the recording industry in Portugal

What is it about?

This article describes the recording industry in Portugal during the years from 1988 to 2008 through an examination of the strategies and policies developed by both the major and independent labels in regard to Portugal’s domestic repertoire. Based on data collected from interviews with record label managers and other staff, as well as quantitative data obtained from the Portuguese Phonographic Association (AFP), I contextualize the findings within broader discussions about the music-recording industry and alternative music industries. One major focus is on debates surrounding “the local” vis-à-vis “the transnational” in the context of the music-recording industry.

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Why is it important?

Most accounts on the recording industry has been anglocentric foccusing in the american and british cases. Little is known about the recording industry in more peripheral countries such as Portugal. This articles gives the reader an insight on the impacts of both the multinational record companies and the local independent labels in the music industry in a semi-peripheral country during two distinctive periods: one of growth in the recording sector (1988-2000) and one of crisis (2001-2008).