Lucy, Joe and Megan

Independent Vs Conglomerate

Domino Records

Vs

Domino is one of Britain’s most successful independent record labels.It was founded by Lawrence Bell who still runs the company which is based in London also with branch in the US. Domino has bought us artists such as Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys and other less well known artists.The ideology behind Domino is that it is not seen as money making and overly commercial as bigger conglomerates such as Universal Music and concentrates solely on the love of music.Domino are also more likely to take provide new sounds, ideas and artistic flare with their artists.

Background and Ideology

- Lawrence Bell

“A passion for music, a back to basics

approach...something home-made that’s put together with love”

Dominos roster of artists caters for the needs of different niche audiences.Dominos artists can appeal to all ages and genders depending on the artist.The types of people that will listen to music from Domino would be the people that have pure passion for music and a less commercial approach.

Type of Audience

Domino creates revenue for their artists through:

Record sales – this includes MP3 downloads.Broadcast income – TV/ radio broadcast.Licensing – to other labels for compilations

etc.Secondary licensing – films/ TV/advertsInternational sales and licensing

Revenue

Domino runs on horizontal integration. This means it uses other companies that they do not own to handle different aspects of the job such as production, marketing, promotion and distribution.

For example Domino allocate the job of the manufacturing of the music and distribution to ‘PIAS’

Horizontal Integration

Domino is actively moving with its target audience and has use of Web 2:0, which is social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook and Twitter.

On the Domino Records website, there are a number of online ways Domino has made an effort to exploit opportunities the internet can provide.

These include Downloads, Dominocast, Domino Mart, Domino Player, Video and Promotional content and Mailing list.

Web Presence

-Domino allows you to download their records online, in their Domino Download Store. When you download them, you can also send them to your friends etc, which helps the distribution of the music as it is a small record label and helps the music become more popular -Dominocast is a free monthly Podcast you can listen to by subscribing. The Podcasts are about new artists and publicising them in which you can listen to via iTunes -Domino Mart is an online store where you can buy CDs, merchandise, tickets etc, to be delivered to your home.-Domino Player is a private player on the Domino site where the newest Domino songs are played so they can become well known and popular with people visiting the site. You can also pick songs to listen to on this player.-The Mailing list is where people can subscribe to receive news via email about artists etc.

Archie Bronson Outfit bought out a single named ‘Coconut’ which was “revelling in their individuality”. To promote this they offered a free single download, social networking pages and a new video on their website each day leading up to the release.

Franz Ferdinand lent the rights to their music through secondary licensing for a Lady Dior advertising campaign, Guitar Hero and the iTunes festival. Their music is also featured in the Alice and Wonderland soundtrack which is an example of synergistic marketing .

The Arctic Monkeys became well known because of web 2:0 and viral marketing, so they already had fans who were familiar with their work.

Case Studies

Domino use viral marketing to make the audience aware of their music.

Viral marketing includes social networking sites, emails containing songs, word-of-mouth delivery, handing out flyers, text messages etc.

Viral Marketing

Domino also promotes their music through having their music played on the radio. This is a key factor Domino needs to have their music heard.

The BBC nearly cut BBC 6 – which “extremely concerned” Domino, as this radio station is very important to the music Domino releases as it plays more ‘independent music’ with a unique aspect.

“It's important to have stations on the radio

that don't just play mainstream music."

Promotion through Radio Broadcast

Domino has developed over the years to cater for its target audience through:

The internet -supplying Web 2:0 and online downloading etc. This caters for the needs of the audiences as the internet is immensely used for ease by young and old.

They have also followed the audiences needs by changing the artists in their roster to please the audience.

The needs of the Target Audience

Bigger companies like Universal have more to lose as they own all of the processes as they are vertically integrated. Napster ( a peer to peer file sharing site) overpowered conglomerates as 85 million around the world used this site to get hold of music and not paying for it.

Conglomerates are sometimes seen as overly commercial. For example the Sugababes are often seen as ‘more brand than band’ as none of the original line-up remain.

Conglomerates often hide the fact that they are a big company and brand their music as independent which is misleading. They so this as some people prefer a more ‘personalized’ product.

Limitations of Conglomerates-Universal Music