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The Importance of the Record Label
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33 R.PM The Design Flaw Label Association Hardware Vs. Software Record Label Vs. CD Thomas Edison The Anatomy of EMI Record labels The Beginnings of Label Identity 2 Tone Records
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Contents 4.
The Design Flaw
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Label Association
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Hardware Vs. Software
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Record Label Vs. CD
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Thomas Edison
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The Anatomy of EMI Record labels
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The Beginnings of Label Identity
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2 Tone Records
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Elvis Presley Greatest Hits (Volume IV) Readers Digest 1968
The Design Flaw As the groove travels towards its centre it checks itself and stops, aware that the sound quality is in jeopardy. This leaves a void, only about a third of the diameter of a 12� LP and half of the diameter of a 7� single are bisected with grooves. This leaves a blank space in the centre of the vinyl in order to maintain sound and production quality. It was Emile Beliner who turned this deign flaw into an advantage by inscribing the title of the recording and the recording artist. The information was either engraved or printed onto the master copy of each individual record. Each one was give a unique catalogue number with a series of numbers being assigned to different performers and categories of music. This was to become the first record label and the start of the modern label where information such as recording artist, producer, the record labels logo and recording date were printed instead of hand drawn. Legibility aside the hand engraved labels have an art form to them in contrast to the labels we have today.
It was Emile Beliner who turned this deign flaw into an advantage by inscribing the title of the recording and the recording artist.
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The Doors L.A. Woman Elektra 1971
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1900
The discs that Berliner made for the US Gramophone Company added artist details as well as the location and date of recording. By 1897 the information was being etched in an ornate typeface rather than by hand.
In April 1900 Eldridge R. Johnson realised the full potential of labelling discs that he wrote a letter to British colleague William Barry Owen. ‘Strange to say, one of our greatest difficulties has been the proper marking of these records. We never tried to mark them properly, as if we were making them to sell.’
1898 By 1898 the recording Angel Trademark was being stamped onto discs manufactured in Hanover for the British and European market. Records were now being branded which meant you would associate the music and artists with the record company.
Strange to say, one of our greatest difficulties has been the proper marking of these records. We never tried to mark them properly, as if we were making them to sell.
His solution was the paper record label, the method was to attach these labels to the discs at the moment of duplication which is the process still used today. Initially the information on these paper labels did not expand upon that etched onto the Berliner discs. Nevertheless, by attaching a different material to the disc and by populating it with eye catching colour, usually gold and silver on a black background, Johnson elevated records towards a desired saleable object.
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The Beatles Songs from the film ‘Help!’ Parlophone 1965
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Logo
Set 2
Set 1
Label Association The clearest outcome of labelling lies in the fact that the term ‘record label’ became a synonym for record company. The record label helped to brand both the record and company but in doing so it altered the nature of their relationship. Labelling helps to define the product but it can also straight jacket it. Beyond its merely informative tasks, the record label was first used to develop associations between the manufacturing company and its recorded output. Certain genres of music are associated with record labels meaning you could differentiate between them. It was used to create further musical sub-divisions separating the ‘race’ and ‘hillbilly’ markets from the mainstream popular music. But it was the small independent race and hillbilly record companies who successfully developed generic labelling.
Their label names became associated with specific types of music and served as a beacon to collectors. In more recent years it has also been small, independent labels that have most successfully used labelling practices. Consequently it has been these companies who have been most keen to see the production of vinyl continue. Parlophone is a prime example of a record company being linked to a recording artist, in this case it’s The Beatles. The record company logo takes up half of the label whereas the recording artist name is underneath the track titles. It shows hierarchy within the record company, they know they can sell records with their name becuase of the links to The Beatles. Although it is worth mentioning the album artwork features a photograph of the band.
The set 2 information is centered, directly underneath the record company logo, this guides the eye down the label helping the user expreience. Tracks 2 and 5 don’t have their own lines making it slightly difficult to navigate through the tracks.
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John Lennon Stand by me Apple records 1975
The first set is the key information for functionality such as the speed, manufacturing date and serial number. Hardware vs Software The record label on a disc contains two main sets of information reflecting the dual nature of the object that it is trying to describe. The first set is the key information for functionality such as the speed, manufacturing date and serial number. The second set conveys the artist, track titles, length of song, the writer, producers and copyright owners. This is important information but it’s the branding side of the record in order to sell the record. The shellac or vinyl disc is the only format in which it makes sense to give such detailed label information. Only here do the recording and recording information share the same surface, the label describes what can actually be seen. There is no skip feature for vinyl meaning you have to manually change the track which is aided by the record label. Without the label it would be really hard to tell what you are listening to unless you know the music really well. The label is arguably more important than the sleeve because without it you’d be lost.
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The second set conveys the artist, track titles, length of song, the writer, producers and copyright owners.
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Beastie Boys Hello Nasty Capitol Records 1998 (Record Label)
Beastie Boys Hello Nasty Capitol Records 1998 (CD)
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The early norm was to print the label first in bulk; the particulars of each record would then be overprinted onto these standard designs.
Record Label vs. CD Later formats such as cassette and compact discs have had labels but these are viewed separately from the recording itself. With the cassette any recording information sits at a right angle to the surface of the recording, with a CD the recording information is on the opposite side of the disc to the label. It is only the grooved disc that allows its two sides to stand as complete visual entities.
But for manufacturing reasons having a standard layout for the label makes things easier as well as cutting the costs and giving the records uniformity. The implications of this layout can only be fully considered when we take into account just how prominent the record label used to be. Shellac records were sold in brown paper bags with a cut away centre, this allowed the record label to show through.
To this day the label rarely goes beyond describing the various attributes of each record. Certain elements are nevertheless emphasised at the expense of others. The most obvious of these is the record company name and logo. The standard design established early on and dominant through the discs history is that of the companies trademarks which occupy the upper half of the label design while the musicians details are crammed into the lower half, by splitting the two it creates clarity and makes it easy for the listener to interpret.
It was not until the 1940’s, roughly coinciding with the arrival of the mini groove LPs that records began to be housed in picture sleeves and the label was hidden from immediate view. The labels starts to take a backseat in order to make way for a new form of packaging. In Britain this luxury wasn’t regularly afforded until the 1970’s, before then vinyl singles took their design cues from shellac discs, being sold in paper bags with cut away centres. Their basic design was nearly always an extension of the record companies logo.
The early norm was to print the label first in bulk; the particulars of each record would then be overprinted onto these standard designs. This process results in what can be seen as an unfair hierarchy, it creates a visual divide between the performers and the record companies. It could be argued that the non creative element is given precedence here.
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Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor, with his phonograph, c1878 The Print Collector
Thomas Edison It wasn’t until 1968 that LP manufacturers single production in Britain. For much of the twentieth century the label was the focal point of the label. Rightly so, Thomas Edison would say. He would not consider this an unfair translation of the information in the grooves, Edison believed that the artistry of his records lay in his recording process and, despite a proclaimed fidelity to nature, this is how they would be listened to. The science behind the record making process should be celebrated but from a record label point of view: who worked harder? Was it the recording artist or producer? This fits into what should be most dominant in terms of hierarchy on the label but shouldn’t affect the functionality. As a listener we need to know who and what we are listening to, so if this information isn’t clear on the label it will affect both clarity and function.
The label on Diamond Discs contained no artist information, instead they were dominated by a picture of the person he considered the main author. Edison himself. He failed to appreciate the fact that recordings would supersede machinery in importance, and the performers of these recordings would be considered more important than the recording process. It was Victor and Gramophone who were the first to group these concepts as well as help to generate them. But it was their own company names over and above all other contributors that they printed on their labels.
He failed to appreciate the fact that recordings would supersede machinery in importance.
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The Anatomy of EMI Record Labels
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Kate Bush Wuthering Heights EMI Records 1977
The record label on a disc contains two main sets of information: Set 1: is for funtionality and backgrround information on the record. Set 2: is the recording information.
Grid EMI Record Labels use a 4x3 collum grid within their deign. Splitting up the key information so that their logo can take up half of the label and set 1 and 2 use the other half. The most dominant thing on the label is the big red logo, this shows that EMI want to be the first thing the user sees. It’s almost as if it is being used as artwork, given the period of time when this single was released (1977) people would by singles for the label that they were associated with. In terms of hierarchy you see the logo before you see what song you are about to listen to.
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Logo
The standard for record label logo is to take up the top third of the design but the EMI Logo takes up Half of the label.
Set 1
This information is located at the bottom of the label as it’s not important to the user experience.
Set 2
The rest of the information is on the right half of the label. The track title is in the top third, then the recording artist and producer information.
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Meatloaf Bat out of Hell Epic 1977
Colour Orange was a popular colour for record labels in the 70’s, with labels such as Epic and RCA using a similar colour scheme as EMI. Orange is a bold colour to use, and depending on the vibrancy it can affect legible the text is. However if you are flicking through a bunch of singles in a record store an orange label catches the eye and would make you stop to look at what the record is, especially the contrast with a plain white sleeve.
The three exaplles all have a different shade of orange that the avid collecter will be able to distinguish against, even without looking at the record company logo. It’s a clever colour to use in terms of branding becuse it stands out against black and white labels. They all use black text because it stands out on the orange. An orange backround usually makes it difficult to read text but with the amount of text there is on the label and the nature it isn’t a problem.
Star Wars Theme/ Cantina Band Meco RCA Records 1977
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Queen Bohemian Rapsody EMI Records 1975 Queen Bicycle Race EMI Records 1978
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Queen Flash EMI Records 1980
Queen
Bicycle Race
All three of these singles are by the same artist and record company but they look completely different and only five years between them.
The black and white colour scheme of this label is completely different to the 1975 label for Bohemian Rapsody, this design seems to be more of a cover as it uses imagery that relates to the song. The pictograms provide a boarder but it distracts away from the type. The band name is bigger than the record company logo which is significant because it shows that the record company are relying less on their name and more on the artist to sell their records. The EMI logo blends in with the rest of the text although it uses their logo type it’s the same size as the rest of the text.
Bohemian Rapsody The label design is the same as the Kate Bush single with only a few minor differences such as the amount of text. The big difference is that they have a logo instead of their standard typeface. This immediately draw attention away from the record company to the artist, they have their own identity, this reflects on the popularity of the band and the track title. It stands out from the rest of thr text and changes the way you read the label.
Flash The layout for this label is the same as the label for Bicycle, the set 2 information is centered so it’s easy to navigate.the hierarchy for this label works really well, your eye is immediately drawn to the band name and then you follow down to the track title. The EMI logo is directly underneath the track title, it stands out more than on the Bicycle label but it still tales a back seat.
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Beastie Boys Licenced to Ill Def Jam Recordings 1986
The Beginnings of Label Identity The problem with emphasising the technical side of recordings is that it focuses attention on the physical appearance of the record. The shiny black disc may look special today but early users saw this composite for what it really was: powdered shellac, rotten rock and lamp black. The shape and appearance of vinyl records has become a symbol that is well known even by non collectors. It’s iconic and with merchandising such as coasters, clocks and chopping boards dawning their image, they will always be a household item. Eldridge R. Johnson realised that for this object to gain cultural acceptance the associative qualities that needed to be generated were musical not technical, with music becoming more important. He later stated that ‘Only great musical talent could transform the phonograph record from a toy into the greatest medium of home entertainment.’ ( The 50 year story of RCA Victor records)
To this endVictor and Gramophone company pioneered the practice of signing the most renowned musical artists to exclusive, long-term contracts. These celebrity artists were vigorously promoted in the companies advertising. With their names on the companies record label it was believed that the surrounding grooves would be mellowed with the patina of high art. The sleight of hand involved in this marketing plan was that the cultural reputation of these artists would devolve to the record companies name. With this label name emblazoned on future releases, it would lend prestige and credibility to the rest of the record company’s output. This marketing device helped to engender brand loyalty, with collectors only buying records from certain companies.
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The Special A.K.A. Gangsters 2 Tone Records 1979
2 Tone Records It’s the artists image rather than the record label’s identity, that dominates design in the music industry after all the artist is what sells the record. It has always been the case except in rare cases. For example Blue Note Records, with it’s punchy Swiss influenced cover art by Reid Miles and EG Records who in the 70’s packaged the output of most of its avant-garde artists in minimalist sleeves with standardised all-caps Helvetica. The design could perhaps be considered too corporate for a subculture to adopt, the deigns are nice to look at but they don’t reflect the genre of music and the style of the audience. From it’s first single in 1979, Gangsters by the Specials, 2 Tone, a Coventry based label established a high contrast by using black and white. The aesthetic represented more than the Ska meets punk style of music shared by its staple of artists. It was the look of a movement and a set of values. The lyrics by artists such as The Specials and The Selecter commented on social problems such as racial disharmony, boredom and the social decay of Inner City Britain, although the themes were sometimes bleak the music never was. For young people in the UK 2Tone replaced the nihilistic flailing of Punk with something positive, channelled and danceable.
2 Tones look, as much as its lyrics and sound give it a feeling of a real youth movement, with harmony, unity and equality at its heart. It’s a positive image for a youth subculture to adopt not only its style but the values. It was the creation of 2 Tone founder, Jerry Dammers of The Specials who closely worked with the art director of Chrysalis Records John ‘Teflon’ Sims to turn Dammers visual ideas into artwork. ‘Jerry had turned vision of the band and label concept, he an art college background and wanted everything to look right about the band and the 2 Tone label.’ Sims who was a former ‘Rude Boy’ worked up sketches by Dammers and his band mate, Horace Panter into artwork that would adorn every 2 Tone release. The pair had been working on the image of the Specials since the bands earliest days. They would sit around after rehearsals and come up with ideas, names and sketches. ‘Salik’ and ‘Underworld’ had been names that were in the running but 2 Tone was the one that stood out. It was Horace who created the large ‘2’ and the ‘Tone’ logo using the typeface Helvetica Inserat. Jerry took the black and white check
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2 Tone had an integrity and honesty that you don’t normally associate with the music industry. We were acutely aware that we were participating in something special.
Skinhead in Camden Town at The Electric Ballroom dance to UB40. London 1980 Homer Sykes
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The Selecter The Selecter 2 Tone Records 1979
The aesthetic represented more than the ska meets punk style of music shared by its staple of artists. It was the look of a movement and a set of values.
pattern form an old mod pop-art motif. The log draws inspiration from mod culture and the band preforming their music live. The stance of the figure relates to the style of the dance ‘skanking’ that accompanies the genre of music. So immediately the audience make the connection between the sub-culture and the music, this is what makes the logo so symbolic, it is the image of Rude Boys and the music of the people. At the first meeting with the pair in the Chrysalis A&R department, Sims was given a stylised sketch by Dammers based on a picture Reggae musician Peter Tosh on the cover of The Wailing Wailers Lp. The figure was dubbed ‘Walt Jabsco’ which was the name on a bowling shirt Dammers bought in a second hand shop. It was Sims who turned the sketch into the sharp suited, hands in pocket character that became the talisman for all 2 Tone followers, and the one they would replicate on school exercise books and satchels up and down the country.
Having established the visual style Dammers kept tight control of it. Artist and occasional album sleeve designer David Storey worked alongside Sims on hundreds of 2 Tone sleeves, posters, ads, badges and other items. Jerry used to describe how he wanted a design to look, they would produce several layouts based on his brief and slowly nudge the designs forward without Jerry looking over their shoulders as he was notorious for making last minute changes. By 1982 The Specials has split, Madness and The Beat had departed for other labels and the 2 Tone glory days were over. But it inspired other labels to become a powerful symbol that speaks to the people by communicating urgent social and political messages through look and sounds.
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The Importance of the Record Label
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33 R.PM The Design Flaw Label Association Hardware Vs. Software Record Label Vs. CD Thomas Edison The Anatomy of EMI Record labels The Beginnings of Label Identity 2 Tone Records