Universal Music Group, Sony
BMG, and Warner Music Group.
Many musicians do not like that
record labels have so much control.
Some launch their own companies
so they have control. Prince quit
Warner Brothers in 1994 and
created NPG Records. Jay Z formed
Roc Nation in 2008.
SHAWN MENDES:
FAME FIRST
Before the year 2000, most
musicians got famous by signing
with a record label. But Canadian
Shawn Mendes became famous
without a record label. In August
2013, the 15-year-old made a
clip of himself singing a Justin
Bieber song. He uploaded it to the
video-sharing service Vine. The
next day, he had 10,000 followers.
By October, he had 200,000. Then
Island Records gave Mendes his
first record deal in June 2014.
$15
billion
Amount of global
recorded music sales in
2015.
• Record labels help
musicians promote and
sell records.
• Some musicians start
their own labels to control
their own careers.
• There are three major
labels: Universal, Sony,
and Warner.
19
Universal Music
Group owns 91
smaller labels.
