Introduction
In this essay we will try to explore the history of a record label company called Warner Bros. Records , starting from their rocky beginnings in the 1950s , to their present success. We will focus on the historic approach and try to uncover the reason of their great success and emphasise the role of certain individuals who paved the way for the company to become one of the most prominent and dominant record label companies in the world. The reason for their significance is in the fact that , in the beginning they were largely dependent on other smaller companies and corporate executives , and slowly over the years they gained their independence , reputation and popularity by acquiring many famous artists and producing quality music. The reason why this topic was chosen is because I have encountered the name of the company many times and was interested in their path to prosperity and fame. The company had many ups and downs and I think that there is a lesson to be learned in their history and that I can use that lesson in the future and maybe avoid their mistakes.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records is one of the biggest American record labels in the world. Warner Bros. Records was founded and established in 1958 as the music division of the greatest American movie studio at the time , Warner Bros. Pictures. For a long time Warner Bros. Records was controlled and owned by the larger parent company which was Warner Bros. Pictures , and that period lasted from 1958 to early 2000s. Over this time Warner Bros. Records grew from a minor to the greatest major player in the world.
The Beginning
The birth of this company happened at the end of the silent movie era when Warner Bros. Pictures deci...
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... smaller companies that they have acquired. They had a lot of issues and failures , but despite that over the period of fifty years , they managed to develop and evolve into one of the most influential record companies in the world , which is now largely independent from smaller sub-companies. Today they have over 120 artists , many of which are widely successful , such as Metallica , Green Day , Red Hot Chili Peppers , The White Stripes and Muse. We can see from their history that they owe their success in large part to Steve J. Ross , Mo Ostin and Lenny Waronker , and that corporate management , bureaucracy and financial issues often hindered the creative work of the music label. Nevertheless , they represent a great example of the cruelty of the music industry and the fact that talent , hard work , and good business choices can result in a successful enterprise.
...influenced by many genres of music and wanted to cultivate a sound that was their own and like nothing else out there. Artist flocked to them to receive something that was completely different and to bring out put out the best recordings that were possible. The studio was influenced an array of artists who possessed individuality, a sound that differentiated them from other artists, and a will to try to experiment. The studio created a sound like no other studio and much different from the prominent studios from the north, west, and south. It was a studio that will leave a legacy of risk takers, who had a desire to produce a sound that would stand the test of time and influence many generations to come. Their production style mixed genres and may music boundary less. It influenced the sound of today’s music to not be boxed in or classified as just one type of genre.
“We stuck to who we were at Motown, and the world came around.” Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown records relayed at the Occidental College’s 125th commencement ceremony in 2007. Motown was “the new voice of America” due to its great impact and influence on the music industry and society. Numerous events were happening in America at that time and Berry Gordy identified several of these factors to target the music of Motown and its artists to young audiences in specific ways. There were various social, musical and cultural factors that were critically important and of these factors, Gordy identified the segregation and the civil rights movement, the music and cultural aspects of the black community at that time.
Many of the studios in Hollywood owned their own cinemas, in fact the big five, MGM, Paramount, RKO, Warner Bros’ and Twentieth Century Fox owned 80% of all first run cinemas in the US with complete control of them in 78 of the 95 main cities. This meant that the studios had a lot of say in what pictures they wanted to show their audience. Throughout the 1930’s and early 40’s the great depression affected many industries in America including the film industry. Theatre attendance rates plummeted from an average of 90 million prior to the depression to an average of 60 million a week during it. This caused 34% of film theatres to closedown nationwide. The studios introduced strategies to counter the depression such as location planning, building theatres in shopping areas where attendance is guaranteed, and making t...
As the 1930’s began, the effects of the great depression still ravaged the United States, which in turned caused a dramatic change in the music industry. Membership in the musicians’
The music industry can trace its roots to the 18th century when classical composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart sought commissions from the church or aristocracies by touring to promote their music (Boerner). By the early 20th century, recorded collections of songs were available for purchase for home listening. Towards the middle of the century, record album production had become the norm for getting new music to the masses and album sales had replaced sheet-music sales as a measure of popularity, with the first gold-recor...
Island Records is one of the most influential pop music record labels of all time.
Record labels played a big role in bringing the black struggle to the mainstream through their artists music. In particular, two labels were the frontrunners for producing records that would continue to promote addressing the black struggle: Motown and Stax. Motown, a black-owned label, was seen as a more assimilationist and industrial record label that was successful in making hits that appealed to both black and white audiences, earning it the nickname of “Hitsville, U.S.A.” Stax, a white-owned label, was seen as being more representative of black self-reliance and an overall more authentic, black record label that appealed much more to the black audience, earning it the nickname of “Soulsville, U.S.A.” Despite their differences, both labels used their own style of music production and distribution to help surface the black struggle in very similar ways, and in turn they helped pave the way for black consciousness to emerge through soul music.
Throughout their years at the top they were shrouded in mystery and intrigue, and seemed to leave behind a trail of question marks wherever they went. They were not a “public” band (they didn’t hire a publicist until their 9th US tour, almost five years after their formation!); they continually distanced themselves from the media, instead relying on word of mouth and their often-astounding live performances to promote themselves. Not surprisingly, this low profile led to wild rumors about their lifestyles and habits and as a result little was known about the men behind the music.
... in Amityville in 2009 when they opened for Rise Against. Dan Campbell, the singer, gave everyone a free copy of their album just to get their name out there. They are now at the peak of the pop punk genre by selling thousands of albums, playing the main stage at Warped Tour and headlining a show at Best Buy Theater this April. Bands that make this sacrifice and eventually make it to a successful level deserve the natural rush music gives them.
[1] Information was mainly taken from the Harvard Business Case Study “The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King”
This was proved by the history of the studio. After a successful 1950s and 1960s, which was the result of the Paramount Case and numerous successful pictures, the company began to experience crisis and in 1980 was bought and merged with MGM, as J.M. Schenck first proposed 60 years ago.
“Retirement sucks!'; These are the famous words from one of the most captivating musical artist living today. Ozzy Osbourne has taken this world by surprise with his stunning actions, energetic motivation, and of course his music. His presence in the music industry inspired many artists today, and has taken everyone by surprise. In this paper I will discuss some history about the recording industry, background on the Ozzman himself, and how he has sparked the recording industry.
Since forming, Metallica has been one of the most successful bands in history. With the release of their first five albums, Metallica geared closer and closer to becoming superstars. The band then lost a portion of their audience with a shift in image, but regained the audience upon going back to their roots. Since then Metallica, has achieved nothing but success. Metallica is an American icon because of their immense success and longevity in the music business. With Metallica being so closely associated with a band like the Beatles in record sales, the group will continue to grow throughout the music world.
The Golden age of Hollywood marked a time in American films history in which films were produced and distributed at rate never seen before or since. During this period, the film market in America was basically entirely run by 8 major companies. This period would also be known as the American studio years. Within these 8 companies there were two categories of power that each major studio system fell into. The big 5 consisted of studios that functioned as vertical integrated which meant that they produce film, distribute films, and they own theater chains. The 5 studios in this category were Paramount, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and RKO. Then we have the big little 3, which was composed of Columbia, Universal, and United Artist. They were called the big little 3 because these companies either distributed or made films but they did not on movie theaters, so they had a lot less power. The studio era was not only largely controlled big studio companies, but also by various amounts of expectations and assumptions about hoe movies should be made, what kinds of stars should be on different kinds of films, and a need to acknowledge the ordinary conventions of society
... most successful “Hot 100” artists. As of 2014, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Hot 100 chart with twenty. They have received 10 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Score and 15 Ivor Novello Awards. Collectively included in Time magazine’s compilation of ‘the 20th Century’s 100 most influential people’, they are the best-selling band in history, with estimated sales of over 600 million records worldwide.