Term	Explanation / Significance
U.S.P	Unique selling point - the main selling point of the artist or label . Their mission statement will often indicate the USP.
Independent Labels	The smaller record labels who usually have a niche genre they focus on. Many independent labels pride themselves on producing music that is true to the artist. They also often allow the artist a much greater say in their production and distribution and take less money for the services they supply.
Ownership	Who owns the music? The Big 3, Indies and the artist themselves (in various proportions).
Back catalogue	The Big 3 and many Major/Minors (Beggars Banquet) have large libraries of previous songs that earn them money every time they are played, downloaded or sold. The bigger the back catalogue, the more money a label has to reinvest in finding the next big star. It acts as a funding source but is also a bone of contention for the artists who originally signed away the rights to the music to the record label.
Pluggers/PR	Public Relations manage the image of the performer for the press - they foresee issues and manage bad news but also create good news too . Pluggers focus on raising the profile online.
Synergy	Merchandise - how artists use products to raise their profile. Often left to well known artists with huge fan bases as a form of marketing.
Conglomerates or Global Media Institutions	The Big 3 - Sony, Universal and Warner. They own often dozens of smaller labels and cater for a huge range of musical genres but focus on mass audiences. Their dominance of the market place cannot be underestimated by the digital age is making it harder for them to presume the top slot - independents can find a very profitable and beneficial place in the industry too. Watch your backs!
Converged Technologies	Where technologies work together to provide multiple services on one device i.e. a smartphone, a DSLR camera.
Subscription Service	When audiences pay a monthly or annual fee to enable access to music. This is how streaming services make money.
Viral Marketing Campaign	A method of marketing whereby consumers are encouraged to share information about an artist or a release. Whilst not free, it is relatively accessible for even the smaller labels who with clever ideas, can manage to get the fans and audiences to do the marketing for them. Pull, push and pass on.
Marketing	Selling an artist and their music through traditional advertising (print, TV, radio) etc and online digital means. The Big 3 will focus on the image of the star which will be the main revenue raiser whilst indies will probably focus more on the creativity of the artist and protect their integrity to reach a more niche market.
Distribution Strategies	Multi platform release to negate piracy so a song is released on youtube, and on streaming services and in shops all at the same time. Streaming is now the main way to distribute music. Vinyl though too has made a come back and the ownership of physical music is making a resurgence.
Exhibition Platforms	A platform for playing music - streaming, films, TV, concerts, gigs, festivals, vinyl, CD, radio.
Music Piracy	Illegally downloading a track. Whilst less prevalent nowadays with ‘free music’ on tap, songs are still released by some of the Big 3 using a multi platform release platform to discourage piracy being necessary. Piracy in terms of hacking though can happen with digital technologies and streaming services being vulnerable to manipulation and distortion.
Guerilla Marketing	The one off publicity stunt eg. flashmob that attracts a news news coverage about a track.
Communities	Different audiences. Mass audiences are the national, international audiences who are targeted by the Big 3 whilst niche audiences are those more likely to be the focus of indie labels. All audiences are communities though and with the rise of digital technology can be targeted specifically so that the music hits the right spot.
Word of Mouth	Hearing reviews/opinions from others who have viewed the film. Passing on opinions face to face and nowadays the online world is where the news is passed on.
Target Audience	The audience the music is aimed at.
Web 2.0	The online world where audiences can interact with sites. Previously, the web was purely an electronic advert with no interaction between supplier and audience. Now it relies on interaction.
Democratisation/ Globalisation	With the digital age upon us, there is more opportunity for people to contribute and participate in how the music industry works. Whether it be to actually make music and distribute it more easily or whether it is reviewing, participating and following in the success of an artist. We are all equal and we all have a voice.
Digital Technologies	Any form of digital technology that is used in PDME of the music industry - recording equipment, downloading software, uploading software, websites, social media, sets, lighting, amplifiers etc.

Term	Explanation / Significance
Core Audiences	The mass audiences who consume the mainstream music i.e. young teenage girls for pop.
Performing Rights Organisation/Society	A performance rights organisation (PRO), also known as a performing rights society, provides intermediary functions, particularly collection of royalties, between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works publicly in locations such as shopping and dining venues. In other words, you play, you pay.
Media Institutions	The companies who make the music - large or small.
Festivals/Concerts/Gigs	Performance platforms for artists where they can perform live to a live audience.
Cross Media Convergence	When mediums collaborate to produce a product that is mutually beneficial for all of them i.e. a song is used as a soundtrack for a film or a video game.