Record Label Case Study

Record Label Case Study

EMI Records

EMI Records is a British record label. It was founded by the EMI company in 1972 as its flagship label and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide. The global success that EMI enjoyed in the 1960s exposed the fact that the company had the rights to only some of its trademarks in North America.

EMI Records is now the only record label to still have the EMI branding after Universal Music Group's acquistion of EMI Classics was sold to Warner Music Group on February 2013. After regulatory approval, EMI Classics was absorbed into Warner Classics on July 2013.

EMI have BiG artist such as:

• Tinie Tempah
• Coldplay
• Beatles
• Conor Maynard
• David Guetta
• J - Holiday 
• Katy Perry
• Lilly Allen

Case Study Magazine

XXL Magazine Case Study

XXL is an American hip hop magazine, published by Harris Publications which was founded in 1997. 

In August 1997, XXL released its first issue. It featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006, XXL took over the struggling hip hop producer and DJ magazine Scratch (another publication owned by Harris Publications), re-branding it as XXL Presents Scratch Magazine. However Scratch shut down less than a year later in September 2007. 

Here are the examples of the magazines that were released for the first issue:

The reason for Jay-Z and Master P were on the front covers of XXL's first issue magazine is because they were killing the Hip-Hop scene. The coverline of Jay-Z magazine states that Jay-Z is untouchable, this shows that he is untouchable and is also at the top of his game. Also on the magazine it says "Master P, FROM ROCKS TO RICHES", this shows that Master P who is also on top of his game will appear in  the magazine.

On the second magazine it has Master P on the front cover and as a coverline it has "Jay-Z THE CROWN JEWEL", this shows that Jay-Z is the king and is currently holding the crown of the genre he specifies in, 

Other titles with limited runs have been launched under the XXL brand, including Hip-Hop Soul, Eye Candy and Shade45. XXL has released many other special projects including tour programs, mixtapes and exclusive DVDs. XXL also maintains a popular website, which provides daily hip hop news, original content and content from the magazine.

Reviews

XXL rates albums from "S" (poor) to "XXL" (classic). Editors have initially awarded XXL status to only nine albums:

• The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
• The Blueprint by Jay-Z
• Get Rich or Die Tryin' by 50 Cent
• Be by Common
• Late Registration by Kanye West
• Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy by Kanye West
• Life Is Good by Nas
• good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar

A later issue in December 2007 re-rated and retroactively rated some albums and gave XXLs to:

• The Chronic by Dr. Dre
• Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
• Illmatic by Nas
• The Diary by Scarface
• The Infamous by Mobb Deep
• All Eyez on Me by 2Pac
• Reasonable Doubt by Jay-Z
• The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory by 2Pac
• Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G.
• 2001 by Dr. Dre
• The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem
• The Lost Tapes by Nas
• The College Dropout by Kanye West

Freshman

XXL also releases an annual Top 10 Freshmen list. The issue features the ten picks of whom to watch out for, and on the cover of the magazine and showcases new rappers that aren't well known, but are considered to be on the rise. The list has become known to create buzz and is credited for giving many artists their first taste of fame.

Year	Freshmen
2008	Lupe Fiasco, Lil Boosie, Joell Ortiz, Plies, Saigon, Rich Boy, Gorilla Zoe, Young Dro, Papoose and Crooked I.
2011	Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T., Mac Miller, Lil B, Yelawolf, Lil Twist, Meek Mill, Cyhi The Prynce, YG, Diggy Simmons and Fred Tha Godson.
2010	J. Cole, Jay Rock, Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean, Nipsey Hussle, Pill, OJ da Juiceman, Fashawn, Freddie Gibbs and Donnis.
2012	Danny Brown, Hopsin, Machine Gun Kelly, Macklemore, French Montana, Future, Kid Ink, Don Trip, Iggy Azalea and Roscoe Dash.
2009	B.o.B, Kid Cudi, Curren$y, Wale, Ace Hood, Asher Roth, Mickey Factz, Cory Gunz, Blu and Charles Hamilton.
2013	Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Dizzy Wright, Angel Haze, Trinidad James, Logic, Kirko Bangz, Travi$ Scott,

In 2013, XXL started their own annual awards. With the top 5 being chosen by a public vote and all other winners and nominees picked by the XXL staff.

Music Magazine - Planning Sheet

• What genre/s of music will your magazine cover?

My genre for my magazine is going to be UK Rap, i have decided this genre because I'm well educated in this genre because i work and create my own music myself and built myself a little name in the underground UK Rap scene.

• Who is the target audience? How old are they? Where do they live? What are their interests? 

My target audience is going to be people who listen to UK Rap, the age range will range from the age 15 - 40, my target audience are all UK based because the genre is UK Rap, but usually if an UK artist is doing really well the music travels to different countries.

• What is the name of your magazine? Why? Connotations?

The name of my magazine is going to be called "M.A.T.S" this stands for (M.usic A.cross T.he S.cene), i thought of the name because it sounds easy to pronounce and the abbreviation is also easy to say to others. The name also says what the magazine is going to contain such as music and whats new and upcoming in the UK Rap Scene

• What will your masthead look like? Do you have any ideas for fonts? (this should be accompanied by sketches)

My masthead will be a funky kind of hippy masthead to show that appeals to young people who tend to read into young artists and what they are getting up to.

• What will be the focal image for your front cover and why?

My focal image on my front cover will be two upcoming UK Rap artist wearing the lastest young rap artist look to show that they have made a transition from a local street boy into the public guy, the reason for this is because the image itself can make people identify that it is young music related

• What photography will be required? Give details of shot type, angle and composition

Im looking for the front cover page picture to be in front of a car or in a studio to show that they live a lavish lifestyle and still working on a daily basis to keep their fans happy and not to show any sense of slacking. The shot will be a full body shot because i would like my target audience to get a full look of how these artist look like.

• What mise en scene will be required? Location? Clothing? Make Up? Lighting? Use of colour?

The clothing that will be used will be used will be young hip looking clothing to show that they are young teenage superstars, they won't have any make-up because we won't to show the audience that they are original young artists that had come from nothing to something. Im going for the black look because it'll make my model artists stand out on the magazine.

• What would be your sell lines? How will entice your target audience?

My sell lines will be "New Artist Hits The Scene With A BANG", this sell line will catch my target audience attention because they'll want to read about what this new artist has done and what are his achievements that had brought his name to the magazine.

• What items and feature articles would you need on your contents page?

On my content page i will have an upcoming artist which will also include an interview on either what is coming next or a review on their latest mixtape and how much their music is impacting the scene

Artist Case Study - CHIP

Artist Case Study - CHIP

Chip - Are You? feat. Frisco (Music Video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9TXW1SbGZ4 (2013)

Jahmaal Noel Fyffe (born 26 November 1990), known by his stage name Chip (formerly Chipmunk), is an English rapper and songwriter from Tottenham, London. He signed a record deal with Columbia Records of Sony Music UK. He has successfully released five top-ten hits on the UK Singles Chart, of which "Oopsy Daisy" debuted at number-one. He released his debut album, I Am Chipmunk in 2009, which charted at number-two on the UK Albums Chart. His follow-up debut album,Transition was released on 18 April 2011. In 2008, Chipmunk was nominated for best newcomer at the MOBO Awards, winning two awards: Best UK Newcomer and Best Hip-Hop act. He also won Best Hip-Hop Act at the MOBO Awards 2009. He also won an award with Emeli Sandé for Best British Single for their song "Diamond Rings". The same year Chipmunk won an Mp3 Award at Mp3 Music Awards 2009 for his single, "Diamond Rings",which was published and promoted by MTV Network. On 13 January 2012 he announced via Twitter that he had permanently abbreviated his name from Chipmunk to Chip. Chip announced his signing to American rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle Records in March 2012 after leaving Sony following the shuttering of Jive, Sony Music.

In the music video link above Chip has made a transition from being a typical london boy to a big artist known across the United Kingdom and trying to be successful in America, he has come back from recording in the America to link up with his old North London friends to show that he is still a typical london boy who has grown up from the area and is still from the area. During this video it has all of Chip's old school friends and also including a famous UK artist called Wretch 32. His clothing in the video symbolises that no matter how much money his making he will always dress and remember where he was originated from because in the video he could have been wear expensive clothing but instead he is dressed like an average black boy living in the streets of London. Also, Frisco is affiliated with a mainstream own-branded label named BBK (Boy Better Know) which the members themselves are originated and heir background come from North, they all grew from nothing and built themselves into something.  

London Boy - CHIP's LASTEST MIXTAPE 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

London Boy
Mixtape by Chip
Released	25 December 2012
Recorded	2012, Tree Sounds Studios (Los Angeles, California) Metropolis Studios (London, England)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	63:01
Label	Grand Hustle
Producer	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Aaron R. Ahhad, The ThundaCatz, Elliot Carter, Charlie Holmes, Carlos King, Jose Cardoza, Glenn Schick
Chip chronology
Transition (2011) London Boy (2012)

London Boy is a mixtape by English rapper Chip, hosted by DJ Drama. It was released on 25 December 2012 as the first release under his new record label, Grand Hustle via Chip's official website. London Boy features guest appearances from label-mate rappers T.I., Iggy Azalea & B.o.B, American rappers Meek Mill, Young Jeezy,Trae tha Truth, British rappers Skepta, Wretch 32, Blade Brown and Professor Green, American recording artist Jeremih and British singer-songwriters Delilah and Loick Essien - including Mavado, Sevyn and Parker. Production varies from S-X, Dready, The ThundaCatz and Don Cannon, among others. The twenty-track mixtape consists of eighteen original compositions and two remixes.

The mixtape's release was preceded by the underground singles "Let It Breathe", "More Money More Gyal" and "Londoner".

On 7 October 2011, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records, along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Chipmunk, and all other artists previously signed to these three labels, had the option to release their future material on the RCA Records brand. Chipmunk chose not to do so, and certain media outlets speculated that he may be dropped from the label.^[1] However, Chipmunk instead decided to sign with Grand Hustle, the label of fellow rapper and collaborator,T.I.. In December 2011, Chipmunk announced that he would be shortening his stage name to "Chip", under the advice and instruction of T.I., and that all of his future releases would appear under his new stage name.Background[edit]

In January 2012, Chip announced via his official Twitter account that he had been working with Sean Garrett and T.I. on his next project, but did not reveal the name of the project in question.^[3] He also posted a picture of himself recording in a studio in Atlanta with T.I.^[4] Shortly after the announcement, Chip revealed that throughout the year, he would be posting a series of online video blogs to keep his fans updated on what he was up to.^[5] On 10 February 2012, Chip uploaded his own freestyle version of fellow rapper Tyga's smash hit, "Rack City", to his official YouTube account. The video received over 70,000 views and 10,000 likes within the first forty-eight hours of being online.^[6] Chip also managed to bag himself a cameo in the music video for British singer-songwriter Tulisa's debut solo single, "Young", while working with her on material for a separate project.

In May 2012, Chip revealed via his official Twitter account that his first project under his new record label would be a mixtape entitled "London Boy", named after the alias he received during his time in America. He also premiered an underground single from the project, "Let It Breathe", to positive reception. Four weeks later, a second underground single, "More Money, More Gyal", featuring Mavado, premiered online, showing the reggae-influenced side of the project. Chip returned to the studio to complete recording on the project during August and September 2012, before unveiling his brand new single produced by The ThundaCatz, "Londoner" is a collaboration with Wretch 32, Professor Green and Loick Essien.^[7] The track was released as the project's third underground single on 25 November 2012. On 10 December, Chip revealed the tracklisting of the mixtape, including collaborations with label mates Iggy Azalea, Trae Tha Truth, T.I, B.O.B previous collaborators Skepta, Mavado, Wretch 32 and Professor Green, and Chip's personal favorite, Young Jeezy. He also re-confirmed the release date of 25 December 2012 and revealed the tape would be available to download free of charge.^[8]