Post 1: The UK music industry

I started my research with researching to current music scene in the UK and the major labels behind the UK's music industry. This would give me valuable insight and contextual information into the current existing record labels and artists in the industry and how my star persona could adapt to fit into these.

I also researched Sony Music's subsidiary companies and their signed artists and bands to give me an insight into their values, attitudes and beliefs which would help me construct my own star persona, who is signed to Sony Music. Doing so, I was also able to construct my star persona to 'fit' the Sony Music conventions, however, also view how my star persona could stand out more from the already existing performers in the industry. 

'THE BIG THREE":

In the UK music scene, there are currently three major record labels known as 'The Big Three': 

- Universal Music

- Warner Music Group 

- Sony BMG Music Entertainment 

'The Big Three' was originally a four, with EMI Group Limited. However, EMI got purchased by Universal Music for $1.9 billion in 2012, gaining access to the work of major artists ranging from The Beatles to Kanye West. This created a massive change in the music industry, shifting all the power in the music industry to 'The Big Three', controlling an estimated two-thirds of the music market in 2016. However, this also caused several artists to join smaller record labels and even self publishing their work and therefore gaining more independence and control over their careers and works. 

SONY MUSIC:

- Sony Music is a major American global music conglomerate owned by Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate, Sony.

- Sony Music was originally founded in 1929, known as American Record Corporation.

- In 2004, Sony and Bertelsmann established a joint company known as Sony BMG Music Entertainment. However, in 2008, Sony reverted to Sony Music Entertainment. The buyout of BMG music allowed Sony to acquire all of BMG's labels and led to the end of the Sony / Bertelsmann partnership. 

- In August 2019, Sony Music Entertainment and Sony ATV Music Publishing merged to become Sony Music Group.

- Sony Music UK is currently chaired by Jason Llevy.

Sony also owns and distributes many other subsidiary record labels in their corporation:

Within Sony, Sony Music UK also owns and distributes other record labels which all make up the Sony Music 'family': 

- Black Butter

- Columbia

- Insanity Records

- Legacy

- Ministry of Sound

- Music for Nations

- RCA

- Relentless

- Since '93

- SYCO Music

SONY BRAND VALUES:

- Dreams and Curiosity: Pioneer the future with dreams and curiosity 

- Diversity: Pursue the creation of the very best harnessing diversity and varying viewpoints 

- Integrity and Sincerity: Earn the trust for the Sony brand through ethical and responsible conduct.

- Sustainability: Fulfil our stakeholder responsibilities through disciplined business practices. 

Sony have also put together a 'Mission Statement':  “To be a company that inspires and fulfils your curiosity. Our unlimited passion for technology, content, services, and relentless pursuit of innovation drives us to deliver ground-breaking new excitement and entertainment in ways that only Sony can.” The characteristics of the 'Mission Statement' include:

This strongly conveys that Sony very much values client satisfaction in regards to entertainment,  diversity and sustainability and that they they strive to create an innovative corporation that "exceeds expectations" and conveys their passion for technology and the entertainment industry. Many of these traits and evident brand values are showcased throughout the type of artists Sony Music has signed.

- Sony Music UK's current roster includes a broad array of "local artists and international superstars" and have signed artists ranging from American pop such a Britney Spears, to rock such as AC/DC, to British rap such as J Hus. 

- With multi-million dollar earning superstars such as Beyoncé and DJ Khaled, it is evident Sony Music is a respectable label that performers can trust in, as well as fans - that they'll receive quality entertainment.

- The fact they have different artists with different levels of fame to them conveys the large variety of different artists and versatility the Sony Music brand has to offer. This variety also gives Sony Music a wide appeal to many different audiences. 

- This fits the Sony brand values of "Dreams and Curiosity" since it gives more "local artists" the opportunity to dream big with releasing their music. As the same time this keeps the audience "curious" since they are becoming exposed to more genres of music and artists they haven't heard of in which they might form an incline to. 

- The broad array of "local artists and international superstars", also allows the "Diversity" trait to link nicely to the brand, again giving different types of artists from different genres and levels of fame equal opportunity. This again emphasises the variety of artists Sony have signed.

INITIAL PROJECT IDEAS: 

- When looking at the UK music industry on a macro scale, this gave me valuable insight into the current music scene which is important in building my star persona. 

- Researching Sony on a more micro scale was also beneficial since the brief states my star persona will be signed to Sony. To fulfil the brief, researching Sony and especially their brand values, helped me understand how my star persona will fit into their company. 

- Researching Sony and the diversity of artists they have signed to their label also made me think of how I can still stay true to the 'Pop' genre to fulfil the brief, but also add a slightly edgy influence to my star persona to make her stand out even more and link to the individuality Sony's artists have.