A netlabel (also online label, web label, digi label, MP3 label or download label) is a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

that distributes its music through

digital audio Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samp ...

formats (such as

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

Ogg Vorbis Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder (codec) for lossy audio compression. Vorbis is most commonly used in conjun ...

FLAC FLAC (; Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio coding format for lossless compression of digital audio, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, and is also the name of the free software project producing the FLAC tools, the reference softwa ...

, or WAV) over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

. While similar to traditional record labels in many respects, netlabels typically emphasize free distribution online, often under licenses that encourage works to be shared (e.g.,

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

licenses), and artists often retain

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

. Netlabels may have a considerably lower staff count than traditional record labels, in some instances being only a single individual in control of their music, maintaining sole ownership. Physical LPs, for example, are rarely produced by a netlabel, relying entirely on

digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and other s ...

and means of the

to provide the product. Having no physical product makes the running costs of a netlabel considerably less than a traditional record label and some netlabels have abandoned any financial model altogether and instead, running the netlabel as a

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

. Some employ

guerrilla marketing Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. It is a type of publicity. The term was popularized by Jay Conrad Levinson's 1984 ...

to promote their work.

History

Online music groups date back almost as far as the history of personal computers, and share close ties with

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedba ...

s and the

demoscene The demoscene is an international computer art subculture focused on producing demos: self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audiovisual presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off programming, visual ...

. Early music groups released music in MOD formats, typically as part of a

music disk Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, which often included a MOD player, visual effects, and textual information. Netlabels began to branch out from the tracker scene when the lossy

file format became popular in the late 1990s. Some are still dedicated to

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

and related genres, though this is rapidly changing and the quality of downloads are getting higher with the use of FLAC downloads offering CD quality uncompressed music. Most of the original netlabels have now ceased operations. Only a few of the originators of the movements are still currently active, and releasing in the same format, like Eerik Inpuj Sound, Upitup Records, 50/50innertainment Records, Kahvi Collective, Bedroom Research, Acroplane and Phonocake.

References

External links

How to Start a Netlabel
Wikihow article
Soundshiva.net
Opensource catalogue of netlabels and releases
Netlabels and democratization of the recording industry
Academic article on netlabels
clongclongmoo Netlabel List
overview of active and archived labels
Netlabel #hot100 Charts

Netlabels.org
Resource for netlabel and netaudio culture with screenshots, reviews and releases
NetlabelArchive.org
A archive site that hosts inactive netlabels
Limited edition release 2007/2017
quantum-bit.it {{Independent production Record labels Music industry Open content

History

See also

References

External links