Recording labels and music marketing - Essay Example

Music and Recording Question Article review In the article "Paying the Price" there is a new owner of EMI Universal. Rivals of EMI are challenged with an opportunity to expand all over the world. Moreover, our study looks at UK albums and singles sales between the beginning of 2011 and the artists and assets behind 44% of EMI's album sales, which will have to be divested in 2012 and about 30% of UK singles sales must expand. These impressive figures underline the fact that a challenging environment of the modern music industry sets the pace of a competitive development in this field.

This is a complicated background for future performance of the Company internationally. Moreover, divestments experienced by the Company can lead it to huge losses. It is hard to believe, but the artists, whose creative works and developments were rooted in this Company, are now leaving it. Artists and assets are to be sold off by Universal behind 44% of EMI's UK album sales in 18 months to the end of June 2012. This Company sold 20.4 million albums in UK between January 2011 and June 2012 with to-be-divested Parlophone label behind more than 3 million of them.

The Company must let go albums of very popular artists, such as David Guetta, Kate Bush, Eliza Doolittle and some others. EMI's to-be-divested share of the Now! Franchise equated to more that 2.4 million UK album sales in 18th months period. There are some interests of the competitors in the field of music industry, which are violated. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that some artists stay with the Company. These are: Beach Boys Beastie Boys, Spice Girls, Katy Perry, Robbie Williams and many others.

Many of them are leaving the Company too: Lily Allen, Blondie, David Bowie, Depeche Mode and many others. The biggest losses of the Company are expected from divestments of David Guetta and Pink Floyd. In the 18-month period from the beginning of 2011 to the end of June 2012 Virgin Records and all its associated labels sold around 6.5 million albums in the UK and 14.3 million singles with Sande were united among the top sellers such as Professor Green, Robbie Williams and Swedish House Mafia.

Virgin was also one of the most successful Companies in the period considered. One-track downloads are very popular in this Company. The most successful album in the UK sold by the Company in recent times was Lady Antebellum. Therefore, we can claim that the market of music recording is dynamical. It is interesting to trace development of music industry and to be a part of this industry in the future. Current events and news in the market of music are very important for me. I think that to follow the news and trends in the music industry is very important for me.

I got much knowledge from the article and considered the dynamical environment of music industry market. Question 2 Artist management In my future I want to become a personal manager of artists. This profession occupies a wide range of responsibilities and functions. Thus, a personal manager can represent one or more musical groups or artists and take into account different aspects of an actor's career. He also tries to help the artists to develop their decisions. On the one hand, managers in their essence are responsible for the business running and for music creation.

There are many different opportunities for personal managers to develop. For example, he can be a promoter, an agent, an accountant and many other functions can be performed by the personal manager too. Two main concerns of a personal manager are to focus on advertising and promotion of an artist. To be a creative and a talented professional is to be a great mentor, a friend and a supporter for the artist. Moreover, I clearly realize that the main function of a personal manager is also to become a mentor of an artist.

It is possible to be much more aware of the issues of personal manager businesses if to consider ideas described by Donald Passman in the book All You Need to Know About the Music Business or Moses Avalon and his book Confessions of a Record Producer. These are inspiring books for me and I think it is interesting and important to consider different aspects of music industry. These two authors provide a different vision about the profession of a personal manager. To my mind, even a huge amount of reading cannot provide me with enough knowledge in the field of my future occupation.

I think that it is much more interesting to focus on the practical aspect in the field of music. It is possible and very important to find a mentor and focus on the management issue of the artists. I am more interested in the personal concerns of the artists and my own personal experience in this field. Moreover, it is necessary to focus on young and potentially creative artists to earn money hand over fist. Special tour routing and assistance to promotional ideas are integrative and important elements in the process of management.

A career of a personal manager depends on some inner triggers and I hope that my creative potential is a favorable background for my future career advancement. I am sure that my future career depends both on my personal ability to be a proactive and a creative agent and to be ready for changes in the industry of music. I hope that in the process of my study I can get theoretical basis for my future career, but a practical side of my development depends on my own ability to cooperate with the artists.

References Paying the Price.