Music Companies, Transnational Corporations and Other Partners
Major Music Industry Players

The music recording industry is composed of hundreds of thousands of artists and the record labels that represent them. This said it would be easy to assume that the market is highly diversified and competitive, but it is not. Five major Transnational Music Corporations gross 95% of the distributor level sales according to Alexander. The following links and resources will introduce you to their world. Independent labels do exist and contribute to the industry; however, these major players have the backing of global multimedia firms (operating in radio, tv, film, Internet, and print products) which help firmly establish them in the global marketplace.

Major Music Companies

Vivendi Universal Universal Music Group - FRENCH - Began 1924 through Universal Studios, but had purchased PolyGram in 1998 when UMG was owned by Seagram's of Canada. Major lables/holdings: MCA, Universal, Mercury, Motown, Decca, Philips. Major artists: Elton John, U2, Shania Twain, Brian Adams, Enrique Iglesias. See National Music Publisher's Association for profile.
Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment Group - JAPANESE - Began dealings in music in 1988 when acquired CBS Records. Major labels/holdings: Columbia, Epic, Sony Classical, Nashville. Major artists: Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Will Smith, Barbara Streisand, Bob Dylan.
EMI EMI (Electric and Musical Industries) - BRITISH - Began 1931 and merged with Thorn Electric Industries in 1979. Major labels/holdings: Chryssalis Records, Virgin Records. Major artists: The Beetles, Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Janet Jackson, Garth Brooks, Spice Girls.
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group - AMERICAN - Began in the 1920s and merged in 1988 with Time Incorporated and in 2000 with AOL. Major labels/holdings: Elektra, Atlantic, Warner Music International. Major artists: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Faith Hill, Sammy Davis Jr.
BMG BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) - GERMAN - Began 1835 publishing hymn books. Major labels/holdings: Ariola, RCA (Radio Corporation of America) and Arista. Major artists: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, David Bowie, R. Kelly, Alan Jackson. See National Music Publisher's Association for profile.

Global Multimedia Firms

AOL/Time Warner - Viacom - Disney - News Corporation - General Electric

Industry Partners and Advocates

These organizations provide leadership to the music industry by following the issues and challenging laws that may impede the industry's interests in terms of royalty income, copyright infringement, performer contracts, and the legality of mergers/acquisitions.

RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) As the recording industry's lobbying agency, this group actually in many ways represents the recording industry worldwide. This is the recording industry's lobbying entity and the one who keeps track of industry profits,(marketing data is available from their site) including recordings that have gone gold, platinum . . . Although they have a link for artists the site is highly suspect as being on the side of the Transnational Companies.

International Recording Industry There are some good articles on this site. Developing the legal framework for the online environment is one of IFPI's foremost priorities. IFPI has been closely involved in the discussions between the recording industry and the technology and consumer electronics sectors, known as the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI).

BPI (British Phonographic Industry) Formally incorporated in 1973 this organization represents the interests of British record companies. It's first major goal was, and still is, fighting against the growing problem of music piracy. BPI represents over 290 record companies; together these companies claimm 90% of the recorded music output in the UK.

NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) Known mostly for the annual Grammy awards the Grammy Foundation and Latin Grammy Foundation work to promote the importance of music and the arts in schools as well as have a MusiCares assistance fund for struggling musicians. The website describes some of the neat programs, including a mentoring program co-sponsored by Big Brothers and BIg Sisters, as well as preservation projects, and concerts in schools to enrich youth. The site is also a good place for industry news and features articles on musicians.

MTV The Music Television network, distributed by Viacom, reaches 340 million households globally (25% of world's TV-viewing households), making it the largest TV network commodity. They vary formats and content according to world region as can be seen by comparing the first link to this one for MTV Europe.

NARM (National Association of Retailing Media) Formed in 1958 this organization has 1,000 members - retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and suppliers of entertainment software who together represent 80% of the music retailing industry. Besides being a place for the business folks, NARM's site also has a job board and educational information, including a sponsored scholarship. Their main areas however are geared toward the music retailing community and include networking, advocacy, information, education, and promotion. Since NARM has a vested interest in the digital distribution of music via the Internet, and because they wanted to create a common language for the medium they put together a Digital Music Glossary.

GERA (Global Entertainment Retail Alliance) This is a new organization formed in March 2000, and seemingly a branch of NARM. The organization hopes to represent retailers internationally with founding members from Australia, Canada, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Their goal is to "develop a coherent approach to global electronic commerce in entertainment products."

Further Reading

Burnett, Robert. (1996). The global jukebox: the international music industry. London: Routledge.
Though some of the information regarding ownership of different firms has changed, this is an excellent first source for looking atthe recording industry - its major players, its structures, and its challenges. There are chapters on the American and Swedish music scenes and a scholarly approach to the subject.

Negus, Keith. (1999). Music genres and corporate cultures. London: Routledge.
After some excellent background information on the histories of the five company leaders, the book looks at the dynamics of production and distribution in three genres - Rap, Country, and Salsa. A broad range of issues like rewarding certain sounds and artists, marketing someone as a "world music" artist, and how technology or lack thereof hinders some areas. Very interesting with anecdotal evidences.

Negus, Keith. (1992). Producing Pop: culture and conflict in the popular music industry. London: Edward Arnold.
Again with a scholarly approach, in this book Negus takes a topical look into the various parts of the industy and venues. Chapters on the Artist and Repertoire people who scout out new talent and the publicity of music in stores and clubs are examples.

McPail, Thomas L. (2000). Global communication: theories, stakeholders, and trends. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
In addition to a chapter on the music industry, this book has the advantage of a broad overview of the communication industry in general. In addition two theories - Electronic Colonialism Theory and World-System Theory - help the reader place global commerce in a context. Given the newness of the text this was also the source for the information for the above listing of the five major recording companies.

Harker, Dave. (1997). The wonderful world of IFPI: music industry rhetoric, the critics and the classical marxist critique. Popular Music. 16:1. p. 45-79.
This article considers the business data available from the IFPI - names from the booklet in 1990 entitled, World Record Sales 1969-1990, and subsequent IFPI press releases, publications like ifpi World Sales, and The Recording Industry in Numbers(1994). Although these statistics are all that is available, the truth is they have an industry bias that must be challenged and not just taken at face value. From a scholars viewpoint the author argues that those in the popular music field must examine the propaganda and ideological set of the IFPI in order to be taken seriously as a discipline. This article is an important start.

Additional Sources - The following trade magazines regularly report on the profits, acquisitions, mergers, and trends within the recording industry. Music Week (UK), Billboard (USA), Music Business International, Music and Media. Also see the websites of the IFPI, RIAA, and BPI, or get reports regarding the online music industry for a fee at Jupiter Research Center.

Last updated 5/13/2002 - Jana Borchardt