Blog Post 1: The UK Music Industry

The music industry in the UK is huge and thriving, contributing around £4.5bn to the UK economy in 2017. UK acts such as Ed Sheeran, Rag'N'Bone Man and Dua Lipa were among the world's biggest-selling acts and UK music exports were worth about £2.6bn. Understanding how and why the music industry, and in particular Sony Music and the genre of pop, are so successful would provide key industry context and insight that would influence the initial ideas for my own production(s).

The UK's "Big 4" major record labels are:

Sony Music Entertainment (SME) is an American global music conglomerate owned by Sony Corporation of America. It is the second-largest of the Big 4, coming behind UMG.

Though owned by SME, Sony Music UK has standalone operations in the UK aimed at promoting musicians within and from the UK. It has had major successes with British artists such as Paloma Faith and Mark Ronson, and in 2014 and subsequent years Sony Music artists have been sweeping up awards at the BRITs. 

Sony's Values

The record label model is secure but also restrictive, with artists signing onto contracts for a period of time or until a certain amount of singles/albums are released. While being signed onto a major label means the artist will get representation, exposure and sales, this could be at the expense of artistic freedom and individuality; labels would often require artists to keep to a strict image or persona in order to be a good representation of the label's values, and sometimes favour music that is commercially viable rather than what the artist really wants to produce, or more new and challenging material.

Knowing Sony Music's huge influence and track record gives me an idea of the level of professionalism and branding that would be expected from such a big company, so I will need to reflect that in my productions. I also have more of an idea of my star persona, and why Sony would give them a record deal with so many artists out there dying for one. My artist's persona will apply to all of Sony's values: he will demonstrate Dreams and Curiosity through his innovative music video and enigmatic personality, he is Diverse in his musical ability as well as multi-ethnic background, he will show Integrity and Sincerity in his fan interaction and lyrics, and last but not least he will promote Sustainability through being an environmentalist.