for years, while also declining to release
3735-425: The artist is established and has a loyal fan base. For that reason, labels now have to be more relaxed with the development of artists because longevity is the key to these types of pact. Several artists such as Paramore , Maino , and even Madonna have signed such types of deals. A look at an actual 360 deal offered by Atlantic Records to an artist shows a variation of the structure. Atlantic's document offers
3818-484: The artists may be downloaded free of charge or for a fee that is paid via PayPal or other online payment system. Some of these labels also offer hard copy CDs in addition to direct download. Digital Labels are the latest version of a 'net' label. Whereas 'net' labels were started as a free site, digital labels represent more competition for the major record labels. The new century brought the phenomenon of open-source or open-content record labels. These are inspired by
3901-650: The circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry , recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and promote their singles on streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists , who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets. Record labels may be small, localized and " independent " ("indie"), or they may be part of
3984-548: The company became EMI Group plc, and the electronics and rentals divisions were divested as Thorn plc . The company broke up in 2012. In 1934, an EMI research team led by Sir Isaac Shoenberg developed the electronic Marconi-EMI system for television broadcasting, which quickly replaced Baird's electro-mechanical system following its introduction in 1936. After the Second World War , EMI resumed its involvement in making broadcasting equipment, notably providing
4067-403: The company. 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, to the point where it functions as an imprint or sublabel. A label used as a trademark or brand and not a company is called an imprint , a term used for a similar concept in publishing . An imprint
4150-400: The corporate mergers that occurred in 1989 (when Island was sold to PolyGram) and 1998 (when PolyGram merged with Universal). PolyGram held sublabels including Mercury, Island and Motown. Island remained registered as corporations in both the United States and UK , but control of its brands changed hands multiple times as new companies were formed, diminishing the corporation's distinction as
4233-416: The early days of the recording industry, recording labels were absolutely necessary for the success of any artist. The first goal of any new artist or band was to get signed to a contract as soon as possible. In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, many artists were so desperate to sign a contract with a record company that they sometimes ended up signing agreements in which they sold the rights to their recordings to
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#17327934148904316-512: The end of their contract with EMI when their album In Rainbows was released as a " pay what you want " sales model as an online download, but they also returned to a label for a conventional release. Research shows that record labels still control most access to distribution. Computers and internet technology led to an increase in file sharing and direct-to-fan digital distribution, causing music sales to plummet in recent years. Labels and organizations have had to change their strategies and
4399-725: The iTunes Plus category). Tracks were to cost $ 1.29/€1.29/£0.99. Legacy tracks with FairPlay DRM would still be available for $ 0.99/€0.99/£0.79 – albeit with lower quality sound and DRM restrictions still in place. Users would be able to 'upgrade' the EMI tracks that they had already bought for $ 0.30/€0.30/£0.20. Albums were also to be available at the same price as their lower quality, DRM counterparts and music videos from EMI would also be DRM-free. The higher-quality, DRM-free files became available worldwide on iTunes on 30 May 2007, and were expected to appear on other music download services soon thereafter. Following this decision, Universal Music Group also announced sales of DRM-free music (which
4482-596: The label with moderate success until 1973, when it was retired and replaced by the EMI Records imprint, making records with the Columbia Records label manufactured outside North America between 1972 and 1992 rare. In 1990, following a series of major takeovers that saw CBS Records acquired by the Sony Corporation of Japan, EMI sold its remaining rights to the Columbia name to Sony and the label
4565-523: The label, but that these audits rarely result in legal action. A legal settlement was announced on 12 April 2007 and terms were undisclosed. On 2 April 2007, EMI announced it would be releasing its music in DRM -free formats. These were to be issued in AAC format, which gave higher quality for the same bitrate compared with the ubiquitous MP3 format. The music would be distributed via Apple's iTunes Store (under
4648-628: The late 1980s, EMI America merged with sister label Manhattan Records , founded in 1984, becoming EMI Manhattan and eventually EMI USA when Capitol absorbed it in 1989. Also in 1989, Thorn EMI bought a 50% interest in Chrysalis Records , completing the buyout two years later. Six months after completing the buyout of Chrysalis, Thorn EMI bought Virgin Records from Richard Branson in one of its highest-profile and most expensive acquisitions in record music history. In 1992, Thorn EMI entered
4731-431: The mainstay of much of the British television industry from the end of the 1960s until the early 1990s. Exports of this piece of equipment were low, however, and EMI left this area of product manufacture. EMI engineer Alan Blumlein received a patent for the invention of stereophonic sound in 1931. He was killed in 1942 whilst conducting flight trials on an experimental H2S radar set. During and after World War II ,
4814-683: The major divisions of EMI were sold off separately by owner Citigroup : most of EMI's recorded music division was absorbed into UMG; EMI Music Publishing was absorbed into Sony/ATV Music Publishing; finally, EMI's Parlophone and Virgin Classics labels were absorbed into Warner Music Group (WMG) in July 2013. This left the so-called Big Three labels. In 2020 and 2021, both WMG and UMG had their IPO with WMG starting trading at Nasdaq and UMG starting trading at Euronext Amsterdam and leaving only Sony Music as wholly-owned subsidiary of an international conglomerate ( Sony Entertainment which in turn
4897-433: The major labels (two examples are American singer Frank Sinatra 's Reprise Records , which has been owned by Warner Music Group for some time now, and musician 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
4980-537: The majors had a collective global market share of some 65–70%. Record labels are often under the control of a corporate umbrella organization called a "music group ". A music group is usually affiliated to an international conglomerate " holding company ", which often has non-music divisions as well. A music group controls and consists of music-publishing companies, record (sound recording) manufacturers, record distributors, and record labels. Record companies (manufacturers, distributors, and labels) may also constitute
5063-601: The management of Sir Joseph Lockwood . The strong combination of EMI and its subsidiary labels (including Parlophone , HMV , Columbia and Capitol Records ) along with a roster of stellar groups such as the Hollies , the Shadows , the Beach Boys and the Beatles along with hit solo performers such as Frank Sinatra , Cliff Richard , and Nat 'King' Cole , made EMI the best-known and most successful recording company in
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#17327934148905146-507: The output of recording sessions. For established artists, a label is usually less involved in the recording process. The relationship between record labels and artists can be a difficult one. Many artists have had conflicts with their labels over the type of sound or songs they want to make, which can result in the artist's artwork or titles being changed before release. Other artists have had their music prevented from release, or shelved. Record labels generally do this because they believe that
5229-548: The record label in perpetuity. Entertainment lawyers are usually employed by artists to discuss contract terms. Due to advancing technology such as the Internet , the role of labels is rapidly changing, as artists are able to freely distribute their own material through online radio , peer-to-peer file sharing such as BitTorrent , and other services, at little to no cost, but with correspondingly low financial returns. Established artists, such as Nine Inch Nails , whose career
5312-418: The salaries of certain tour and merchandise sales employees hired by the artist. In addition, the label also offers the artist a 30 percent cut of the label's album profits—if any—which represents an improvement from the typical industry royalty of 15 percent. With the Internet now being the dominant source for obtaining music, netlabels have emerged. Depending on the ideals of the net label, music files from
5395-437: The second biggest in music history behind that of Michael Jackson. Apple Records , the record label representing The Beatles , launched a suit against EMI for non-payment of royalties on 15 December 2005. The suit alleged that EMI had withheld $ 50 million from the record label; however, an EMI spokesman noted that audits of record label accounts are not that unusual, confirming at least two hundred such audits performed on
5478-419: The selling price of the recordings. Contracts may extend over short or long durations, and may or may not refer to specific recordings. Established, successful artists tend to be able to renegotiate their contracts to get terms more favorable to them, but Prince 's much-publicized 1994–1996 feud with Warner Bros. Records provides a strong counterexample, as does Roger McGuinn 's claim, made in July 2000 before
5561-400: The term sublabel to refer to either an imprint or a subordinate label company (such as those within a group). For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, 4th & B'way Records (pronounced as "Broadway") was a trademarked brand owned by Island Records Ltd. in the UK and by a subordinate branch, Island Records, Inc., in the United States. The center label on a 4th & Broadway record marketed in
5644-433: The time of its acquisition by Universal Music in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry , and was one of the "Big Four" record companies (now the " Big Three "). Its labels included EMI Records , Parlophone , Virgin Records , and Capitol Records , which are now referenced under Universal Music due to their acquisition with the exception of Parlophone, as it
5727-433: The way they work with artists. New types of deals called "multiple rights" or "360" deals are being made with artists, where labels are given rights and percentages to artist's touring, merchandising, and endorsements . In exchange for these rights, labels usually give higher advance payments to artists, have more patience with artist development, and pay higher percentages of CD sales. These 360 deals are most effective when
5810-513: The world are held in EMI's temperature-controlled archive in Hayes, some of which have been released on CD since 2008 by Honest Jon's Records . In 1931, the year the company was formed, it opened the legendary recording studios at London 's Abbey Road . During the 1930s and 1940s, its roster of artists included Arturo Toscanini , Sir Edward Elgar , and Otto Klemperer , among many others. During this time EMI appointed its first A&R managers. These included George Martin , who later brought
5893-519: The world at that time. In 1967, while shifting their focus on pop and rock music roster to Columbia and Parlophone, EMI converted HMV solely to a classical music label exclusively. For the emerging progressive rock genre including Pink Floyd , who had debuted on Columbia, EMI established a new subsidiary label, Harvest Records , two years later. In 1971, Electric & Musical Industries changed its name to EMI Ltd. and on 1 January 1973 EMI phased out most of its heritage labels and replacing them with
5976-442: The year ended March 2009, including write-downs on the value of its music catalogue. In addition, KPMG issued a going concern warning on the holding company's accounts regarding an ability to remain solvent. Citigroup (which held $ 4 billion in debt) took 100% ownership of EMI Group from Terra Firma Capital Partners on 1 February 2011, writing off £2.2 billion of debt and reducing EMI's debt load by 65%. The group
6059-688: Was a joint venture between EMI itself and Pied Piper Records Corporation. The physical audio and video products of the label have been distributed in South-East Asia by Warner Music Group since December 2008, while new EMI releases in China and Taiwan, were distributed under Gold Typhoon which was previously known as EMI Music China and EMI Music Taiwan, respectively. Meanwhile, the Korean branch of EMI (known as EMI Korea Limited) had its physical releases distributed by Warner Music Korea. EMI Music Japan ,
6142-545: Was also for many years an internationally respected manufacturer of photomultipliers . This part of the business was transferred to Thorn as part of Thorn-EMI, then later became the independent concern Electron Tubes Ltd. The EMI Electronic Business Machine, a valve and magnetic drum memory computer, was built in the 1950s to process the British Motor Corporation payroll. In 1958 the EMIDEC 1100 ,
6225-668: Was awarded a prestigious Queen's Award for Technological Innovation for what was then called the EMI scanner , and in 1979 Hounsfield won the Nobel Prize for his accomplishment. After brief, but brilliant, success in the medical imaging field, EMI's manufacturing activities were sold off to other companies, notably Thorn (see Thorn EMI ). Subsequently, development and manufacturing activities were sold off to other companies and work moved to other towns such as Crawley and Wells. Emihus Electronics, based in Glenrothes , Scotland,
6308-426: Was described as an experiment). In May 2006, EMI attempted to buy Warner Music Group , which would have reduced the world's four largest record companies ( Big Four ) to three; however, the bid was rejected. Warner Music Group launched a Pac-Man defense , offering to buy EMI. EMI rejected the $ 4.6 billion offer. After a decline in the British market share from 16% to 9%, and the announcement that it had sustained
6391-455: Was developed with major label backing, announced an end to their major label contracts, citing that the uncooperative nature of the recording industry with these new trends is hurting musicians, fans and the industry as a whole. However, Nine Inch Nails later returned to working with a major label, admitting that they needed the international marketing and promotional reach that a major label can provide. Radiohead also cited similar motives with
6474-500: Was entitled Let It Be . The photo was used instead for the cover of the Beatles' second greatest-hits double-disc compilation entitled 1967–1970 (also known as "The Blue Album"). (The two compilations were released in 1973.) EMI's classical artists of the period were largely limited to the prestigious British and European orchestras, such as the Philharmonia Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra as well as
6557-526: Was later settled following a defence based on a contract case involving actress Olivia de Havilland decades before. Jared Leto explained, "The California Appeals Court ruled that no service contract in California is valid after seven years, and it became known as the De Havilland Law after she used it to get out of her contract with Warner Bros. " Many industry watchers viewed the suit as
6640-553: Was owned 51% by Hughes Aircraft , of California, US, and 49% by EMI. It manufactured integrated circuits , electrolytic capacitors and, for a short period in the mid-1970s, hand-held calculators under the Gemini name. Early in its life, the Gramophone Company established its subsidiary operations and branch offices in a number of many other countries inside and outside of the British Commonwealth , including Europe,
6723-426: Was put up for sale and final bids were due by 5 October 2011. On 12 November 2011, it was announced that EMI would sell its recorded music operations to Universal Music Group (UMG) for £1.2 billion ($ 1.9 billion) and its music publishing operations to Sony/ATV Music Publishing -for $ 2.2 billion. Among the other companies that had competed for the recorded music business was Warner Music Group which
6806-457: Was the only region in the world where EMI was not in operation, although the record label continued to operate in Hong Kong and Indonesia (which was named Arka Music Indonesia). The Chinese and Taiwanese operation of EMI as well as the Hong Kong branch of Gold Label, was sold to Typhoon Group and reformed as Gold Typhoon . The Philippine branch of EMI changed its name to PolyEast Records , and
6889-483: Was used for the cover of the Beatles' first double-disc greatest-hits compilation entitled 1962–1966 (also known as "The Red Album"). In 1969, Angus McBean took a matching group photograph featuring the boys in long hair and beards to contrast with the earlier cleancut image to show that the boys could have appeal across a wide range of audiences. This photo was originally intended for the Get Back album which later
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