51°30′06″N 0°13′55″W / 51.501733°N 0.231823°W / 51.501733; -0.231823 The Town House (also known as Townhouse Studios ) was a recording studio located at 140 Goldhawk Road , Shepherd's Bush in London, built in 1978 under the direction of Richard Branson for Virgin Records . The studios changed ownership and eventually ceased operation in 2008, with luxury apartments now in its place.
158-461: Artists that recorded at the Town House included Elton John , Queen , Phil Collins , Philip Bailey , Simple Minds , The Jam , Asia , Bryan Ferry , Coldplay , Muse , Duran Duran , Jamiroquai , Kylie Minogue , Oasis , XTC , Robbie Williams , Peter Gabriel , and Joan Armatrading . Studio Two's "Stone Room" was an especially popular place to record drum sounds during the 1980s, directly as
316-647: A civil partnership with his long-term partner, the Canadian filmmaker David Furnish . They married in 2014, when same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales. John has had more than fifty top-40 hits on the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100 , including nine number ones in both countries, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the US. He has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of
474-420: A disruptive technology to the commercial interests which published sheet music. During the sheet music era, if a regular person wanted to hear popular new songs, he or she would buy the sheet music and play it at home on a piano, or learn the song at home while playing the accompaniment part on piano or guitar. Commercially released phonograph records of musical performances, which became available starting in
632-487: A road crew : a semi-permanent touring organization that travels with the artist during concert series. The road crew is headed by a tour manager . Crew members provides stage lighting , live sound reinforcement , musical instrument maintenance and transportation . On large tours, the road crew may also include an accountant, stage manager, bodyguard, hairdressers, makeup artists and catering staff. Local crews are typically hired to help move equipment on and off stage. On
790-455: A Sanctuary buy-out. Today, a luxury apartment complex is located at the address. Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight ; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. Acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s, his music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry . His songwriting partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin
948-773: A UK and US number one that is certified Diamond by the RIAA for US sales of 17 million copies. In 1974, John collaborated with John Lennon on his cover of the Beatles ' " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ", the B-side of which was Lennon's "One Day at a Time". It was number 1 for two weeks in the US. In return, John was featured on " Whatever Gets You Thru the Night " on Lennon's album Walls and Bridges . Later that year, in Lennon's last major live performance,
1106-422: A biography of Mozart. In the 19th century, sheet-music publishers dominated the music industry. Before the invention of sound recording technologies, the main way for music lovers to hear new symphonies and opera arias (songs) was to buy the sheet music (often arranged for piano or for a small chamber music group) and perform the music in a living room, using friends who were amateur musicians and singers. In
1264-415: A certain market niche. Only the industry's most popular artists are signed directly to the major label. These companies account for more than half of US market share. However, this has fallen somewhat in recent years, as the new digital environment allows smaller labels to compete more effectively. Total album sales have declined in the early decades of the 21st century, leading some music critics to declare
1422-419: A composer's music might only be known in the city she lived in and its surrounding towns, because only wealthy aristocrats would be able to afford to have hand copies made of her music. With music printing, though, a composer's music could be printed and sold at a relatively low cost to purchasers from a wide geographic area. As sheet music of major composer's pieces and songs began to be printed and distributed in
1580-464: A daily or hourly rate) in a recording session . In the 21st century, advances in digital recording technology have allowed many producers and artists to create " home studios " using high-end computers and digital recording programs like Pro Tools , bypassing the traditional role of the commercial recording studio. The record producer oversees all aspects of the recording, making many of the logistic, financial and artistic decisions in cooperation with
1738-485: A few songs including the unreleased "To Fall in Love with You". Thought to be one of Dylan's greatest masterpieces, the song was not completed or considered suitable for official release. Dylan was in England for filming Hearts of Fire , having completed an exhausting tour promoting his album Knocked Out Loaded . It is not known how many takes of "To Fall in Love with You" were recorded but only one take exists. Dylan returned to
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#17330924914611896-514: A fixed price per song or album, Spotify pays artists based on their "market share" (the number of streams for their songs as a proportion of total songs streamed on the service). Spotify distributes approximately 70% to rights-holders, who will then pay artists based on their agreements. The variable, and (some say) inadequate nature of this compensation, has led to criticism. Spotify reports paying on average US$ 0.006 to US$ 0.008 per stream. In response to concerns, Spotify claims that they are benefiting
2054-693: A heavier backbeat. James Newton Howard joined to arrange in the studio and to play keyboards. In June 1975 John introduced the line-up at the London, England, Wembley Stadium . The rock-oriented Rock of the Westies entered the US albums chart at number 1, as had Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy , a previously unattained feat. John's stage wardrobe now included ostrich feathers, $ 5,000 spectacles that spelled his name in lights, and costumes such as
2212-545: A label continues to be a popular choice for up-and-coming musicians, especially in genres like hardcore punk and extreme metal , even though indies cannot offer the same financial backing of major labels. Some bands prefer to sign with an indie label, because these labels typically give performers more artistic freedom. In the first decade of the 2000s, digitally downloaded and streamed music became more popular than buying physical recordings (e.g. CDs , records and tapes ). This gave consumers almost "friction-less" access to
2370-510: A laptop in a bedroom and to distribute it over the Internet to a worldwide audience. This, in turn, has caused problems for recording studios, record producers and audio engineers : the Los Angeles Times reports that as many as half of the recording facilities in that city have failed. Changes in the music industry have given consumers access to a wider variety of music than ever before, at
2528-542: A large amount of data is processed. Access to big data may increase transparency in the industry. Music publishing using machine-printed sheet music developed during the Renaissance music era in the mid-15th century. The development of music publication followed the evolution of printing technologies that were first developed for printing regular books . After the mid-15th century, mechanical techniques for printing sheet music were first developed. The earliest example,
2686-428: A lower register. A disco -influenced album, Victim of Love , was poorly received. In 1979, John and Taupin reunited, though they did not collaborate on a full album until 1983's Too Low For Zero . 21 at 33 , released in 1980, was a significant career boost, aided by his biggest hit in four years, " Little Jeannie " (number 3 US), with the lyrics by Gary Osborne. In May 1979, John played eight concerts in
2844-542: A music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music for an estimated $ 39 million over 12 years, including the largest cash advance in music publishing history. In April 1992, John appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium , performing " The Show Must Go On " with the remaining members of Queen , and " Bohemian Rhapsody " with Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses and Queen's remaining members. In September, John performed "The One" at
3002-412: A nationwide and sometimes even a worldwide scale. Moreover, whereas attendance at the top symphony and opera concerts was formerly restricted to high-income people in a pre-radio world, with broadcast radio , a much larger wider range of people, including lower and middle-income people could hear the best orchestras , big bands , popular singers and opera shows. The "record industry" eventually replaced
3160-467: A percentage of the artist's income. An entertainment lawyer assists them with the details of their contracts with record companies and other deals. A business manager handles financial transactions, taxes, and bookkeeping. Unions, such as AFTRA and the American Federation of Musicians in the U.S. provide health insurance and instrument insurance for musicians. A successful artist functions in
3318-497: A performing artist and a venue owner and arranges contracts. A booking agency represents the artist to promoters, makes deals and books performances. Consumers usually buy tickets either from the venue or from a ticket distribution service such as Ticketmaster . In the US, Live Nation is the dominant company in all of these roles: they own most of the large venues in the US, they are the largest promoter, and they own Ticketmaster . Choices about where and when to tour are decided by
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#17330924914613476-504: A price that gradually approaches zero. However, consumer spending on music-related software and hardware increased dramatically over the last decade, providing a valuable new income-stream for technology companies such as Apple Inc. and Pandora Radio . According to IFPI, the global digital album sales grew by 6.9% in 2014. Source: Nielsen SoundScan, Official Charts Company/BPI, GfK and IFPI estimate. World music market sales shares, according to IFPI (2005) Prior to December 1998,
3634-580: A printer and publisher who was able to secure a twenty-year monopoly on printed music in Venice during the 16th century. Venice was one of the major business and music centers during this period. His Harmonice Musices Odhecaton , a collection of chansons printed in 1501, is commonly misidentified as the first book of sheet music printed from movable type. That distinction belongs to the Roman printer Ulrich Han's Missale Romanum of 1476. Nevertheless, Petrucci's later work
3792-601: A quartet that was completed by Caleb Quaye and Nigel Olsson . On the advice of music publisher Steve Brown, John and Taupin began writing more complex songs for John to record for DJM. The first was the single " I've Been Loving You " (1968), produced by Caleb Quaye , Bluesology's former guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recorded another single, " Lady Samantha ", and an album, Empty Sky . For their follow-up album, Elton John , John and Taupin enlisted Gus Dudgeon as producer and Paul Buckmaster as musical arranger. Elton John
3950-433: A record company. In the 2000s, consumer electronics and computer companies such as Apple Computer have become digital music retailers . New digital music distribution technologies and the trends towards using sampling of older songs in new songs or blending different songs to create "mashup" recordings have also forced both governments and the music industry to re-examine the definitions of intellectual property and
4108-480: A report in 2012, noting that these labels controlled 88.5% of the market, and further noted: Note: the IFPI and Nielsen Soundscan use different methodologies, which makes their figures difficult to compare casually, and impossible to compare scientifically. Market shares as of September 2018 are as follows: The largest players in this industry own more than 100 subsidiary record labels or sublabels, each specializing in
4266-659: A restrictive childhood. Both his parents were musically inclined, his father having been a trumpet player with the Bob Millar Band, a semi-professional big band that played at military dances. The Dwights were keen record buyers, exposing John to the popular singers and musicians of the day. John started playing his grandmother's piano as a young boy, and within a year his mother heard him picking out Waldteufel 's "The Skater's Waltz " by ear. After performing at parties and family gatherings, at age seven he began formal piano lessons. He showed musical aptitude at school, including
4424-670: A result of producer Hugh Padgham 's treatment of the drums on Phil Collins' " In the Air Tonight ". The Town House was originally managed by Barbara Jeffries as part of the Virgin Studios Group. The Goldhawk Road facility had three recording rooms, numbered One, Two, and Four, with the Townhouse Three designation given to Ramport Studios after the Virgin Group acquired it from The Who in 1984. Town House Studio One originally
4582-549: A set of liturgical chants, dates from about 1465, shortly after the Gutenberg Bible was printed. Prior to this time, music had to be copied out by hand. To copy music notation by hand was a very costly, labor-intensive, and time-consuming process, so it was usually undertaken only by monks and priests seeking to preserve sacred music for the church. The few collections of secular (non-religious) music that are extant were commissioned and owned by wealthy aristocrats. Examples include
4740-464: A short-lived group called the Corvettes rounded out his time. Although normal-sighted as a teenager, John began wearing horn-rimmed glasses to imitate Buddy Holly . In 1962, John and some friends formed a band called Bluesology . By day, he ran errands for a music publishing company; he divided his nights between solo gigs at a London hotel bar and working with Bluesology. By the mid-1960s, Bluesology
4898-623: A singer. The album soon became his first hit album, reaching number four on the US Billboard 200 and number five on the UK Albums Chart . Backed by former Spencer Davis Group drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray , John's first American concert took place at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, California on 25 August 1970, and was a success. The concept album Tumbleweed Connection
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5056-627: A single composition and a single recording will typically be distributed via many media. For example, the song " My Way " is owned by its composers, Paul Anka and Claude François , Frank Sinatra 's recording of "My Way" is owned by Capitol Records , Sid Vicious 's recording of "My Way" is owned by Virgin Records , and the millions of CDs and vinyl records that can play these recordings are owned by millions of individual consumers. Songs , instrumental pieces and other musical compositions are created by songwriters or composers and are originally owned by
5214-481: A small tour with less financial backing, all of these jobs may be handled by just a few roadies or by the musicians themselves. Bands signed with small "indie" labels and bands in genres such as hardcore punk are more likely to do tours without a road crew, or with minimal support. Artists such as singers and musicians may hire several people from other fields to assist them with their career. The artist manager oversees all aspects of an artist's career in exchange for
5372-572: A wider area, this enabled composers and listeners to hear new styles and forms of music. A German composer could buy songs written by an Italian or English composer, and an Italian composer could buy pieces written by Dutch composers and learn how they wrote music. This led to more blending of musical styles from different countries and regions. The pioneer of modern music printing was Ottaviano Petrucci (born in Fossombrone in 1466 – died in 1539 in Venice),
5530-590: A wider variety of music than ever before, across multiple devices. At the same time, consumers spent less money on recorded music (both physically and digitally distributed) than they had in the 1990s. Total "music-business" revenues in the U.S. dropped by half, from a high of $ 14.6 billion in 1999 to $ 6.3 billion in 2009, according to Forrester Research . Worldwide revenues for CDs, vinyl , cassettes and digital downloads fell from $ 36.9 billion in 2000 to $ 15.9 billion in 2010 according to IFPI. The Economist and The New York Times reported that
5688-682: A year later formed the Elton John Band , also releasing his first hit single, " Your Song ". John's critical and commercial success was at its peak in the 1970s, when he released a string of chart-topping albums both in the US and UK, which began with Honky Château (1972) and culminated with Rock of the Westies (1975) . His success continued in the 1980s and 1990s, having several hit singles and albums in both decades, and he has continued to record new music since. John has also had success in musical films and theatre, composing music for The Lion King (1994), Aida (2000), and Billy Elliot
5846-551: A year later he began hosting his annual AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Party , which has since become one of the biggest high-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. John was the chairman and director of Watford Football Club from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 to 2002, and is an honorary life president of the club. From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, John developed a severe addiction to drugs and alcohol, but has been clean and sober since 1990. In 2005, he entered
6004-522: Is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies". The song's proceeds of approximately £55 million were donated to Diana's charities via the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund . It won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998. The song " Something About
6162-463: Is also held in the highest regard critically. In the three-year span from 1972 to 1975, John saw seven consecutive albums reach number one in the US, something that had not been accomplished before. All six of his albums to make Rolling Stone ' s 2003 list of " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " are from this period, with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ranked highest at number 91. Between 1972 and 1976 he also had six singles reach number one on
6320-560: Is less clear-cut. Some date it to the start of the Great Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph and radio supplanted sheet music as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued into the 1950s when earlier styles of American popular music were upstaged by the rise of rock & roll . At the dawn of the early 20th century, the development of sound recording began to function as
6478-674: Is one of 21 entertainers to win the EGOT , which includes an Emmy Award , five Grammy Awards , two Academy Awards , and a Tony Award . He also won two Golden Globes , a Laurence Olivier Award , and the Kennedy Center Honor . He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and is a fellow of The Ivors Academy . He was appointed Knight Bachelor for services to music and charity in 1998 and
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6636-576: Is one of the most successful in history. John was raised in Pinner and learned to play piano at an early age, winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music , where he studied for five years. He formed the blues band Bluesology in 1962, but left in 1967 to embark on a solo career and met Taupin that same year. For two years, they wrote songs for other artists, and John worked as a session musician. In 1969, John released his debut album Empty Sky , and
6794-564: Is paid to songwriters, composers and recording artists. This royalty is typically much smaller than publishing or mechanical royalties . Within the past decade, more than "15 to 30 percent" of tracks on streaming services are unidentified with a specific artist. Jeff Price says "Audiam, an online music streaming service, has made over several hundred thousand dollars in the past year from collecting royalties from online streaming. According to Ken Levitan, manager from Kings of Leon, Cheap Trick and others, "Youtube has become radio for kids". Because of
6952-504: Is signed. A publishing company will also promote the compositions, such as by acquiring song "placements" on television or in films . Recordings are created by recording artists , which includes singers , musicians (including session musicians ) and musical ensembles (e.g. backing bands , rhythm sections , orchestras , etc.) usually with the assistance and guidance from record producers and audio engineers . They were traditionally made in recording studios (which are rented for
7110-624: Is the largest owner of radio stations in the United States . In the first decades of the 2000s, the music industry underwent drastic changes with the advent of widespread digital distribution of music via the Internet (which includes both illegal file sharing of songs and legal music purchases in online music stores ). A conspicuous indicator of these changes is total music sales: since 2000, sales of recorded music have dropped off substantially while live music has increased in importance. In 2011,
7268-539: The 11 September attacks , John appeared at the Concert for New York City , performing "I Want Love" as well as "Your Song" as a duet with Billy Joel . In August 2003, John's fifth UK number one single, " Are You Ready for Love ", topped the charts. Returning to musical theatre, John composed music for a West End theatre production of Billy Elliot the Musical in 2005 with playwright Lee Hall . John had been moved to write
7426-494: The 1992 MTV Video Music Awards and closed the ceremony performing " November Rain " with Guns N' Roses. In 1993, he released Duets , which featured collaborations with 15 artists, including Tammy Wynette and RuPaul . This included a new collaboration with Kiki Dee, " True Love ", which reached the Top 10 of the UK charts. In the same year, The Bunbury Tails , a multi-artist charity album,
7584-467: The Billboard Hot 100. In November 1977, John announced he was retiring from performing; Taupin began collaborating with others. Now producing only one album a year, John issued A Single Man in 1978 with a new lyricist, Gary Osborne ; the album produced no singles that made the top 20 in the US, but the two singles from the album released in the UK, " Part-Time Love " and " Song for Guy ", both made
7742-513: The Hammersmith Odeon on 24 December 1982; and introduced George Michael , still then of Wham! , to sing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me". John also recorded material with Millie Jackson in 1985. Towards the end of the year, John released " Nikita " from the album Ice on Fire , which had a music video directed by Ken Russell . The song reached number three in the UK and number seven in
7900-545: The London Underground . Several instructors have attested that he was a "model student", and during the last few years he took lessons from a private tutor in addition to his classes at the Academy. He left the Academy before taking the final exams. John's mother, though strict with her son, was more vivacious than her husband, and something of a free spirit. With Stanley Dwight uninterested in his son and often absent, John
8058-427: The Renaissance music era. His printing shop used the triple-impression method, in which a sheet of paper was pressed three times. The first impression was the staff lines, the second the words, and the third the notes. This method produced very clean and readable results, although it was time-consuming and expensive. Until the 18th century, the processes of formal composition and of the printing of music took place for
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#17330924914618216-547: The Squarcialupi Codex of Italian Trecento music and the Chantilly Codex of French Ars subtilior music. The use of printing enabled sheet music to be reproduced much more quickly and at a much lower cost than hand-copying music notation. This helped musical styles to spread to other cities and countries more quickly, and it also enabled music to be spread to more distant areas. Before the invention of music printing,
8374-570: The Statue of Liberty , Donald Duck , and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . In 1975, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The album features his fifth US number one single, " Island Girl ". To celebrate five years since he had first appeared at the venue, in 1975, John played a two-night, four-show stand at the Troubadour . With seating limited to under 500 per show, the chance to purchase tickets
8532-753: The Tony Award for Best Musical , in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, Chicago, Illinois, Toronto, Ontario, Seoul, South Korea, the Netherlands and São Paulo, Brazil, etc.), grossed over $ 800 million worldwide and won over 80 theatre awards internationally. John's only theatrical project with Taupin is Lestat , based on Anne Rice 's The Vampire Chronicles . It received negative reviews from critics and closed in May 2006 after 39 performances. John featured on rapper Tupac Shakur 's posthumous single " Ghetto Gospel ", which topped
8690-418: The artist's management and the artist, sometimes in consultation with the record company . Record companies may finance a tour in the hopes that it will help promote the sale of recordings. However, in the 21st century, it has become more common to release recordings to promote ticket sales for live shows, rather than book tours to promote the sales of recordings. Major, successful artists will usually employ
8848-522: The best-selling music artists of all time . He is the most successful solo artist in the history of the US Billboard charts . His tribute single to Diana, Princess of Wales , " Candle in the Wind 1997 ", a rewritten version of his 1974 single , sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time . In 2021, he became the first solo artist with UK top 10 singles across six decades. Among John's numerous awards , he
9006-654: The booking agents , promoters , music venues , road crew , and audio engineers who help organize and sell concerts. The industry also includes a range of professionals who assist singers and musicians with their music careers. These include talent managers , artists and repertoire managers, business managers , entertainment lawyers ; those who broadcast audio or video music content ( satellite , Internet radio stations , broadcast radio and TV stations ); music journalists and music critics ; DJs ; music educators and teachers ; manufacturers of musical instruments and music equipment; as well as many others. In addition to
9164-534: The death of the album . (For instance, the only albums that went platinum in the US in 2014 were the soundtrack to the Disney animated film Frozen and Taylor Swift's 1989 , whereas several artists did in 2013.) The following table shows album sales and market value in the world in 2014. Source: IFPI 2014 annual report. In its June 30, 2000 annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission , Seagram reported that Universal Music Group made 40% of
9322-402: The 1930s and 1950s, when records replaced sheet music as the most important product in the music business. In the commercial world, "the recording industry"—a reference to recording performances of songs and pieces and selling the recordings–began to be used as a loose synonym for "the music industry". In the 2000s, a majority of the music market is controlled by three major corporate labels:
9480-406: The 1975 film adaptation of the rock opera Tommy , and to perform the song " Pinball Wizard ". Drawing on power chords , John's version was recorded and used in the movie. The song charted at number 7 in the UK. John, who had adopted a glam aesthetic on stage, would later state glam rock icon Marc Bolan "had a great effect on me." The 1975 autobiographical album Captain Fantastic and
9638-621: The 2000s, traditional lines that once divided singers, instrumentalists, publishers, record companies, distributors, retail and consumer electronics have become blurred or erased. Artists may record in a home studio using a high-end laptop and a digital recording program such as Pro Tools or use Kickstarter to raise money for an expensive studio recording session without involving a record company. Artists may choose to exclusively promote and market themselves using only free online video sharing services such as YouTube or using social media websites, bypassing traditional promotion and marketing by
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#17330924914619796-498: The AIDS crisis and the deaths of Freddie Mercury and the company's principal dancer, Jorge Donn . Later in 1997, two close friends died: designer Gianni Versace was murdered on 15 July, and Diana, Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash on 31 August. In early September, John asked Taupin to revise the lyrics of their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind" to honour Diana, and Taupin agreed. On 6 September 1997, John performed " Candle in
9954-465: The Academy in central London, and he has said he enjoyed playing Frédéric Chopin and Johann Sebastian Bach and singing in the choir during Saturday classes, but that he was not otherwise a diligent classical student. "I kind of resented going to the Academy," he said. "I was one of those children who could just about get away without practising and still pass, scrape through the grades." He has said that he would sometimes skip classes and ride around on
10112-517: The Atlanta, Georgia, Alliance Theatre and went on to Chicago, Illinois and eventually Broadway in New York City. John released a live compilation album, Elton John One Night Only – The Greatest Hits , featuring songs from his show at Madison Square Garden in New York City that same year. A concept album of songs from the musical Aida , Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida , was also released and featured
10270-681: The BBC's Children in Need charity single " Perfect Day ", which reached number one in the UK. John appeared as himself in the Spice Girls film Spice World , released in December 1997. The Lion King musical debuted on Broadway in 1997 and the West End theatre in 1999. In 2014, it had grossed over $ 6 billion and became the top-earning title in box-office history for both stage productions and films, surpassing
10428-607: The Brown Dirt Cowboy debuted at number one in the US, the first album to do so, and stayed there for seven weeks. John revealed his previously ambiguous personality on the album, with Taupin's lyrics describing their early days as struggling songwriters and musicians in London. The lyrics and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a specific sense of place and time that is otherwise rare in his music. The hit single from this album, " Someone Saved My Life Tonight ", captured an early turning point in John's life. The album's release signalled
10586-598: The Elton John Band, and joined by Richie Zito on lead guitar, Tim Renwick on rhythm guitar, and James Newton Howard on keyboards, John performed a free concert to an estimated 400,000 fans on The Great Lawn in Central Park in New York City. He played part of the set dressed as Donald Duck . The album Jump Up! was released in 1982, the biggest hit from which was " Blue Eyes ". With original band members Johnstone, Murray and Olsson together again, John returned to
10744-666: The French-owned Universal Music Group , the Japanese-owned Sony Music Entertainment , and the US-owned Warner Music Group . Labels outside of these three major labels are referred to as independent labels (or "indies"). The largest portion of the live music market for concerts and tours is controlled by Live Nation , the largest promoter and music venue owner. Live Nation is a former subsidiary of iHeartMedia Inc , which
10902-428: The Internet. With streaming services, the user pays a subscription to a company for the right to listen to songs and other media from a library. Whereas with legal digital download services, the purchaser owns a digital copy of the song (which they can keep on their computer or on a digital media player), with streaming services, the user never downloads the song file or owns the song file. The subscriber can only listen to
11060-645: The John duets " Written in the Stars " with LeAnn Rimes , and "I Know the Truth" with Janet Jackson . By this time, John disliked appearing in his own music videos; the video for " This Train Don't Stop There Anymore " featured Justin Timberlake portraying a young John, and the video for " I Want Love " featured Robert Downey, Jr. lip-syncing the song. At the 2001 Grammy Awards , John performed " Stan " with Eminem . One month after
11218-448: The Lights ". Music industry The music industry refers to the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions , creating and selling recorded music and sheet music , presenting concerts , as well as the organizations that aid, train, represent and supply music creators. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate in
11376-558: The Love Tonight" also won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards . The soundtrack for The Lion King remained at the top of the Billboard 200 for nine weeks. On 10 November 1999, the RIAA certified The Lion King " Diamond " for selling 15 million copies. In 1994, John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Guns N' Roses ' frontman Axl Rose . In 1995, he released
11534-512: The Musical (2005). John's final tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road (2018–2023), became the highest-grossing tour ever at the time. His life and career were dramatised in the 2019 biopic Rocketman . John is an HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser and has been involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. He established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised over £300 million since its inception, and
11692-543: The Rain " as a song and dance act with Elton playing piano. Kubrick's Clockwork Orange film had recently featured that song. Plus I designed crazy, over-the-top costumes and giant stage sets – known as 'Legstravaganzas'. Elton loved all of it." The pop album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player came out at the start of 1973 and reached number one in the UK, the US, and Australia, among other countries. The album produced
11850-681: The Soviet Union ; four dates in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and four in Moscow. At the same time, John collaborated with the French couple France Gall and Michel Berger on the songs "Donner pour donner" and "Les Aveux", released together in 1980 as a single. John's 1981 album The Fox was recorded during the same sessions as 21 at 33 and included collaborations with Tom Robinson and Judie Tzuke . On 13 September 1980, with Olsson and Murray back in
12008-434: The Town House included Elton John , Queen , Phil Collins , Philip Bailey , The Jam , Asia , Bryan Ferry , Coldplay , Muse , General Public , Duran Duran , Jamiroquai , Kylie Minogue , Oasis , XTC , Robbie Williams , Peter Gabriel , and Joan Armatrading . Studio Two's "Stone Room" was an especially popular place to record drum sounds during the 1980s, directly as a result of producer Hugh Padgham 's treatment of
12166-498: The UK and topping the charts in the US, Canada and Australia. Reportedly recorded in two weeks between live appearances, it featured " The Bitch Is Back " and " Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me ". " Step into Christmas " was released as a stand-alone single in November 1973, and appears in the album's 1995 remastered reissue. Pete Townshend of the Who asked John to play the "Local Lad" in
12324-561: The UK charts in July 2005. In October 2003, John announced that he had signed an exclusive agreement to perform 75 shows over three years at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. The show, The Red Piano , was a multimedia concert featuring massive props and video montages created by David LaChapelle . Effectively, he and Celine Dion shared performances at Caesars Palace throughout
12482-519: The UK in December 1996. A compilation album, Love Songs , was released in 1996. Early in 1997, John held a 50th birthday party, costumed as Louis XIV of France , with 500 friends. He performed with the surviving members of Queen in Paris at the opening night (17 January 1997) of Le Presbytère N'a Rien Perdu De Son Charme Ni Le Jardin De Son Éclat , a work by French ballet legend Maurice Béjart that draws upon
12640-512: The US by MCA and initially by Island in the UK), and signed acts to it—notably Neil Sedaka (John sang background vocals on Sedaka's " Bad Blood ") and Kiki Dee , in whom he took a personal interest. Instead of releasing his own records on Rocket, he signed an $ 8 million contract with MCA. When the contract was signed in 1974, MCA reportedly took out a $ 25 million insurance policy on John's life. In 1974, MCA released Elton John's Greatest Hits ,
12798-399: The US. John's highest-charting single of the decade was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick , Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder called " That's What Friends Are For ". It reached number one in the US at the beginning of 1986; credited as Dionne and Friends, the song raised funds for HIV/AIDS research . In the same year, a live orchestral version of "Candle in the Wind" reached number six in
12956-531: The US. He also played piano on two tracks on the heavy metal band Saxon 's album Rock the Nations . In 1988, he performed five sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York, giving him 26 for his career. Netting over $ 20 million, 2,000 items of John's memorabilia were auctioned off at Sotheby's in London. He also released " I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That " from the album Reg Strikes Back ,
13114-536: The United States became known as Tin Pan Alley . The name originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan , and a plaque (see below ) on the sidewalk on 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth commemorates it. The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, when several music publishers set up shop in the same district of Manhattan . The end of Tin Pan Alley
13272-476: The United States, the music industry arose in tandem with the rise of " black face " minstrelsy . Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-black performers to represent a black person . The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of negative racial stereotypes of African-American people. In the late part of the century the group of music publishers and songwriters which dominated popular music in
13430-617: The Way You Look Tonight " was released as a double A-side . On 15 September 1997, John appeared at the Music for Montserrat charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall , London, England, performing three songs solo ("Your Song", "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Live Like Horses") before finishing with " Hey Jude " alongside Paul McCartney , Eric Clapton, Phil Collins , Mark Knopfler and Sting . Two months later he performed on
13588-571: The Wind 1997 " live for the only time at Diana's funeral in Westminster Abbey . The song became the fastest- and biggest-selling single of all time, eventually selling over 33 million copies globally. The best-selling single in UK chart history, and the best-selling single in Billboard history, it is the first single certified Diamond in the US where it sold over 11 million copies. The 2009 Guinness World Records states it
13746-422: The ability to compose melodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like Jerry Lee Lewis at school functions. At age 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music . According to one of his instructors, John promptly played back, like a "gramophone record", a four-page piece by George Frideric Handel after hearing it for the first time. For the next five years, John attended Saturday classes at
13904-532: The aircast, not just the 40 minutes selected by Dick James Music. John and Taupin wrote the soundtrack to the 1971 film Friends and the album Madman Across the Water , which reached number eight in the US and included the hit songs " Levon " and the album's opening track, " Tiny Dancer ". In 1972, Davey Johnstone joined the Elton John Band on guitar and backing vocals. Released in 1972, Honky Château became John's first US number one album, spending five weeks at
14062-537: The album Made in England (number 3). The title track is an autobiographical recounting of parts of his life. The album also featured the single " Believe ". John performed "Believe" at the 1995 Brit Awards and won the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize. In September 1995, he appeared as Angel Rick on the original studio album of Randy Newman 's musical Faust . A duet with Luciano Pavarotti , " Live Like Horses ", reached number nine in
14220-450: The artists. The record producer has a range of different responsibilities including choosing material and/or working with the composers, hiring session musicians, helping to arrange the songs, overseeing the musician performances, and directing the audio engineer during recording and mixing to get the best sound. Audio engineers (including recording , mixing and mastering engineers ) are responsible for ensuring good audio quality during
14378-420: The business relationship between a recording artist and the record company. In a traditional contract, the company provides an advance to the artist who agrees to make a recording that will be owned by the company. The A&R department of a record company is responsible for finding new talent and overseeing the recording process. The company pays for the recording costs and the cost of promoting and marketing
14536-519: The businesses and artists there are organizations that also play an important role, including musician's unions (e.g. American Federation of Musicians ), not-for-profit performance-rights organizations (e.g. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ) and other associations (e.g. International Alliance for Women in Music , a non-profit organization that advocates for women composers and musicians ). The modern Western music industry emerged between
14694-537: The chart on both sides of the Atlantic, remaining at number one for two months. It also temporarily established John as a glam rock star. It contained the US number 1 " Bennie and the Jets ", along with the hits " Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ", " Candle in the Wind ", " Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting " and " Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding ". John formed his own label, The Rocket Record Company (distributed in
14852-632: The charts with the 1983 album Too Low for Zero , which included the singles " I'm Still Standing " (No. 4 UK) and " I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues ", the latter of which featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and reached number four in the US and number five in the UK. In October 1983, John caused controversy when he broke the United Nations' cultural boycott on apartheid -era South Africa by performing at Sun City . He married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel, on Valentine's Day 1984;
15010-499: The composer, although they may be sold or the rights may be otherwise assigned. For example, in the case of work for hire , the composition is owned immediately by another party. Traditionally, the copyright owner licenses or "assigns" some of their rights to publishing companies , by means of a publishing contract . The publishing company (or a collection society operating on behalf of many such publishers, songwriters and composers) collects fees (known as " publishing royalties ") when
15168-417: The composition is used. A portion of the royalties are paid by the publishing company to the copyright owner, depending on the terms of the contract. Sheet music provides an income stream that is paid exclusively to the composers and their publishing company. Typically (although not universally), the publishing company will provide the owner with an advance against future earnings when the publishing contract
15326-543: The consumers after they buy them. Buyers do not typically have the right to make digital copies from CDs or other media they buy, or rent or lease the CDs, because they do not own the recording on the CD, they only own the individual physical CD. A music distributor delivers crates of the packaged physical media from the manufacturer to the retailer and maintains commercial relationships with retailers and record companies. The music retailer pays
15484-630: The debut of the Apple iTunes Store in 2003. The popularity of music distribution over the Internet has increased, and by 2011 digital music sales topped physical sales of music. In 2008, Atlantic Records reports that digital sales have surpassed physical sales. However, as The Economist reported, "paid digital downloads grew rapidly, but did not begin to make up for the loss of revenue from CDs". After 2010, Internet-based services such as Deezer , Pandora , Spotify , and Apple's iTunes Radio began to offer subscription-based " pay to stream " services over
15642-560: The decline in sales of recordings. The 2008 British Music Rights survey showed that 80% of people in Britain wanted a legal peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing service, however only half of the respondents thought that the music's creators should be paid. The survey was consistent with the results of earlier research conducted in the United States, upon which the Open Music Model was based. Legal digital downloads became widely available with
15800-586: The distributor, who in turn pays the record company for the recordings. The record company pays mechanical royalties to the publisher and composer via a collection society. The record company then pays royalties, if contractually obligated, to the recording artist. When music is digitally downloaded or streamed , there is no physical media other than the consumer's computer memory on his or her portable media player or laptop. For this reason, artists such as Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Kings of Leon, and others have called for legal changes that would deny social media
15958-451: The downward trend was expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This dramatic decline in revenue has caused large-scale layoffs inside the industry, driven some more venerable retailers (such as Tower Records ) out of business and forced record companies, record producers, studios, recording engineers and musicians to seek new business models . In response to the rise of widespread illegal file sharing of digital music-recordings,
16116-474: The drums on Phil Collins' " In the Air Tonight ". In July 1984, Town House opened Studio Three in Battersea, which was the former Ramport Studios , purchased from the Who. Studio Three replaced Ramport's Neve console with the original Helios mixing console from Town House Studio One. The Helios console would later be replaced by another Neve console. On 27 August 1986, Bob Dylan entered the studio and recorded
16274-415: The early illegal file sharing days. However, the multitude of service offerings and revenue models make it difficult to understand the true value of each and what they can deliver for musicians and music companies. As well, there are major transparency problems throughout the music industry caused by outdated technology. With the emerging of new business models as streaming platforms, and online music services,
16432-483: The end of the 1980s, the "Big six" — EMI , CBS , BMG , PolyGram , WEA and MCA — dominated the industry. Sony bought CBS Records in 1987 and changed its name to Sony Music in 1991. In mid-1998, PolyGram Music Group merged with MCA Music Entertainment creating what we now know as Universal Music Group . Since then, Sony and BMG merged in 2004, and Universal took over the majority of EMI's recorded music interests in 2012. EMI Music Publishing , also once part of
16590-462: The end of the Elton John Band, as an unhappy and overworked John dismissed Olsson and Murray. According to Circus , a spokesman for John's manager John Reid said the decision was reached mutually via phone while John was in Australia promoting Tommy . Davey Johnstone and Ray Cooper were retained, Quaye and Roger Pope returned, and the new bassist was Kenny Passarelli; this rhythm section provided
16748-583: The family moved to a nearby semi-detached house. He was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School , until he was 17, when he left just before his A-Level examinations to pursue a career in music. When John began to consider a career in music seriously, his father, who served in the Royal Air Force , tried to steer him toward a more conventional career, such as banking. John has said that his wild stage costumes and performances were his way of letting go after
16906-531: The fight against AIDS. And also his bravery in exposing all the triumphs and tragedies of his personal life." Along with Tim Rice , John wrote the songs for the 1994 Disney animated film The Lion King . At the 67th Academy Awards , three of the five nominees for the Academy Award for Best Original Song were from The Lion King soundtrack . John won the award for " Can You Feel the Love Tonight ". Both that and " Circle of Life " became hits. "Can You Feel
17064-463: The hit song " The One ". It was his first album recorded entirely sober. As John recalled in 2020, "I was used to making records under the haze of alcohol or drugs, and here I was, 100% sober, so it was tough. But I managed to come up with a good song, which was the title of the record." He also released " Runaway Train ", a duet he recorded with his longtime friend Eric Clapton , with whom he played on Clapton's World Tour . John and Taupin then signed
17222-498: The hits " Crocodile Rock ", his first US Billboard Hot 100 number one, and " Daniel ", which reached number two in the US and number four in the UK. The album and "Crocodile Rock" were respectively the first album and single on the consolidated MCA Records label in the US, replacing MCA's other labels, including Uni. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road , a double-album released in October 1973, gained instant critical acclaim and topped
17380-408: The industry are: the songwriters and composers who write songs and musical compositions; the singers , musicians , conductors , and bandleaders who perform the music; the record labels , music publishers , recording studios , music producers , audio engineers , retail and digital music stores , and performance rights organizations who create and sell recorded music and sheet music; and
17538-473: The industry was dominated by the "Big Six": Sony Music and BMG had not yet merged, and PolyGram had not yet been absorbed into Universal Music Group. After the PolyGram-Universal merger, the 1998 market shares reflected a "Big Five", commanding 77.4% of the market, as follows, according to MEI World Report 2000: In 2004, the joint venture of Sony and BMG created the 'Big Four' at a time the global market
17696-429: The largest recorded music retailer in the world was now a digital, Internet -based platform operated by a computer company: Apple Inc. 's online iTunes Store . Since 2011, the music industry has seen consistent sales growth with streaming now generating more revenue per year than digital downloads. Spotify , Apple Music , and Amazon Music are the largest streaming services by subscriber count. The main branches of
17854-399: The late 1880s, and later the onset of widespread radio broadcasting , starting in the 1920s, forever changed the way music was heard and listened to. Opera houses, concert halls, and clubs continued to produce music and musicians and singers continued to perform live, but the power of radio allowed bands, ensembles and singers who had previously performed only in one region to become popular on
18012-486: The lyrics if he could not come up with anything quickly. For two years they wrote easy-listening tunes for James to peddle to singers. Their early output included a contender for the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1969 , for Lulu, called "I Can't Go On (Living Without You)". It came sixth of six songs. In 1969, John provided piano for Roger Hodgson on his first released single, "Mr. Boyd" by Argosy,
18170-461: The majority of their income, which in turn has made them more dependent – like pre-20th-century musicians – on patrons, now exemplified by music promoters such as Live Nation (which dominates tour promotion and owns or manages a large number of music venues ). In order to benefit from all of an artist's income streams, record companies increasingly rely on the " 360 deal ", a new business-relationship pioneered by Robbie Williams and EMI in 2007. At
18328-491: The market as a brand and, as such, they may derive income from many other streams, such as merchandise , personal endorsements, appearances (without performing) at events or Internet-based services. These are typically overseen by the artist's manager and take the form of relationships between the artist and companies that specialize in these products. Singers may also hire a vocal coach , dance instructor , acting coach , personal trainer or life coach to help them. In
18486-470: The market: After the absorption of EMI by Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group in December 2011 the "big three" were created and on January 8, 2013, after the merger there were layoffs of forty workers from EMI. European regulators forced Universal Music to spin off EMI assets which became the Parlophone Label Group which was acquired by Warner Music Group. Nielsen SoundScan issued
18644-400: The marriage lasted three years. In 1984, he released Breaking Hearts , which featured the song " Sad Songs (Say So Much) ", a number five hit in the US and number seven in the UK. In 1985, John was one of the many performers at Live Aid , held at Wembley Stadium . He played "Bennie and the Jets" and "Rocket Man"; then "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" with Kiki Dee for the first time since
18802-528: The most part with the support of patronage from aristocracies and churches . In the mid-to-late 18th century, performers and composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began to seek more commercial opportunities to market their music and performances to the general public. After Mozart's death, his wife ( Constanze Weber ) continued the process of commercialization of his music through an unprecedented series of memorial concerts, selling his manuscripts, and collaborating with her second husband, Georg Nissen , on
18960-426: The music business by migrating "them away from piracy and less monetized platforms and allowing them to generate far greater royalties than before" by encouraging users to use their paid service. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) revealed in its 2015 earnings report that streaming services were responsible for 34.3 percent of the year's U.S. recorded-music-industry revenue, growing 29 percent from
19118-504: The music industry are the live music industry, the recording industry , and all the companies that train, support, supply and represent musicians. The recording industry produces three separate products: compositions (songs, pieces, lyrics), recordings (audio and video) and media (such as CDs or MP3s , and DVDs ). These are each a type of property : typically, compositions are owned by composers, recordings by record companies, and media by consumers. There may be many recordings of
19276-625: The musical after seeing the 2000 British coming-of-age film Billy Elliot , saying of the titular character, "he's like me". Opening to strong reviews, the show won four Laurence Olivier Awards , including Best New Musical . The 12th-longest-running musical in West End history , the London production, which featured Tom Holland as Billy for two years, ran through April 2016, with 4,566 performances. As of December 2015, Billy Elliot has been seen by over 5.25 million people in London and nearly 11 million people worldwide (on Broadway where it won
19434-480: The name of a horse in British sitcom Steptoe and Son , of which John was a big fan. The team of John and Taupin joined Dick James 's DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968, and over the next two years wrote material for various artists, among them Roger Cook and Lulu . Taupin would write a batch of lyrics in under an hour and give it to John, who would write music for each of them in half an hour, disposing of
19592-683: The now defunct British conglomerate, is now co-owned by Sony as a subsidiary of Sony/ATV Music Publishing . As in other industries, the record industry is characterised by many mergers and/or acquisitions, for the major companies as well as for middle sized business (recent example is given by the Belgium group PIAS and French group Harmonia Mundi ). Genre-wise, music entrepreneurs expanded their industry models into areas like folk music , in which composition and performance had continued for centuries on an ad hoc self-supporting basis. Forming an independent record label , or "indie" label, or signing to such
19750-536: The other extreme, record companies can offer a simple manufacturing- and distribution-deal , which gives a higher percentage to the artist, but does not cover the expenses of marketing and promotion. Companies like Kickstarter help independent musicians produce their albums through fans funding bands they want to listen to. Many newer artists no longer see a record deal as an integral part of their business plan at all. Inexpensive recording-hardware and -software make it possible to record reasonable-quality music on
19908-465: The overuse of YouTube and offline streaming, album sales have fallen by 60 percent in the past few years. When recordings are used in television and film , the composer and their publishing company are typically paid through a synchronization license . In the 2000s, online subscription services (such as Rhapsody ) also provide an income stream directly to record companies, and through them, to artists, contracts permitting. A promoter brings together
20066-416: The pair performed these two number-one hits, along with the Beatles' " I Saw Her Standing There ", at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Lennon made the rare stage appearance with John and his band to keep the promise he had made that he would appear on stage with him if "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" became a US number-one single. Caribou was released in 1974, becoming John's third number one in
20224-414: The previous year and becoming the largest source of income, pulling in around $ 2.4 billion. US streaming revenue grew 57 percent to $ 1.6 billion in the first half of 2016 and accounted for almost half of industry sales. This contrasts with the $ 14.6 billion in revenue that was received in 1999 by the U.S. music industry from the sale of CDs. The turmoil in the recorded-music industry in the 2000s altered
20382-589: The publishing royalties described above. This portion is similar to a percentage, but may be limited or expanded by a number of factors (such as free goods, recoupable expenses, bonuses, etc.) that are specified by the record contract. Session musicians and orchestra members (as well as a few recording artists in special markets) are under contract to provide work for hire ; they are typically only paid one-time fees or regular wages for their services, rather than ongoing royalties. Physical media (such as CDs or vinyl records) are sold by music retailers and are owned by
20540-444: The record industry took aggressive legal action. In 2001 it succeeded in shutting down the popular music-website Napster , and threatened legal action against thousands of individuals who participated in sharing music-song sound-files. However, this failed to slow the decline in music-recording revenue and proved a public-relations disaster for the music industry. Some academic studies have even suggested that downloads did not cause
20698-494: The record previously held by Andrew Lloyd Webber 's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera . In addition to The Lion King , John composed music for Disney's musical production Aida in 1999 with lyricist Tim Rice , for which they received the Tony Award for Best Original Score at the 54th Tony Awards , and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards . The musical had its world premiere at
20856-415: The record. For physical media (such as CDs ), the company also pays to manufacture and distribute the physical recordings. Smaller record companies (known as " indies ") will form business relationships with other companies to handle many of these tasks. The record company pays the recording artist a portion of the income from the sale of the recordings, also known as a "royalty", but this is distinct from
21014-510: The recording, but others may restrict the user to storing the music on a specific number of hard drives or devices. When a recording is broadcast (either on radio or by a background music service such as Muzak ), performance rights organisations (such as the ASCAP and BMI in the US, SOCAN in Canada, or MCPS and PRS in the UK), collect a third type of royalty known as a performance royalty, which
21172-524: The recording. They select and set up microphones and use effects units and mixing consoles to adjust the sound and level of the music. A recording session may also require the services of an arranger , orchestrator , studio musicians , session musicians , vocal coaches , or even a discreetly hired ghostwriter to help with the lyrics or songwriting . Recordings are (traditionally) owned by record companies . Some artists own their own record companies (e.g. Ani DiFranco ). A recording contract specifies
21330-555: The right to stream their music without paying them royalties. In the digital and online music market of the 2000s, the distributor becomes optional. Large online shops may pay the labels directly, but digital distributors do exist to provide distribution services for vendors large and small. When purchasing digital downloads or listening to music streaming, the consumer may be required to agree to record company and vendor licensing terms beyond those which are inherent in copyright ; for example, some services may allow consumers to freely share
21488-435: The rights of all the parties involved. Also compounding the issue of defining copyright boundaries is the fact that the definition of "royalty" and "copyright" varies from country to country and region to region, which changes the terms of some of these business relationships. After 15 or so years of the Internet economy, the digital music industry platforms like iTunes , Spotify , and Google Play are major improvements over
21646-477: The same ad. John wrote music for the lyrics and then sent it to Taupin, which began their decades-long partnership that still continues . When the two first met in 1967, they recorded the first John/Taupin song, "Scarecrow". Six months later, John began going by the name Elton John in homage to two members of Bluesology: saxophonist Elton Dean and vocalist Long John Baldry . He legally changed his name to Elton Hercules John on 7 January 1972. "Hercules" came from
21804-461: The sheet music publishers as the music industry's largest force. A multitude of record labels came and went. Some noteworthy labels of the earlier decades include the Columbia Records , Crystalate, Decca Records , Edison Bell, The Gramophone Company , Invicta, Kalliope, Pathé , Victor Talking Machine Company and many others. Many record companies died out as quickly as they had formed, and by
21962-458: The single reaching number two in the US in 1988. His albums continued to sell, but of those released in the latter half of the 1980s, only Reg Strikes Back (number 16, 1988) placed in the top 20 in the US. In 1990, John achieved his first solo UK number one hit single, with " Sacrifice " (coupled with " Healing Hands ") from the previous year's album Sleeping with the Past ; it stayed at
22120-537: The song for as long as they continue to pay the streaming subscription. Once the user stops paying the subscription, they cannot listen to audio from the company's repositories anymore. Streaming services began to have a serious impact on the industry in 2014. Spotify , together with the music-streaming industry in general, faces some criticism from artists claiming they are not being fairly compensated for their work as downloaded-music sales decline and music-streaming increases. Unlike physical or download sales, which pay
22278-570: The songs that launched his career as a rock star; he lived there until he had four albums simultaneously in the American Top 40. At age 15, with his mother's and stepfather's help, John was hired as a pianist at a nearby pub, the Northwood Hills Hotel, playing Thursday to Sunday nights. Known simply as "Reggie", he played a range of popular standards, including songs by Jim Reeves and Ray Charles , as well as his own songs. A stint with
22436-537: The studio the following day and may have decided to record further songs. In 1992, Branson sold Virgin Records, including the Virgin Studios Group and The Town House, to EMI . In 2002, the Sanctuary Group bought the studio from EMI. Al Stone, a recording engineer and producer who trained at The Town House, ran the studios for Sanctuary beginning in 2006, only to see Universal close it around April 2008 after
22594-490: The top 20 there, with the latter reaching the top 5. In 1979, accompanied by Ray Cooper , John became one of the first Western artists to tour the Soviet Union and Israel. John returned to the US top ten with " Mama Can't Buy You Love " (number 9), a song MCA rejected in 1977, recorded with Philadelphia soul producer Thom Bell . John said Bell was the first person to give him voice lessons and encouraged him to sing in
22752-642: The top of the Billboard 200 , and began a streak of seven consecutive US number-one albums. The album reached number two in the UK, and spawned the hit singles " Rocket Man " and " Honky Cat ". In 1972 John performed at the Royal Variety Performance , where he was upstaged by the dancing of Larry Smith , the drummer with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band . Smith was invited to join John's second US tour; Smith later said: "I suggested adding in various other bizarre elements like me doing " Singin' in
22910-491: The top spot for five weeks. The following year, "Basque" won the Grammy for Best Instrumental , and a guest concert appearance at Wembley Arena John made on George Michael 's cover of " Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me " was released as a single and topped the charts in both the UK and the US. At the 1991 Brit Awards in London, John won Best British Male. In 1992, John released the US number 8 album The One , featuring
23068-404: The twentieth-century balance between artists, record companies, promoters, retail music-stores and consumers. As of 2010 , big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy sell more records than music-only CD stores, which have ceased to function as a major player in the music industry. Music-performing artists now rely on live performance and merchandise sales (T-shirts, sweatshirts, etc.) for
23226-608: The year at the first annual Rock Music Awards in Santa Monica, California. In May 1976, the live album Here and There was released, followed in October by the album Blue Moves , which contained the single " Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word ". His biggest success in 1976 was " Don't Go Breaking My Heart ", a duet with Kiki Dee that topped a number of charts, including the UK, the US, Australia, France and Canada. Besides being John's most commercially successful period, 1970–1976
23384-940: The year; while one performed, the other rested. The first of these shows took place on 13 February 2004. In February 2006, John and Dion sang together at the venue to raise money for Harrah's Entertainment Inc. workers affected by the 2005 hurricanes, performing "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" and "Saturday Night's Alright (for Fighting)". The Walt Disney Company named John a Disney Legend for his contributions to Disney's films and theatrical works on 9 October 2006. Also in 2006, he told Rolling Stone that he planned for his next record to be in R&;B and hip hop . "I want to work with Pharrell Williams , Timbaland , Snoop [Dogg] , Kanye [West] , Eminem and just see what happens", he said. West sampled John's "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" on his 2007 song " Good Morning " and in 2010 invited him to his Hawaii studio to play piano and sing on " All of
23542-631: Was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2020. Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947 in Pinner , Middlesex (now part of the London Borough of Harrow ), the eldest child of Stanley Dwight (1925–1991) and only child of Sheila Eileen (née Harris; 1925–2017). He was raised in a council house in Pinner by his maternal grandparents. His parents married in 1945, when
23700-800: Was backing touring American soul and R&B musicians such as the Isley Brothers , Major Lance and Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles . In 1966, the band became Long John Baldry 's supporting band and played 16 times at the Marquee Club . In 1967, John answered an advertisement in the British music paper New Musical Express , placed by Ray Williams , then the A&;R manager for Liberty Records . At their first meeting, Williams gave John an unopened envelope of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin , who had answered
23858-530: Was determined by a postcard lottery, with each winner allowed two tickets. Everyone who attended the performances received a hardbound "yearbook" of the band's history. That year, he also played piano on Kevin Ayers 's Sweet Deceiver and was among the first and few white artists to appear on the African-American television series Soul Train . On 9 August 1975, John was named the outstanding rock personality of
24016-452: Was estimated at $ 30–40 billion. Total annual unit sales (CDs, music videos, MP3s ) in 2004 were 3 billion. Additionally, according to an IFPI report published in August 2005, the big four accounted for 71.7% of retail music sales: US music market shares, according to Nielsen SoundScan (2011) Nielsen SoundScan in their 2011 report noted that the "big four" controlled about 88% of
24174-522: Was extraordinary for the complexity of his white mensural notation and the smallness of his font. He printed the first book of polyphony (music with two or more independent melodic lines) using movable type. He also published numerous works by the most highly regarded composers of the Renaissance, including Josquin des Prez and Antoine Brumel . He flourished by focusing on Flemish works, rather than Italian, as they were very popular throughout Europe during
24332-615: Was home to a 72-input Helios console with an Alison 64K computer mixdown system, which now resides at Shorefire Recording Studios, Long Branch, New Jersey , United States. The Town House established a close relationship with Solid State Logic when it became the first studio in the UK to install an SL 4000 B Series console in Studio Two in 1978. SSL commemorated the partnership in 1995 by installing its 1000th console, an SL 4000 G+, in The Town House's Studio One. Artists that recorded at
24490-526: Was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandmother. When his father was home, the Dwights had vehement arguments that greatly distressed John. When he was 14, they divorced. His mother then married a local painter, Fred Farebrother, a caring and supportive stepfather whom John affectionately called "Derf" ("Fred" backward). They moved into flat No. 3A in an eight-unit apartment building called Frome Court, not far from both previous homes. There John wrote
24648-516: Was released in April 1970 on DJM Records/ Pye Records in the UK and Uni Records in the US, and established the formula for subsequent albums: gospel-chorded rockers and poignant ballads. The album's first single, " Border Song ", peaked at 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 . The second, " Your Song ", reached number seven in the UK Singles Chart and number eight in the US, becoming John's first hit single as
24806-450: Was released in October 1970 and reached number two in the UK and number five in the US. The live album 17-11-70 (titled 11–17–70 in the US) was recorded at a live show aired from A&R Studios on WABC-FM in New York City. Sales of the live album took a blow in the US when an east-coast bootlegger released the performance several weeks before the official album, including all 60 minutes of
24964-710: Was released, which was the soundtrack to the British animated television series of the same name. "Up The Revolution" was John's track, alongside contributions from George Harrison , the Bee Gees and Eric Clapton. The album was issued briefly, and only in the UK. "For myself as well as for many others no one has been there more for inspiration than Elton John. When we talk of great rock duos like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant , John (Lennon) and Paul (McCartney) , Mick (Jagger) and Keith (Richards) , I like to think of Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Also tonight I think that Elton should be honoured for his great work and contribution in
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