Domino Records

Domino Records is a British independent label which is based in London. They were founded in 1993, and promotes genres such as 'American Rock' and 'Britpop' such as Franz Ferdinand. They are know to be one of the most successful independent labels of the UK.

What kind of music does Domino records produce?

On the website there are a variety of different artists/bans in which the label has signed. They are catergorically sectioned, 'current artists', 'former artists' 'geological artists' and 'double six artists', these include bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Arctic monkeys. It allows you to click on the artists/band and view more information about them such as singles/albums, latest news and also some have their own social networking sites. The site contains music from older artists, and people who had one hit. Most of the music they promote is from an indie genre, this is because the music sounds from an indie genre.

What strategies do Domino records use to promote and distribute their music?

Domino's website contains a link called 'Mart'. This allows their audience to buy exclusive things such as albums, merchandise such as bags and t-shirts and tickets. This creates a brand identity as is associates people who enjoy a similar taste in music. They also promote things such as 'featured releases' and 'pre-orders'. This is where their audience is encouraged to purchase things that are made to seem unique and are exclusive to that label, therefore making their audience to want to be apart of it. The advantage of the distributing merchandise such as bags and t-shirts is that when their audience purchases things, it further promotes their company as their logo is present on the merchandise. This is therefore used as a promotional device and allows them to become multimedia as they are now being distributed over a number of different products not just music. This therefore leads to an increase in profits.

Their audience can also purchase gig ticket for upcoming gigs. This is an important way to distribute music as their gigs are generally cheap and also it will promote bands/artists. They are categorically organised according to location and month of the year. This makes it easier to find and know which are soon.

The site allows their audience to purchase music to their mp3. This suggests that the company recognises the change in technology and making it more accessible to their audience to purchase music they want.

The site allows their audience to 30 second clip of songs before purchasing. This gives their audience an insight to what the music sounds like, and further promotes bands/artists.

A video gallery is present within the site. This allows the audience to watch music videos of bands/artists and decide whether or not to purchase the song. This again promotes bands/artists.

Who is the audience?

From the site, we can suggest that the label targets both an older and younger audience. This is due to the music they promote, as the music ranges from older artists otherwise known as 'former artists' and recent artists. The gender is both female and male because it difficult to determine which they target most due to trends and the idea that they promote female and male merchandise.

What is the relationship with Domino Records and the mainstream music industry?

Mainstream labels include labels such as EMI and Sony who are apart of the Big 4. Whereas, Domino Records is an independent label. Domino promotes bands/artists who are well known, unlike mainstream labels who promote artists such as Beyonce.

Domino has a niche audience in comparison to mainstream labels, who are more well known therefore having a larger audience.