Record label
A record label (also: label ) is a label on vinyl records and shellac records , from which at least the music title , artist and the product brand of the manufacturer can usually be found . Record labels can also have a purely decorative design without any information.
technical features
The labels are used for singles (record diameter 17 cm, label diameter approx. 8.90-9.20 cm), maxi singles (record diameter 25 cm, label diameter approx. 10 cm) and long-playing records (record diameter 30 cm, label diameter approx. 10 cm ) is used. They are fixed on the plates in the course of pressing and are basically not removable.
Design and meaning
As a rule, the titles of the songs on the record side are printed on the labels, as well as the artist names (band or individual artist) and the name of the record label, as well as other information such as the names of the composers and lyricists, the year of publication or the duration of the individual pieces of music. As a rule, there is also a notice on copyright. The majority of such labels are visually unambiguous, so that it is clear from them which company produced a given sheet. The importance of the record label as a carrier of information was greater in the times when singles were sold in plain-colored paper bags with a hole in the middle of the front. The label with all the important information could be seen through the hole.
Record labels can also be purely decorative and artistic without providing any additional information. This applies, for example, to the record label Vertigo. Their publications up to the beginning of the 1970s had the so-called "Vertigo-Swirl" printed on the A-side on the label. On the back (B-side) all information about the artist and title was shown. This design element, that one side only shows one motif, is increasingly used today. They are often in harmony with the design of the respective record cover . Records with monochrome labels without any design are given to the press before the public release date , primarily for promotional purposes (see also white label ).
For collectors, the condition of the label is an important criterion for assessing the value of a record. Some records appeared with different labels or with misprints on them. There are also cases in which the sides of the plate were mistakenly reversed during labeling. Such peculiarities make the panels in question coveted collector's items.
Use of words
The shorter English word label is also used as a synonym for record label . This word, with the meaning of the record label in English, was already in use on shellac records ; its first use is documented in 1907. In the course of a transfer of meaning over time, label was understood to mean not only the imprint itself, but also the company that manufactured these products, so that label now also means 'record company'. The English word has been used with both meanings in German at least since the early 1980s.
Individual evidence
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary , keyword label , accessed September 15, 2011.
- ↑ First listed in Duden in: Duden spelling , 19th edition Bibliographisches Institut, Mannheim 1986, ISBN 3-411-20900-3 .