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This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Recording Industry

by Michael L. Wells, 2006

Recording Industry - Part 1: Introduction; Recording Industry - Part 2: North Carolina Recording Pioneers; Recording Industry - Part 3: Independent Labels Find Success; Recording Industry - Part 4: Record Production since the 1970s; Recording Industry - Part 5: References

Introduction

The recording industry and record labels in North Carolina, beginning in the 1930s, featured an impressive array of talented producers and helped gain exposure for North Carolina musicians and songwriters with diverse musical styles. During the industry's infancy, the bulk and expense of recording equipment prohibited widespread independent record production, causing most of the recording of North Carolina music to be done by the major American labels until after World War II. The second half of the twentieth century saw an increase in independent studios and labels as new artists came onto the scene and unique markets grew. By the early 2000s the state was home to a vibrant recording industry, with most labels-representing rock, jazz, Christian, hip-hop, and other genres-located primarily in the major urban areas of Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Triangle.

Keep reading >>Recording Industry - Part 2: North Carolina Recording Pioneers Keep reading