Universal Music Group (UMG)

UMG (Universal Music Group) uses subsidiaries to maximise the success of artists from different genres. Fascination Records and Island Records are two subsidiaries of UMG. By having a smaller label focusing on specific artists, they are able to focus more directly on the particular target audience and create a larger impact. Labels can work more closely with artists and work on promoting artists and distributing their music successfully.

The smaller labels have particular genre specialists and expertise in a specific genre, which means that they are able to develop and promote both niche and mainstream artists. Artists are kept to being unique and are not generalised by a large conglomerate company like UMG is. Smaller labels are good for artists as they can be represented and known for their talent and build on their talents. Artists can expand and improve the talents and distribute to a larger audience. UMG distributes music from a very wide range of genres and to all audiences with the use of subsidiary labels.

Fascination Records is a UK based record label, the label was launched in 2006 and it focuses on pop genre artists. The label focuses on a particular geographical location so they work on the making the artist well known and then extending on this. Fascination Records online website is very structured and has a more formal theme to it. It has a simple colour scheme and layout. The label is able to do this as they are a small company, a large label like UMG would not have time to do this. Island Records is a label founded in Jamaica, based in the UK. This label allows artists to be unique and different from other artists. They have signed individual artists with different styles and genres of music. The Island Record website has a very relaxing and calm theme to it, the website includes a vintage impression as well. The colour scheme of the website is bold and in your face with specific colours that online the main features of the page.

UMG benefits from owning small labels because it gives them a more benefits as the label works more closely with artists. It opens all doors for the artist and they are more likely to have better events and distribution. UMG are so widely spread and they are not aware of what audiences specifically want from particular artists this is where the smaller labels UMG own come in handy. Labels develop collaborations between artists and take advantages of audiences for existing artists to promote new artist. Upcoming artists sometimes sing at existing artist gigs or tracks to be known by the audience and get promoted.