University Report: In-depth Analysis of Matador Records' Marketing

This report provides an analysis of Matador Records, an indie label specializing in various music genres including indie rock, electronic, alternative, experimental, and punk rock. The report details the label's operations, including artist recruitment, distribution methods, and target audience. It examines the role of the general manager in promoting artists and maintaining industry relationships. The analysis identifies challenges such as market saturation, budget constraints, and piracy, and evaluates the label's contribution to the music industry, highlighting its impact on artist development and financial viability. The report concludes by discussing the problems independent record labels face, such as adapting to changing consumer habits and combating music piracy, and the significance of independent labels within the broader music business. The document is contributed by a student to be published on the website Desklib, a platform which provides all the necessary AI based study tools for students.

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Matador Records
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1. Description-
Matador Records is an indie label that mainly specializes in electronic acts, alternative
acts, experimental rocks, punk rock and indie rock (Matadorrecords.com, 2018).
The indie rock is not limited to a specific genre like rock but it also specializes in other
genres like electronic acts, alternative, experimental and punk rock.
Matador West Coast and the Matador Europe are both the places where the indie label identifies
the musical artists. The Matador records do not accept the unsolicited demos. It has stopped
looking for the artists on the roster and the Matador records want the artists to email the MP3
clips to their website (The Balance Careers, 2018).
Matador Records describe themselves as the independent roster label that specializes in
the indie rock. The label distributes its music on the online video streaming, audio streaming via
the YouTube and Spotify respectively. Matador also sells its music via the online Apple Music
store and also Matador Store to the consumers.
2. Analysis-
The variety of the groups that the labels produce are electronic acts, alternative acts,
experimental rocks, punk rock and indie rock. However, Matador Labels specializes in the indie
rock.
Matador Records especially targets for the consumers that are having the liking for the
electronic acts, alternative rocks, experimental rock, punk rock and also indie rock
(Matadorrecords.com, 2018).

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In order to promote its artists and get the recording to the customers, Matador Records
recruits the general manager and he is responsible for the representing the Matador Record and
the artists that are from South America, North America, Europe, United Kingdom and the rest of
the world. The position said to be based in the United Kingdom and the works for supervising
the Matador label staff that directs the campaigns through the Beggars (Parent company). The
general manager has the responsibility of promoting the artists and the labels and the general
manager acts as the ambassador for the label building and the maintains the industry
relationships with the existing contacts and the partners (Music Business Worldwide, 2018).
The obstacles that the label faces in popularizing the artists are: too many music from the
artists that create a sense of confusion and panic; the lack of the budget sometimes acts as an
issue when the artists demand advances; people some time like the songs from the indie labels to
be played on the radio, however, the case is not the same with respect to the different types of
radio jockeys that play music that has most demand (Matadorrecords.com, 2018).
Matador Records are the most fiercely independent and they plan to sell the labels
independently without selling the same to the major labels.
The label has finally achieved a stable status and has achieved a financial viability too
and due to this, it has stopped adding artists to its rosters.
3. interpretation-
The major problems that the independent recordings face are as follows:
 Finding ways to charge money for the purpose of album filler- In the past, the
indie labels used to fill an album with 2 to 3 great songs and the rest with the
fillers. While now it cannot be done because the consumers can now access the

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songs individually. Thus indie labels are not able to sell the sub-standard songs
(Marshall, 2013).
 Reaching a generation that now visualizes music as a disposable- the recent trend
is that the consumers no longer keep the tracks for longer periods, while they
want to listen for some time and then move on to a different track.
 Fighting the piracy- the music industry presently is going through a rough phase
and every attempt to combat piracy has left the music owners helpless (Marshall,
2013).
The independent labels are trying to overcome the problem because the problem is a
recent one and then there is no single solution to the problem. The problem itself is a big
challenge and the music industry needs to adapt to such changes.
4. Evaluation-
Studies conducted have shown that the independent record labels contribute about 37.6
percent of the total music business in the world and this value is about 5.6 billion dollars
(Dittomusic, 2018).
The small independent labels played a major role in bringing the fewer artists and gave
them a stage where they can become a worldwide sensation. The low paying deals help the
artists to show their skills which the big label counterparts would not have done (The Balance
Careers, 2018).

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Reference
Dittomusic. (2018). The Actual Value of the Indie Music Sector. Retrieved from
https://www.dittomusic.com/blog/the-increasing-value-of-the-independent-record-labels
Marshall, L. (2013). The 360 deal and the ‘new’music industry. European Journal of Cultural
Studies, 16(1), 77-99.
Matadorrecords.com. (2018). Matador Records. Retrieved from
http://www.matadorrecords.com/home
Music Business Worldwide. (2018). Matador - General Manager (UK) - Music Business
Worldwide. Retrieved from https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/jobs/matador-
general-manager-uk/
The Balance Careers. (2018). Learn About Matador Records and the History, Artists and
Releases. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/matador-records-profile-
2460522
The Balance Careers. (2018). Why Record Labels Have Such Tremendous Influence on the
Music Industry. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-a-record-
label-2460614