Major record labels were once the kingpins of the entire music industry. In the pre-digital age, fledgling artists and bands needed the security and support of a major label to promote them, to ensure proper album distribution and to basically guarantee their survival.
However, this generation's new brand of D.I.Y., tech-savvy musicians and music consumers has left many once-prominent labels in the dust. So the question remains: What are labels doing now?
Junior public relations major Brittany Brave is a college marketing representative for Sony Music Entertainment. Brave, 20, is responsible for marketing Sony's artist clientele to UF students and to the rest of the Gainesville community.
Brave has multiple promotions she is planning.
Rapper A$AP Rocky, a recent addition to the Sony family, will be performing at UF alongside Drake and Kendrick Lamar at the O'Connell Center on Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. Brave is currently considering how to best cover the event.
Brave also has CD listening gatherings planned for label bands The Fray and The Shins in the coming months. The albums are expected to drop in February and March, respectively. Other bands on the label include Foster the People and Foo Fighters.
"The industry is very internet-heavy nowadays," Brave said. "If you can get something to go viral, fans will get hooked."
Brave uses social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter to promote events and artists in the Sony network.
Brave said one of her main goals is to consistantly increase the number of accounts (venues and clients) that she networks with in Gainesville.
She also frequently uses more conventional physical marketing. Stressing physical visibility in the form of posters and other paraphernalia is still invaluable, Brave said.
"We're at the frontlines," Brave said. "People in the 18 to 24 age range have a keen sense of what's going on in the market. It's all about you reaching the fans of those artists."
One of Brave's more notable marketing campaigns was the screening of Cameron Crowe's "Pearl Jam Twenty," a documentary chronicling the history of grunge icons Pearl Jam. The event, free and open to students, took place at the Reitz Union last October. Assorted Pearl Jam memorabilia was distributed at the event.
As of this spring semester, Brave is also a marketing and promotions intern for UF's Rock 104 online radio station.
Brave, an avid music enthusiast, feels a strong sense of commitment to her job as a college marketing representative.
"It's a shame when there's good music out there and people can't get to it," she said.
While major labels remain an integral part of the music community, both global and local, local scenes with access to independent labels retain a distinct advantage.
Gainesville's No Idea Records, formed in 1985, has put out releases from seminal Gainesville bands such as Against Me!, Hot Water Music and Less Than Jake. No Idea also sponsors a local annual music festival, The Fest, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Today, indie labels are in a position to supplement where some major labels are lacking. By focusing heavily on the local demographic, indie labels ensure a direct line of communication with music consumers. Moreover, local concertgoers have the opportunity to discover up-and-coming acts before anyone else. As sole distributor of many local bands' records, these labels are also the go-to destination for music consumers within the area.
Junior anthropology major Brian Nickel is a drummer in local rock band Pedagogy. He said while major labels still have a place, they are definitely in the midst of a decline.
"Today, anybody can record something, put it on YouTube and get a lot of hits," Nickel, 21, said. "In the past, you needed a major label to provide resources. Now, those same resources are at your fingertips."
