1. Music Industry G322
Lesson Aims
To begin investigating independent
record companies.
To understand how they may operate
and target audiences differently than
the majors

2. Music Industry G322
What are the pros of being signed to an
independent record label?
What are the cons?
How do they operate differently from the
majors?

3. Aardvark Records Ltd is one of the rising stars of the UK music industry.
We are a staunchly independent record label with a growing roster of
original, new talent covering a variety of music genres: Indie rock, Americana,
Alt Country, Commercial Dance,Electronica
We've racked up a series of firsts. We were one of the first record labels to
use podcasting. We were one of the first labels to support internet radio.
Other firsts include: providing music videos to YouTube, Google Video,
Singingfool, ROO TV and a host of other online music video entertainment
wesbites; providing full tracks on MySpace, Reverb Nation, Bebo and
Last.fm; setting up a blog to share our thoughts about music industry
developments and news; and using widgets for people to share our music
and our videos with their mates.
Recent audio content provision deals such as the one struck with the

4. You will need to research an independent record
company of your choice.
This will give you individual knowledge for the
exam.
You need to explore the following:
What genre of music/type of artists do they promote?
Who is their audience and how do they target them? Do
they cater for niche audiences?
How has new technology developed their company?
How do they produce, distribute and market their
artists?
If possible you should email and ask direct questions if
you cannot answer these questions from their website.
Case Study

5. Research the following websites:
We7
Spotify
http://www.audimated.com/
Tunited.com

6. In the last two years grime's benefited hugely from the growth of
independent record labels Boy Better Know, True Tiger and No Hats No
Hoods),
online resources (leading retailer ukrecordshop. com, and
grimepedia.co.uk), radio shows(Logan Sama Kiss FM grime show draws over
100,000 listeners,
1Xtra, Rinse FM), club and live nights
(Dirty Canvas)