A2 Media Studies
Lois Nash - 8314
03/10/2014
Record Label Logo Conventions
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the biggest music corporation company in the world, based in California, in the United States. The Universal Music Group is in charge and has control of many music record labels, including Capitol Records, Republic Records and Island Records. Many of the artists that are signed to these high end record labels include Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Beatles, Coldplay and Katy Perry.
The logo for the Universal Music Group is of the recognisable Universal logo in the centre of image, with sans-serif capitalised text stating the name of the company positioned below the symbol. The symbol of Universal has been used on the logo as it is a recognisable symbol and portrays to the audience that the music group is part of the Universal company. The whole logo is pictured in black and white, which is a simple colour palette and the contrast from black and white makes the logo and text stand out. The basic black and white colours make the logo seem authentic and classic, which corresponds with the largely famous company.
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label, which was founded in 1983. The music genres that the company were associated with includes Alternative Rock, Post-Punk, Indie Pop, Shoegazing and Britpop. The record company was sold to Sony due to debt in 1992, and later signed artists such as Oasis.
The company logo consists of a symbol with text on the right hand side. The symbol shows different shapes in the colours red and blue, which creates a C shape that stands for Creation. The text of the company's name is in a black sans-serif font, which contrasts against the strong colours of the symbol. However, the whole logo does not appeal to me as a music company logo, as there is no musical symbolism in the logo.
ForeFront Records
ForeFront Records is a contemporary christian music record company, based in the USA, with their parent company being the Universal Music Group. Founded in 1987, it was purchased by EMI in 1996, with a special CD being released to celebrate its 10th anniversary and featured some of the music by the artists that were signed by the record company. The main genres of music that are featured within the record label includes contemporary christian music and christian rock.
The logo for ForeFront Records shows a symbol of a blue sphere with a white outlined arrow orbiting it. The blue and white colours of the symbol are calming colours, in which this record company signs artists of calming music. The text is positioned below the symbol, with the word 'ForeFront' in a sans-serif lower case black font, and the word 'Records' in a different sans-serif capitalised black font. The two different text styles however do not exactly match the theme and genre of the music that the company signs, as the font styles look futuristic, modern and of a more upbeat music genre.
Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records is also a contemporary christian music group that is based in the United States, with their parent company being the Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1976 and was also purchased by EMI in 1996 and is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group. The genres of music that have been used by signed artists of this company include contemporary christian music, christian rock, christian hip-hip, contemporary worship music, gospel and R&B.
The logo for this record label includes a symbol of a type of bird called a sparrow, which is pictured in black and white colour, again to make it look more professional and classy. The symbol takes up three quarters of the whole logo, with the text taking up the remaining quarter. The text is a sans-serif black font that states the word 'Sparrow', and complements the symbol of the logo.
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that is a division of the Universal Music Group which was firstly based in the UK before 1998. At the time of 1989, Island Records, along with another record company A&M were once the largest independent record labels in history, with Island being a highly influential company to UK music in the early 1970's. From February 2014, the label has split between three and include Island UK, Island US and Island Australia.
The design of the logo shows a palm tree silhouette cut out of a black circle. Again, a black and white colour palette has been used to keep the logo simple, and to therefore make the imagery of the palm tree more memorable to the audience. Below the logo of the palm tree is the text which states the record company's name 'Island'. This is displayed in a black sans-serif font which is capitalised to show the importance of the company name. Also, the name of the company is complemented with the imagery of a palm tree, as palm trees can be associated with objects that could be found on an island.
