major label

1) Term used in connection with any of the five record companies that dominate the music industry. Sony, Universal, BMG, EMI and Warner (and their innumerable subsidiaries) account for over 90% of the music sold in the United States and up to 80% globally. The majors are typically characterised as greedy, cynical, bandwagon-jumping and litigious (see also RIAA). Not all artists signing to major labels suck, but the majority do fall into one of two categories: (