Major Record Labels

The music industry is dominated by four multi national corporations:

• Universal

• Sony music

• Warner Bros

• EMI 

These are referred to as 'The Majors'. the majority of these are baked by conglomerates with stakes in other industries such as; Film, Tv and Electronics. 

Most of these majors own, license, as series of smaller subsidiary companies in order to reach different kinds of audience in different kinds of genre. 

• Columbia

• Island
• Syco

• RCA

• Virgin

These companies are known as 'major-independents'. 

There are a huge number of small companies with little or no financial connection the the majors.

These companies often concentrate on a small number of acts, within specialised niches in the industry.

These are called 'independents'. Eg: of a highly successful independent is 'Domino Records'. 

It's often that record labels begin as independents, but then are bought by a major and then become major-independents.