The 'big four'

Four major music labels--Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group and Warner Music Group--and their sub-labels or "imprints" account for more than four out of every five songs sold in the U.S., and 70% of music sold worldwide. Here's a look at the Big Four, as they are known in the industry, and their associated labels and artists:

Universal Music Group

2005 Market Share: 25.5%

Revenues: $5.794 billion

Label Imprints Include: Interscope, Island Def Jam, Motown, and Universal

Artists Include: 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Timbaland, Pussycat Dolls, Mary J. Bilge

Parent Company: French conglomerate Vivendi SA

CEO: Doug Morris, Chairman

Sony BMG Music Entertainment

2005 Market Share: 21%

2005 Revenues: $5 billion (est.) (2006 Sony revenue $63.98 billion; BMG revenue $2.72 billion)

Label Imprinfa Include: Arista, Jive, LaFace, Epic, RCA, Zomba

Artists Include: Three 6 Mafia, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Outkast

Parent Company: 50% owned by Bertelsmann, 50% by Sony

CEO: Andrew Lack, Chairman of the Board of Directors

EMI Group

2005 Market Share: 13.4%

2006 Revenues: $3.618 billion

Label imprints Include: Capitol, EMI, Virgin

Artists Include: Chingy, Corinne Bailey Rae, Pharrell Williams

Parent Company: EMI Group plc

CEO: Eric Nicoli

Warner Music Group

2005 Market Share: 11.3%

2006 Revenues: $3.516 billion

Label Imprints Include: Atlantic, Warner Brothers, Bad Boy, Elektra

Artists Include: Diddy, MJG, Twista, Missy Elliott, Fat Joe, Talib Kweli, LeToya

Parent Company: Warner Music Group (no longer owned by Time Warner)

CEO: Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Chairman

Reported by Kelley L. Carter

SOURCES: EBONY research, music labels' Web sites, Edclectic Entertainment, "All You Need to Know About the Music Business, " Hoovers Online

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