How To Name Your Record Label Business
If you’re picking your brain trying to come up with fresh and unique record label names, this guide for how to name your record label business will help you gain inspiration. The naming of your record label is a crucial part of identifying your brand and can convey what type of artists you sign.
This article contains tips on naming your record label and lists the best record label business names you can use to identify trends.
20 Record Label Name Ideas
A great way to develop a record label name is to use a record label name generator that will create unique names using keyword combinations. Here are 20 record label name ideas I generated myself using the record label name generator:
- Music Horde
- Music Pulse
- Core Music
- Allied Music
- Musaholic
- Chamber Records
- Deep Records
- Round Records
- Recordzilla
- Recordzen
- Rythmgenix
- Rythmish
- Rythmology
- Verse Tunes
- Tuneaholic
- Raid Tunes
- Nocturne Rock
- Rockex
- Mode Rock
- Champion Rock
You can use the record label name generator to create one or two-word record label names oriented around your chosen keyword. It could be helpful to develop a keyword that reflects the genre of music that your record label promotes and then plan your name around this keyword.
20 More Record Label Business Name Ideas
- Artist Alliance Recording
- Independent Star Records
- RetroMix Records
- Record Player Label
- Beatnik Records
- Spot On Records
- Record Studio Records
- Red Lightning Records
- Repro Records
- Good Company Records
- Vital Records
- Record Gauge
- Record Head Music
- Your Record Label
- Hit Mixer
- Unconventional Records
- Absolute Records
- Record Century
- American Western Records
- Serious Sounds
Best Real-world Record Label Business Names
To create a frame of reference for ideal record label names, it’s good to look at the best names already in use and learn how the brand creators came up with the name. If you know what makes these brand names successful, you can apply the same principles when coming up with your name using the record label names generator.
Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group gets its name from the film studio Universal Studios, benefiting from its association with Universal’s reputation in the film world. This record label operates in 67 countries and dominates 98% of the world’s music market, housing many subsidiary labels.
Rough Trade
Rough Trade is known for signing The Smiths and The Strokes. Rough Trade began as a record shop owned and operated by Geoff Travis, who named the store after the Canadian art-punk and new wave band Rough Trade. The name is associated with new wave music and the implications of the phrase ‘rough trade’ give the name a down-to-earth and edgy feel.
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a Seattle-based record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. The name is short for Subterranean Pop, a clever representation of the underground rock bands they represented. Later on, the label became well known for popularizing the grunge genre when they signed Nirvana.
ECM
ECM is an acronym for Edition of Contemporary Music that creates a short and snappy name for the label. The shortness of the name makes it more memorable than the full wording. The bold three-letter name represents the label’s distinctive sound and aesthetic.
Island Records
Island Records was founded in Jamaica in 1959 after the book ‘Island In The Sun’ written by Alex Waugh. The label was intended to capture the vibrant spirit of Jamaica’s music. The name Island Records creates an instant association between the label and the Caribbean, which reflects the tones of the music.
How To Establish Your Brand In The Music Industry
When starting your record label, it’s essential to establish clear branding that conveys what your label is all about. Your brand is what defines and represents you. Your name and logo are crucial features that set your brand as distinct from others.
Your branding should represent the attributes you are looking for in the artists you wish to sign, an umbrella term that defines who you choose to promote with your label. What are the key traits you are looking for in an artist? This could be the genre (or genres) you want under your label. It could also apply to the characteristics of artists you wish to represent, like passion or subversiveness.
Character and perspective are critical traits in defining a record label’s brand. Rough Trade and Island Records are good examples of names that convey a distinct idea or feeling. Rough Trade is a term used to describe lower-class men that would serve as escorts for the upper class, so this name immediately brings a bold and inherently masculine feel to the brand that reflects the style of the artists they are best known for representing.
5-Tips For Creating Unique Record Label Business Name Ideas
These five tips will prove extremely useful in ensuring you have an educated approach to naming your record label and finding a strong, timeless name that you are delighted with:
Tip One: Harness What Makes Your Brand Unique
If you can find the unique selling point that makes your brand unique and harness it in the naming of your brand, you will find your most successful brand name. If you pride yourself on hiring only female artists and promoting female musicians within the industry, you will want to reflect this in your name.
Try putting words associated with your genre and style into the record label name generator and go from there.
The unique selling point of your label is what makes it special and distinguishes it from other record label businesses. We discussed earlier how branding should distinguish your brand, and building your name around your unique selling point will help you harness the power of effective branding.
Tip Two: Make Your Name Memorable
When branding your record label business, the biggest mistake you can make is to use a name that fades into the background and slips easily out of people’s minds. Names that are too similar to other record labels’ names will definitely fall to the back of the mind.
Try to avoid generic names that do not have much weight of meaning or imagery behind them. For example, ‘Global Records’ doesn’t have as much impact as ‘Green Goblin Records’, which will intrigue the mind with explicit imagery and stylistic implications.
Tip Three: Make Use Of Punchy Literary Devices
Now is a great time to bust out your knowledge of literary devices and apply them to your record label name to make it short but punchy. A great device to use when choosing your name is to use an acronym or abbreviation that shortens a larger name, as we have seen with Sub Pop, a.k.a Subterranean Pop, and ECM a.k.a Edition of Contemporary Music.
At the very least, you should avoid using long names, as it dilutes the power of your name and makes it harder to remember or repeat. If the name you want to use is long, try abbreviating it or using an acronym. This can apply when you are using your name as the name of your label, too. If your name is hard to pronounce, get creative!
You can shorten your name by selecting a character limit when you put keywords into the record label name generator, which will help you to keep your name snappy.
Tip Four: Check Out Your Competitors’ Names
It never hurts to check out what your competitors are doing. If you know the area your brand will cover, look at how your competitors’ names represent the types of artists they represent.
Suppose you can see areas where your competitors could improve their name in terms of uniqueness and representing their artists, take this knowledge with you when creating your brand name. Similarly, if you see techniques your competitors have used in naming their label, apply them to your own name choice.
When choosing your name, you will want to ensure that the domain you choose isn’t already in use so that you can have the name. You can check for domain name availability using the record label name generator.
Tip Five: Use Your Own Name
The best way to claim ownership of your brand is to use your name as the name of your record label business. By using your name, you will be creating your legacy as you grow your business, and it even opens up the possibility for a family business or for the business to be passed down to your children.
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