Soul Jazz Records

Soul Jazz Records

Range of Music:

The musical genres are less mainstream than most other sites and focus on genre's such as funk and soul, latin, African, Electronic, German Rock, Reggae and punk. The range of music is a strange one and focuses on various niche markets that are looking for something specific that may be difficult to discover on other sites. The labels that are sold are less familiar to an audience than labels such as Universal Music group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. This site is composed of labels such as Studio One, Universal Sound, World Audio Foundation and their own label, Soul Jazz Records which aims to find unappreciated bands and give them a chance for their music to be sold.

Ways To Purchase:

The first thing you will discover when trying to buy from this site is the ability to either add music to a wish list or to pre-order a certain album that hasn't been released yet or to simply purchase an already released album. The albums are available to the customer in various ways, some come with a deluxe edition meaning extra tracks are released. Others may contain a special DVD that accompanies the album, some have an MP3 version of the track available to purchase but what is interesting is that most of the albums available to purchase are sold as CD's or LP records. WHen purchasing, the merchandise is added to a cart which can then be sold at the checkout. In order to pay, a customer must make an account with the website and provide card details for payment.

The Label:

The Label began in Britain in the 1990's releasing music such as Reggae, Jazz, Soul and Ska. Since, it has grown to include other genre's similar to electronic and international rock. They have signed many versatile artists including The Cables, John Holt and Sister Nancy.

What kinds of music do Soul Jazz Records produce?

Relatively unknown artists and genre's that appeal to a niche market including:
electronic, reggae, bass/dubstep/grime, jazz, house, funk&soul, african, deep cult and roots music, punk, new wave, hip-hop, german rock&electronic, latin/salsa, Brazil, Soundtrack.

What strategies do they use to promote and distribute their music?

The label advertises in the Guardian newspaper and holds various events in London outside their store to promote their label and the artists. By using online advertising and holding street parties, the label manages to remain working with unusual techniques to promote their unusual musical services.

Who is the audience?

The audience are older people who enjoy musical genres that are not as mainstream as others. They aim to appeal to the alternative music listeners and mainly those with african-american roots due to the genres that they sell. These genres appeal to this particular race as it follows the progression of music from African to the slaves in America with Bluegrass and Soul as it grows into the modern times evolving into Hip-Hop. 

What is the relationship between SJR and the mainstream music industry?

The record label keeps itself separate from the mainstream music industry. The Big Three, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group are kept separately from this label. Soul Jazz Records aims to focus less on mainstream artists in the popular genres of Rock and Pop. They do not usually sign artists affiliated with these mainstream genres and keep a distance from the mainstream music industry in order to focus on their niche market.