11. Mainstream VS Independent

MAINSTREAM

Record Label: One Direction are under Syco Music/Entertainment, which is a joint enterprise by Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, both mainstream companies.
Genre: The band are often associated with Pop.
Target Audience: As a young group of men, their brand is targeted at young teenage girls, YouGov Profiler mentions that their demographic is 18-24 year olds.
Merchandise/Ancillary: Tour ticket, Pre-order new single (Made in The AM), Shop (Single, Book, Link to merchandise, personalised gifts, fragrance), Link to music.
Purchasing Music: Under music tab, each album of theirs reads 'find out more', then links for Amazon, iTunes, and official 1D Store.
Backstory: All members entered The X Factor individually, and was then manufactured together to create One Direction during 'bootcamp', eventually their fanbase grew and they came third on the talent show, and their careers accelerated since then.

Advantages: 

• More revenue, causing a faster acceleration for the band's success.
• More money allowing the record company to pay for producers of music
• Gaining more revenue allows the band to tour and sell merchandise more often

Disadvantages:

• The label has more control over the music that the band releases
• The artist is restricted to what they can do

INDIE

Record Label: Lanterns on the Lake are signed by Bella Union, an independent record label by Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde. 

Genre: Indie Rock

Target Audience: 25+ ?

Merchandise/Ancillary: Tote bang, T-shirt, physical EP, Limited A3 Prints, Vinyls, CD Album : all of their merchandise do not feature their faces, but only their logo.

Purchasing Music: All their products are under the 'Store' tab, including merchandise. 

Backstory: Formed in 2007, and they self released 2 EPs and a single. Their song I Love You Sleepyhead was featured in the film Where Soldiers Come From. 

Advantages:

• The artist has more control over their music, so there is more creativity to the work they produce

Disadvantages:

• Possibility of less success than a mainstream record label
• Less revenue for producers and merchandise

Merchandise and ancillary products are important to the success of the band and to the audience, as it is a way to promote the band as an artist and appeal to an audience which would lead to an increase in sales, therefore leading the artist to be able to produce more music and build their brand.
For One Direction, fans are able to find out information about the band on social media including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as their website. Lanterns on the Lake have information about them on their own website, and also on Facebook and Twitter.
I would personally like to be signed to a mainstream label in order to gain success in the music industry. Although, I believe that it would be better to keep the music raw, and release good music under an independent label.