Record Label Research

A brief historical overview of the label.

What other acts are signed to that label?

How successful are they?

Why is it appropriate for your band/artist?

Examples of record labels that are associated with our genre:

Eclipse Records

Dancing Turtle Records

Dirty Hit

Abbey Records

Domino Recording Company

We researched different record labels that would associate with the indie/alternative genre and found five examples. Some of the labels are signed to indie bands that are considered popular within the genre, such as Dirty Hit is a label who signed The 1975 and Domino Recording Company is the label for which Arctic Monkeys are signed to, two bands that we have researched in depth. However we have decided to research further into Domino Recording Studio as we want the band that we are going to create have a similar image to that of the Arctic Monkeys.

Domino Recording Company

Domino Recording Company was founded in 1993 by two men, Laurence Bell and Jacqui Rice. They are an independent UK based company, however the company worked with small American bands when they first started out in the business. It is now known as one of the longest running (and successful) UK record labels today. There are different 'parts' to the label, such as a branch in USA that handles the releases in the USA, with German and French branches too. Also, Geographic Music, a branch that is in a position of authority over the subsidiary releases slightly different music, music that offers a different kind of sound. 

Acts that are signed to the label include the Arctic Monkeys (UK based), The Kills (USA based) and Franz Ferdinand (UK based). From looking at the Domino website, they are 'very English', with slogans such as "Domino...is watching crap on tele" and I think the British-ness shows through in the videos created by the artists that they are signed to, for example the song by Arctic Monkeys, "When the Sun Goes Down" portrays a British scenery within the video and if one was to watch it, they could most likely identify it as a British video. This is good for the band as well as the record label because the Arctic Monkeys have become very popular through the years with their unique music and interesting videos so would also give credit to the record label too, perhaps resulting in more labels wanting to sign with them. "No Wow", a music video from The Kills, like the music videos of the Arctic Monkeys, shows the genre perfectly (as indie/alternative/rock) with simple colours and visuals and similar camera shots and movements. A thing that we noticed was that on YouTube, it is clear to see that The Kills' video was uploaded by none other than their record label - if people and fans liked the video, they could click on the name of the page that posted the video (Domino Recording Co) and then find more videos that are linked to the one that the people liked. 

The record label has become more successful throughout the years, starting off quite small and unrecognizable to quite a popular company. The fame started to grow when bands like the Arctic Monkeys and The Kills were signed to them, because these bands were quite popular beforehand with the target audience. As the company have different branches into different countries, it shows that they have expanded and grown as a company in order to find new talent across the globe and it also means that more people globally can find out about the company.

This record label is suitable for our band/genre because they have the image that we want to portray through our band. The Arctic Monkeys are a band that we have been influenced by in the research and planning of our music video and band image, so by using this record label, it would really tie together the image that we want to create and our target audience would easily recognize our band as an indie/alternative band if we used a record label that already promotes bands similar. 

This is the website for the recording company, where a lot of information can be found about all of the band that they support. The website also has information about CD and album sales, which promotes the band and urges people to buy the album as well as singles. The site, for us, was quirky/cool/original which would reinforce the characteristics of the indie/alternative genre.