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Steve Beynon discusses the transformation of 50 year-old mega-label, Island Records..
W
ith the record company celebrating their 50 year anniversary this year, it! s time to take a look at the CVs of the talent scouts responsible for jamming some of the world"s best bands and artists into our ears. What makes them iconic in today"s vast music world? remembered for fallouts with certain artists (surprisingly Amy Winehouse is not a problem in this case). Why? They poke and prod and commercialise a special sound; it! s all about competition and bagging big names, who in turn bag nice fat cheques. Simples. Not at Island Records. Yes, it is now inevitable in today"s industry. However, Island pride themselves on the creative freedom they offer their musical geni; a feat managed today only by a handful of major labels. Its closest counterpart today may be Domino, they too having had their own aura since their dawn in the 90s. Admittedly the general public will have never heard of some of the more obscure artists on the Island label – many have never entered the charts at all. But just because certain music isn"t popular, doesn"t mean it isn"t something spectacular once it is discovered. Started in 1959, Island has never lost the Jamaican sun sound originally created by Chris Blackwell, despite his quick move to London.
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To gain a rough idea of the inspiration leading to this escalation of talent, watch/read/listen to Island In The Sun took Blackwell from Jamaica to an even happier place in the sun. Rather than solely marketing Caribbean-originating records, or concentrating on a particular sound, Blackwell decided on a risky route, finding artists based on his personal taste. A good thing too, that he found the sounds of Bob Marley and Robert Palmer pleasing to the ear. Surprisingly, it wasn"t easy to break Sir Bob Marley (I bestow upon myself the power of initiating knighthood) into the broadcasting world of Europe and the USA. It required a lot of time, money and effort from the Island staff – things they wanted to disassociate themselves from in order to preserve the unique aspect of fun that is so rare in a business like the music industry. Island was an artistic environment, not a business. What is often ignored in the light of such big names deriving from Island Records is their cult status in the late 60s when it was the world"s leading label for progressive music. It witnessed the birth and - not quite the fall - but eventual decline in the wide popularity of prog rock. They were known as the Pink years, due to the unique pink labels around which the vinyl revolved. This is a key example of their distinctive marketing techniques – now of course
known as branding – mixing the time!s defining artists with musicians, at the time termed “innovative hip capitalism” amongst their undeniably square peers at Virgin, etc. Within the laid back artistic environment, artists are nurtured and allowed to develop. They are hand picked because of their talent, and although each have their own individual sound, and that distinctive hint of Island sunshine that radiates through their music. For examples of this, just think of The B-52s. Roxy Music. Paul Weller. U, Damian Marley. The roster is endless, featuring many career changing albums. The mark inflicted by the record company in this case is not the icing on the cake, smothering the originality of the bands, but simply the cherry on top. Whatever you call it, it"s the de served little touch that defines them as an Island export. It is a shame to see that the need to merge labels has dented Island in recent times (Blackwell in fact sold Island to Polygram for £272m 20 years ago). The Island #brand" was sliced and merged into already successful companies around the world – in the UK, Mercury; in the USA, Island Def Jam; in Germany, Polydor Island. Small is beautiful, yes, but seldom bountiful. The longevity of their influence continues, however, and by the looks of their artists, it's set to last.