Record label

A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and video recordings, on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. The name derives from the paper label at the center of a gramophone record (what is also known as a "phonograph record" in American English).

The emergence of open-source labels

Main Article: Open source record label

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The new century brings the phenomenon of open-source or open-content record label. These are inspired by the free software and open-source movement and the success of GNU/Linux.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Examples are

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• LOCA Records
• Magnatune
• Opsound