R+P Post 7: Record Labels of interest

There is a wide range of record labels across the UK for every genre of music imaginable, and although their power has slightly waned due to the internet, they are still the main way to promote music. The two different types of label are major labels and independent labels, although many 'independent' labels are actually part of major labels. The biggest labels in the UK are Sony Music, Warner Music Group (WMG) and Universal Music Group (UMG). As shown by this article, these three labels accounted for 97% of the top 100 songs in the UK for 2015, in terms of airplay. Therefore, it is clear that these labels have a high level of reputability and success when it comes to promoting it's artists, so it would make sense to sign to one of these, especially since they all deal with a wide variety of genres.

However, some independent labels have also become successful in the UK, such as Ministry of Sound. This label is closely associated with the London nightclub of the same name, and releases primarily house-inspired music. However, it seems to recently be diversifying in it's signings, as the folk/soul group London Grammar were signed by them in 2012, who have gone on to have huge success with their debut album going 2X Platinum in 2013 and their follow up going to number 1 on the UK albums chart. This would be a very good choice of label for a more house/garage-inspired artist, as the label already has a great reputation with fans of these genres and would give the artist a level of integrity that may be lost by signing to a major label.