key terms

Synergy-
The coming together of two separate media texts in a way which benefits both.

Conglomerate-
An international company with a wide and varied range of commercial interests.

Globalisation-
The growing tendency of industrial and commercial companies to merge and operate on an international rather than on a national or regional basis.

Analogue Music-
In media technology, a method of recording visual and sound images.

Vertical integration-
The merger of takeover of companies operating at different stages of the production/distribution process.

Horizontal integration-
The merger of competing companies from the same line of business and involved at the same level of activity.

Major 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 to a high standard.

Subsidiary label-
A record label that is controlled by another label or company.

Independent label-
An independent record label (or indie record label) is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.

Niche audiences-
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing; therefore the market niche defines the specific product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact.

Mainstream audiences-
Mainstream music denotes music that is familiar and unthreatening to the masses, as for example popular music, pop music, middle of the road music, pop rap or pop rock; Mainstream jazz is generally seen as an evolution of be-bop, which was originally regarded as radical.

Audiophiles-
An audiophile is a person who has a great interest in high-fidelity sound reproduction.

Early adopters-
An early adopter or lighthouse customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology; in politics, fashion, art, and other fields, this person would be referred to as a trendsetter.