# Record label branding: a house look across many artists [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/record-label-branding) A label puts out records by people who do not want to look like each other. Its identity has to be strong enough to recognise and quiet enough to leave every artist room. ## The short version - Record label branding works best when the label owns the frame and each artist owns the picture inside it. - A label's frame usually means its logo, a fixed position for it, a credit typeface and a catalogue number system. - Catalogue numbers are a cheap, durable piece of identity because they appear on every release, in the same format, for years. - Release templates for announcements, pre-saves, release day and anniversaries let a small team keep up with a busy schedule. - Labels with a strong house look are recognisable even when every artist on them looks completely different. Strong **record label branding** draws a clear line: the label owns the frame, the artist owns the picture. The label's part is small and fixed, a logo in the same spot, a credit typeface, a catalogue number on every release and a set of release templates. The artist's part is everything else: the cover art, the colours, the title lettering, the mood. Get that split right and the label becomes recognisable across a whole roster without any two artists looking alike. ## Label identity versus artist identity The tension is real. Artists sign to a label partly for its reputation, and want its name on their record, but nobody wants their album to look like a template. Write down who owns what, early, and share it with every artist and designer you work with. ### The label owns - Logo and its fixed position on covers and posts - Credit and tracklist typeface - Catalogue number format - Layout of release day and pre-save posts - Tone of the label's own captions ### The artist owns - Cover art and photography - Colour world for the era - Title lettering - Their own feed and voice - Motion and video style Some of the most admired labels pushed the label's side much further. Blue Note's covers of the 1950s and 60s, designed largely by Reid Miles, shared a bold typographic language across very different musicians, and Factory Records numbered nearly everything it made, posters included, with FAC catalogue numbers. You do not need to go that far, but both show how a consistent frame turns a list of releases into a body of work. ## Catalogue numbers as a design system A catalogue number is the cheapest identity asset a label has. It appears on every sleeve, every listing and every post, and once the format is set it never needs redesigning. Pick a short prefix, a fixed number of digits and a place for it on every design. ```text NLR001 Harbour Lights Ada Rowe LP NLR002 Static Bloom The Kestrels EP NLR003 Low Season Ada Rowe Single NLR004 North Light Vol. 1 Various Compilation ``` A simple scheme: a three letter prefix and three digits. Collectors love completing a run, and the numbers become part of the label's story. Set the catalogue number in the credit typeface, small, in the same corner of every cover and every release post. Over time it becomes a quiet signature, the kind of [distinctive brand asset](https://gradiently.design/guide/distinctive-brand-assets) that is recognised before it is read. ## Release templates for every stage A label with ten artists may have a release every few weeks, each needing announcements, pre-save links, release day posts and follow ups across several platforms. Templates are what make that manageable. Build each one with a fixed label strip and an open area for the artist's artwork. | Stage | Formats | What changes per release | | --- | --- | --- | | Announcement | 1080×1350 post, 1080×1920 story | Artwork, title, date, catalogue number | | Pre-save | 1080×1920 story | Artwork, link, release date | | Out now | 1080×1350 post, 1080×1920 story | Artwork, title, streaming line | | Canvas loop | 1080×1920 Spotify canvas | Motion in the artist's colours | | Playlist cover | 1080×1080 | Label playlist title, new artwork | | Anniversary | 1080×1350 post | "Five years of" line, original artwork | A release kit. The label strip and catalogue number sit in the same place on each; the artist's art fills the rest. A portrait record label announcement for Ada Rowe's debut album Harbour Lights, catalogue number NLR001, out Friday 5 March An announcement in the label's template: artist and catalogue number on top, title large, release date below. A vertical release day story for The Kestrels EP Static Bloom with the catalogue number NLR002 A release day story for a different artist on a different Mark, with the same label layout. Most distributors ask for square cover art at a large size, often 3000×3000 pixels; check your distributor's own requirements before the artwork is final. For the moving artwork behind a track on Spotify, see [Spotify canvas size](https://gradiently.design/guide/spotify-canvas-size). ## A house look that leaves room for every artist There are two broad ways to run a label's look. A **unified** label gives every release the same palette and type, which reads strongly but suits labels with one sound. A **framed** label keeps only the strip, logo and catalogue number fixed and lets each artist bring their own colour world. Most independent labels with varied rosters are happier framed. - Ada Rowe: harbour blue: `linear-gradient(160deg, #0f172a 0%, #1e3a8a 55%, #93c5fd 100%)` - The Kestrels: burnt orange: `radial-gradient(circle at 30% 30%, #fde68a 0%, #ea580c 50%, #431407 100%)` - Moss Theory: acid moss: `linear-gradient(150deg, #ecfccb 0%, #84cc16 45%, #1a2e05 100%)` - Label strip: paper to ink: `linear-gradient(170deg, #fafaf9 0%, #d6d3d1 60%, #1c1917 100%)` A framed label: three artists with their own colour worlds, and a neutral label strip that sits with all of them. Keep the label's own channels in the neutral strip colours, so the label account reads as a curator rather than another artist. [Musician branding](https://gradiently.design/guide/musician-branding) covers the artist's side of the deal in depth, and [sub-brands](https://gradiently.design/guide/sub-brands) explains the same parent and child structure in other industries. ## Running a roster in one place 1. **One brand per artist** In Gradiently one account runs several brands, so each artist gets their own brand kit with logos, palettes and fonts. [Brands in Gradiently](https://gradiently.design/guide/brands-in-gradiently) shows how. 2. **A Mark for each artist's era** A claimed Mark gives an artist a background nobody else can export, with a numbered certificate in the owner's name. 3. **Share the release templates** Keep the label strip in templates, so whoever is posting this week starts from the same layout. 4. **Invite the team** With Pro, a workspace gives managers and designers editor roles and artists viewer access, so they see every design before it goes out. 5. **Plan for artists who leave** Marks can be given to anyone on Gradiently for free, so an artist's look can move into their own name if they move on. Release week is also when gig and club promotion peaks; [DJ flyer design](https://gradiently.design/guide/dj-flyer-design) has formats for launch nights. ## FAQ ### Should a record label have a consistent look across artists? Most labels keep a consistent frame, such as the logo position, credit typeface and catalogue number, and let each artist own their cover art and colours. ### What is a catalogue number on a record? A unique code a label gives each release, usually a short prefix and a number such as NLR001. It identifies the release and becomes part of the label's identity. ### What templates does a record label need? Announcement, pre-save, release day, playlist cover and anniversary templates, in feed and story sizes, each with a fixed label strip and space for artwork. ### What size should album artwork be? Square, and large. Many distributors ask for 3000×3000 pixels, but check your distributor's own requirements.