Relationship with artists
If an artist and a label want to work together, whether an artist has contacted a label directly, usually by sending their team a demo,[11] or the Artists & Repertoire team of the label has scouted the artist and reached out directly, they will usually enter in to a contractual relationship.
A label typically enters into an exclusive recording contract with an artist to market the artist's recordings in return for royalties on the selling price of the recordings. Contracts may extend over short or long durations, and may or may not refer to specific recordings. Established, successful artists tend to be able to renegotiate their contracts to get terms more favorable to them, but Prince's much-publicized 1994–1996 feud with Warner Bros. Records provides a strong counterexample,[12] as does Roger McGuinn's claim, made in July 2000 before a US Senate committee, that the Byrds never received any of the royalties they had been promised for their biggest hits, "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn!, Turn!".[13]
A contract either provides for the artist to deliver completed recordings to the label, or for the label to undertake the recording with the artist. For artists without a recording history, the label is often involved in selecting producers, recording studios, additional musicians, and songs to be recorded, and may supervise the output of recording sessions. For established artists, a label is usually less involved in the recording process.
The relationship between record labels and artists can be a difficult one. Many artists have had conflicts with their labels over the type of sound or songs they want to make, which can result in the artist's artwork or titles being changed before release.[14] Other artists have had their music prevented from release, or shelved.[15] Record labels generally do this because they believe that the album will sell better if the artist complies with the label's desired requests or changes. At times, the record label's decisions are prudent ones from a commercial perspective, but these decisions may frustrate artists who feel that their art is being diminished or misrepresented by such actions.
In other instances, record labels have shelved artists' albums with no intention of any promotion for the artist in question.[16][17] Reasons for shelving can include the label deciding to focus its resources on other artists on its roster,[15] or the label undergoing a restructure where the person that signed the artist and supports the artist's vision is no longer present to advocate for the artist.[15][18] In extreme cases, record labels can prevent the release of an artist's music for years, while also declining to release the artist from their contract, leaving the artist in a state of limbo.[18][19] Artists who have had disputes with their labels over ownership and control of their music have included Taylor Swift
In the early days of the recording industry, recording labels were absolutely necessary for the success of any artist.[34] The first goal of any new artist or band was to get signed to a contract as soon as possible. In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, many artists were so desperate to sign a contract with a record company that they sometimes ended up signing agreements in which they sold the rights to their recordings to the record label forever. Entertainment lawyers are usually employed by artists to discuss contract terms.
Due to advancing technology such as the Internet, the role of labels is rapidly changing, as artists are able to freely distribute their own material through online radio, peer-to-peer file sharing such as BitTorrent, and other services, at little to no cost, but with correspondingly low financial returns. Established artists, such as Nine Inch Nails, whose career was developed with major label backing, announced an end to their major label contracts, citing that the uncooperative nature of the recording industry with these new trends is hurting musicians, fans and the industry as a whole.[35] However, Nine Inch Nails later returned to working with a major label,[36] admitting that they needed the international marketing and promotional reach that a major label can provide. Radiohead also cited similar motives with the end of their contract with EMI when their album In Rainbows was released as a "pay what you want" sales model as an online download, but they also returned to a label for a conventional release.[37] Research shows that record labels still control most access to distribution.[38]
