user-mode driver framework ( umdf ) is a device-driver development platform first introduced with microsoft 's windows vista operating system , and is also available for windows xp .

it facilitates the creation of drivers for certain classes of devices .

user - mode driver framework

for ways to use these extensions , see user - mode driver framework debugging .
user mode driver framework architecture ( windows embedded ce 6 . 0 ) | microsoft docs
this topic describes the advantages of writing a user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) driver instead of a kernel - mode driver .
when a driver is flagged as a user mode driver in the registry , the device manager will access the user mode driver reflector . the user mode driver reflector launches the appropriate user mode driver host process and forwards i / o requests to it . the user mode driver host process in turn forwards i / o requests to the user mode driver .
the user mode driver framework is divided into two physical components . the first component is the user mode driver reflector , which resides inside the device manager . the second component is the user mode driver host , which is a user mode application that is launched and managed by the user mode driver reflector .
in an implementation , non - hardware kernel stub interfaces may be provided by a user - mode framework reflector 108 . the user - mode framework reflector 108 may be a kernel - mode windows device mode ( wdm ) filter driver that is installed at the top of a kernel - mode device stack for each device that a user - mode framework driver 101 manages . the user - mode framework reflector 108 manages communication between the kernel - mode components and the user - mode driver host process .
microsoft user - mode driver framework feature pack 1 . 0 - add or remove programs entry information
user - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 update for windows 7 , and windows server 2008 r2
user - mode driver framework : technical synopsis peter wieland development lead windows device experience group microsoft corporation .
extension commands that are useful for debugging user - mode driver framework drivers are implemented in wudfext . dll .
windows 10 , version 1803 ( redstone 4 ) includes kernel - mode driver framework ( kmdf ) version 1 . 25 and user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) version 2 . 25 .
kernel - mode driver framework ( kmdf ) version 1 . 11 update for windows 7
the process of using a user mode driver begins with a user application or with a parent bus driver . user applications and parent bus drivers can load user mode drivers by calling activatedevice or activatedeviceex . user applications and parent bus drivers can unload user mode drivers by calling deactivatedevice . once loaded , any user application or driver can access the user mode driver by using the device handle .
in this topic , you ' ll learn about the naming conventions for the file names of the kernel - mode driver framework ( kmdf ) library and the user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) library .
add or remove programs entry for microsoft user - mode driver framework feature pack 1 . 0 . microsoft ' s user - mode driver framework feature pack is a component of windows media player 11 required to interact with zunes and other peripherals .
18 . the device driver framework of claim 17 , wherein the user - mode module is stopped and a driver call stack is unwound .
urltoken ; note : the asterisks and different addresses allow your urltoken to update the kernel - mode driver framework to that do not have the 1 . 11 version of kmdf , windows 7 sp1 , windows7 . the kernel - mode driver framework ( kmdf ) version 1 . 11 update contains the following changes : kernel - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 update for windows . error code 8004402f for important update for kernel - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 for windows 7 update for kernel - mode driver framework version . update for kernel - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 for windows 7 ( kb2685811 ) keeps failing error 8007007e ? upload failed . resolve imaging issues with your drivers and dell hardware by updating your kernel mode driver framework to 1 . 11 . client portal log in newsletter sign up kk remote . update for kernel - mode driver framework update for kernel - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 for windows 7 failed error details : code 80041002 update . windows 8 . 1 includes user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) version 2 . 0 and kernel - mode driver framework iot core updates ; windows 8 . 1 includes user - mode driver . unable to install windows update : update : update kernel - mode driver framework . i am unable to update the kernel - mode driver framework ver 1 . 11 for windows . windows update - kernel - mode driver framework version kernel - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 failed update ; i have been getting a
windows framework driver . kernel - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 update for windows that have failed . and install version 1 . 11 of the files . during driver .
this section contains information that applies only to user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) versions 1 . 11 and earlier .
this topic lists available user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) sample drivers that you can download from the windows driver samples repository on github .
18 . windows user mode driver framework virtual printer driver clr host . net data converter . net data converter . net data converter native native native
the following diagram shows how driver host processes , driver manager , and reflector communicate across the user mode / kernel mode boundary .
at 206 , the umdf user - mode code prepares a dma transfer . the user - mode framework driver 101 may invoke the kernel stub 106 to perform device programming for this dma operation .
download user - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 update for windows 7 , and windows server 2008 r2 from official microsoft download center
kernel and user mode driver framework 1 . 11 update - what it is and why you need it ! - updated ! ! !
figure 1 : microdrivers split device driver functionality between a kernel - mode component and a user - mode component .
this topic describes how the driver manager builds a user - mode device stack , and how the host process , reflector , and driver manager process an i / o request that an application sends to a user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) driver .
for a complete description of the extension commands in wudfext . dll , see user - mode driver framework extensions ( wudfext . dll ) .
providing the user - mode driver and the kernel stub at a same interrupt level .
the user mode driver has restricted access rights to the hardware , which prevents it from being able to accommodate requests such as mapping physical memory or calling interrupt functions . to accomplish these types of requests , the user mode driver calls the user mode driver reflector , and enables the user mode driver reflector to handle the request . the user mode driver reflector then checks the user request against the registry settings to determine whether it should perform the requested action . unlike with interrupts and the mapping of physical addresses , the user mode driver can , via the device handle and without the aid of the user mode driver reflector , access the parent bus driver regardless of where the parent bus driver is located .
stopping user - mode driver execution if a device exception is encountered using the reset stub .
at 308 , the user - mode framework reflector 108 sends a software interrupt to the user - mode framework driver 101 to take control of the processing . at 310 , the user - mode framework driver 101 may synchronize access with registers and other resources . the isr or kernel stub 106 may queue a deferred procedure call to finish i / o operations at a lower priority ( irql ) than that at which the isr executes .
i am sure you ' ve heard a lot about the kernel mode driver framework ( kmdf ) , the new paradigm for writing kernel mode drivers for windows . but have you heard about the user mode driver framework ( umdf ) ? this article introduces umdf and gives a brief overview of its architecture .
the driver host process loads vendor - supplied umdf drivers and framework dlls , provides an execution environment for user - mode drivers , and routes messages between drivers in a user - mode stack . for more information , see umdf driver host process .
the umdf driver is an in - process com component that controls the hardware from user mode .
the user mode driver reflector , which is aware of the original process and the destination process , uses cefsiocontrol to forward the device manager ' s request to the user mode driver host . the user mode driver host then parses the request to either load , unload , or call the parent bus driver ' s entry .
the reflector is a kernel mode wdm filter driver that is installed at the top of the kernel mode device stack for each device that is managed by a umdf driver . the reflector manages communication between the kernel mode components and the user mode driver host process .
synchronizing the kernel stub and the user - mode driver using a deferred procedure call ( dpc ) .
a combination of the kernel stubs , the software based fault isolation mechanism 107 , or the user - mode framework reflector 108 may monitor for an interrupt storm and reset the device if one occurs . in some implementations , upon detection of an interrupt storm , the isr may be routed through the user - mode framework reflector 108 , or there may be some communication between a kernel interrupt dispatcher and the user - mode framework reflector 108 such that the user - mode framework reflector 108 can detect or be notified when a device is causing an interrupt storm . the user - mode framework reflector 108 may then call stub _ reset ( i . e . , the reset stub 105 ) , and then either notify or terminate the host driver .
if the driver is a user mode driver , the call to activatedevice or to activatedeviceex will result in the device manager calling the user mode driver reflector function as well . a driver is recognized as a user mode driver when the flags value is set to the setting devflags _ load _ as _ userproc ( 0x10 ) in the registry key of the device .
user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) debugging extensions are implemented in the extension module wudfext . dll . you can use these extensions to debug drivers that use umdf .
in an implementation , a dma device for a user - mode framework driver is one that implements no device specific kernel code . the device may have the following attributes :
you can debug a umdf driver by using user - mode debuggers or kernel - mode debuggers . for more info , see debugging wdf drivers .
all wdf driver samples and visual studio driver templates are universal windows driver compliant .
windows driver frameworks ( wdf ) is a set of libraries that you can use to write device drivers that run on the windows operating system . wdf defines a single driver model that is supported by two frameworks : kernel - mode driver framework ( kmdf ) and user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) . this topic provides answers to frequently asked questions about umdf .
in some implementations , drivers are written completely in a user - mode framework . no code in the kernel results in a very stable implementation , where generic driver functions from a split driver model are sufficient .
similar to a kernel - mode stack , the construction and tear down of a user - mode stack is driven by plug and play ( pnp ) events . after the kernel - mode stack has been built , the reflector notifies the driver manager to start construction of the user - mode stack . the driver manager launches the driver host process and provides sufficient information to the launched process to build the user - mode stack . in this way , the user - mode stack can be considered an extension of the kernel - mode stack .
the user - mode framework reflector 108 may invoke the kernel stubs to handle requests for “stub operations” in response to xksoperation calls in the xks _ uapi . the user - mode framework reflector 108 may call a kernel stub interface at dirql holding the proper locks in a manner that allows for safe execution of the kernel stubs using xfi . in an implementation , the downcall interface for the user - mode framework reflector 108 to call an kernel stub operation could be :
the run - time environment dispatches i / o requests , loads the driver , constructs and destroys the user mode device stack , manages a user mode thread pool , and handles messages from the reflector and the driver managers .
the run - time environment dispatches i / o requests , loads the driver , constructs and destroys the user mode device stack , manages a user mode thread pool , and handles message from the reflector and the driver manager .
how does a user i / o sent to a umdf driver get processed ? as figure 1 shows , a user mode application sends its requests to kernel mode as for any device . once in kernel mode , the reflector sends the requests to the proper wudfhost process running in user mode for processing . the action of the requests is totally transparent to the application - - only the umdf driver knows it is running in user mode .
this topic provides a high - level overview of user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) components and describes how your driver interacts with system - supplied components . it applies to both umdf versions 1 and 2 .
windows driver frameworks ( wdf ) contains umdf , a framework for the creation of user - mode drivers . like kernel - mode driver framework ( kmdf ) , umdf provides an abstraction layer from wdm , handling much of the plug and play ( pnp ) and power management functionality , and allowing the driver to opt in for specific functionality and event handling .
a reflector to manage communication between the user - mode module and the kernel stub .
when a driver is in user mode , the pbuscontext passed into activatedeviceex must be a dword instead of a pointer .
a umdf driver can receive i / o requests from a kernel - mode driver . for more info about kernel - mode clients , see supporting kernel - mode clients in umdf 2 drivers .
if you built your driver using a version of the kmdf library that is more recent than the version of the framework that is on the system , then the latter must be updated . for information about updating the framework library , see redistributable framework components .
. second , it must move the remaining ( non - critical ) functions to a user - mode component , and generate code for communication between the kernel - mode and user - mode components . this is achieved by the
a microdriver consists of a kernel - mode component that implements critical functionality and a user - mode process that implements non - critical functionality . device driver functionality is split between the kernel - mode and user - mode components at function boundaries . the two components communicate using an lrpc - like mechanism [
the driver host process provides the execution environment for user - mode drivers and routes messages between drivers in the user - mode stack . the reflector uses a message - based interprocess communication mechanism to communicate with the driver manager and host process .
into microdrivers . this provides a path to execute device drivers written for commodity operating systems in user - mode without sacrificing performance . prior efforts at user - mode device drivers have either required rewriting the driver completely [
the umdf driver is an in - process component object model ( com ) component that controls the hardware from user mode .
user - mode drivers operate in a much simpler environment than kernel - mode drivers . for example , kernel - mode drivers must take into account irql , page faults , and thread context . in user mode , however , these issues do not exist . user - mode drivers always run in a different thread from the requesting process and can always take page faults .
19 . the device driver framework of claim 18 , wherein the kernel stub calls a deferred procedure call ( dpc ) to synchronize with one of an interrupt service routine and the user - mode module .
for an overview of how to debug user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) drivers , including information on how to start this kind of debugging session , see the debugging umdf drivers section of the windows driver kit ( wdk ) documentation .
providing the kernel stub access to a shared memory space that is shared between the kernel stub and the user - mode driver .
sharing information between the user - mode driver and the kernel stub regarding the hardware device and the interrupt in a shared memory .
you can debug umdf drivers by using either a user - mode debugger or , starting with umdf version 2 , a kernel - mode debugger .
when protecting systems against kernel mode drivers using the software fault isolation mechanism 107 , the software isolation augments the kernel mode driver such that driver exceptions may be detected . when the software isolation code detects a driver exception , it stops the driver code and unwinds the driver call stacks to return a proper error code back to the user - mode framework reflector 108 . the user - mode framework reflector 108 in turn calls a driver provided reset stub 105 that functions like a “kill switch” to stop the hardware from any further operations which may corrupt the system states . the reset stub 105 is provided by the driver at the driver initialization . the “kill switch” stops the hardware immediately , including any outstanding dma transfers .
in some implementations , a method includes loading a user - mode driver associated with a device ; loading kernel stubs having a reset stub associated with the user - mode driver in a kernel of an operating system ; receiving an interrupt ; invoking the kernel stub to perform an interrupt service routine ; monitoring for an exception ; and obtaining information about the interrupt using the user - mode driver .
the user - mode framework reflector 108 may forward i / o , power , and plug and play messages from the operating system to the driver host process , so that user - mode drivers can respond to i / o requests and participate in plug and play device installation , enumeration , and management . the user - mode framework reflector 108 or the software based fault isolation mechanism 107 may also monitor the driver host process to ensure that it responds properly to messages and completes critical operations in a timely manner , thus helping to prevent driver and application hangs .
when debugging a umdf driver , you can merge framework logs with driver logs by issuing : ! wdfkd . wdflogdump < drivername . dll > - m
figure 1 shows the overall architecture of a umdf driver . a umdf driver runs in a driver host process that also hosts umdf and a run - time environment . each such driver operates as part of a stack of drivers that manage a device . the user mode drivers are loaded above the kernel mode drivers at the top of the stack . because user mode components do not have access to the system address space where the system and kernel mode drivers maintain i / o requests and other shared data , the umdf architecture includes components that communicate between kernel mode and user mode .
the user mode driver framework ( umdf ) is one of two major sub - frameworks in the windows driver foundation ( wdf ) framework . it in essence sits on top of the windows 7 operating system , and uses the windows win32 api’s primarily to communicate with the operating system , which ultimately communicates with the computer system hardware device .
user - mode and kernel - mode drivers have different structures , different entry points , and different system interfaces . whether a device requires a user - mode or kernel - mode driver depends on the type of device and the support already provided for it in the operating system . most device drivers run in kernel - mode . kernel - mode drivers can perform certain protected operations and can access system structures that user - mode drivers cannot access . moreover , kernel - mode drivers often offer lower - latency services . however , kernel - mode drivers can cause instability and system crashes if not implemented properly , as well as introduce security vulnerabilities .
] offer apis to program user - mode device drivers that communicate with a kernel module . chubb [
as figure 2 shows , the user mode driver runs under the host process , which combines with kernel mode drivers ( including the reflector ) to form the device stack for the device .
this solution demonstrates how a user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) version 2 driver can implement f - state - based power management . the singlecomp project demonstrates how a umdf version 2 driver can implement f - state - based power management for a device that has only a single component .
my copy of windows 7 is pirated and i want to use my xbox one controller with it but that requires a few updates , user - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 and kernel - mode driver framework version 1 . 11 to be exact . i ' m wondering if instaling these will make windows realise my copy isn ' t genuine , so is it safe to install these updates ?
the request is either completed by one of the drivers in the user - mode stack or forwarded by one of the drivers back to the reflector . when the reflector receives a request from the user - mode driver stack , it sends the request down the kernel - mode stack for completion .
] . in the kernel - mode component , direct calls to functions implemented in the user - mode component are replaced with upcalls through stubs . stubs marshal data structures accessed by the called function and unmarshal them when the call returns . a symmetric downcall mechanism enables the user - mode component to invoke kernel functions . to handle multiple requests from the kernel - mode component , the user - mode process is multithreaded .
20 . the device driver framework of claim 19 , wherein the user - mode module and the kernel stub are provided at a same interrupt level , and wherein the dpc processes i / o requests at a lower interrupt level .
as figure 4 . 1 shows , windows supports a layered i / o architecture . user mode applications and services issue i / o requests through the win32 api and communicate with the user mode pnp manager to perform plug and play and power activities . the win32 api and user mode pnp manager , in turn , communicate with the kernel mode i / o system , which includes the kernel mode i / o manager , pnp manager , and power manager . the kernel mode i / o system communicates with the kernel mode drivers .
the reflector is a kernel mode wdm filter driver that is installed at the top of the kernel mode device stack for each device that a umdf driver manages . the reflector manages communication between the kernel mode components and the user mode driver host process . the reflector forwards i / o , power , and plug and play messages from the operating system to the driver host process , so that user mode drivers can respond to i / o requests and participate in plug and play device installations , enumeration , and management .
if you have a debugger connected , you can access both the driver and framework ifr logs by issuing ! wdfkd . wdflogdump .
the windows kernel creates i / o request packets ( irps ) to represent the user mode i / o requests and forwards them to the top of the kernel mode driver stack for the target device .
a user - mode driver can impersonate its client process only for i / o requests , and not for plug and play or other system messages .
at 216 , it is determined if an exception occurred . the exception may be an interrupt storm . the sfi 107 detects exceptions in kernel mode . the reflector 108 receives the indications of exception in kernel mode and takes actions to stop driver at 216 . at 218 , the driver call stack is unwound , and at 220 the hardware is stopped in kernel mode without signaling the user mode driver .
when you build your driver , the msbuild utility links the driver with a stub file that contains the version number of the library that the msbuild utility used . when the operating system loads your driver , the framework ' s loader checks the version information in your driver ' s stub to determine if the driver will run with the version of the framework library that is on the system .
the framework exposes the user mode ddi , which is a dynamic - link library ( dll ) of com - style objects that support the presentation , flow , and management of i / o , power , and plug and play requests to the driver .
drivers in operating systems run in either user - mode or kernel - mode . user - mode drivers run in the non - privileged processor mode in which other application code , including protected subsystem code , executes . user - mode drivers cannot gain access to system data or hardware except by calling an application programming interface ( api ) which , in turn , calls system services . kernel - mode drivers run as part of the operating system ' s executive , the underlying operating system component that supports one or more protected subsystems .
run device drivers as user - mode processes . a bug exercised in a device driver only results in the failure of the user - mode process running that driver . this approach , however , has two key problems . first , this architecture is not compatible with commodity operating systems , which are designed as monolithic kernels . providing support for user - mode device drivers in commodity operating systems thus requires kernel modifications and rewriting device drivers [
yes . even if your driver requires access to some kernel - mode resources or features , you might be able to split your driver into two parts . this approach enables you to benefit from some of the advantages of developing and running drivers in user mode .
the kernel stubs may also provide sequencing of operations for hardware devices where certain sequences of operations are timing sensitive and cannot tolerate pauses incurred by context - switching out a user - mode driver . where a pure user - mode driver would have to be scheduled onto a cpu to acknowledge each of the interrupts , the kernel stub _ isr 106 reduces this latency because it is invoked by the kernel - mode interrupt handler and may run in an arbitrary context at a raised irql . the user - mode framework driver 101 may support multiple devices , and therefore may multiplex requests from multiple devices through a single instance of the kernel stub _ isr 106 .
17 . the device driver framework of claim 16 , wherein if the software based fault isolation mechanism detects an exception , the device is stopped .
a user - mode driver is started by the driver manager and runs in a driver host process . a single instance of the driver can service simultaneous requests from multiple applications . to communicate with the driver , applications issue i / o requests to the driver ' s device through the win32 api . the primary entry point in a user - mode driver is the idriverentry interface ( umdf 1 . 11 and earlier ) or the driverentry routine ( starting in umdf 2 . 0 ) , rather than a main ( ) function .
startup / shutdown and error - handling ) . the user - mode component is implemented as a standalone process that is called from the kernel - mode component . together , they provide the functionality of a traditional device driver .
although this chapter focuses on kernel - mode drivers , windows includes a growing number of drivers that actually run in user mode , as previously described , using the user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) that is part of the wdf . before finishing our discussion on drivers , we’ll take a quick look at the architecture of umdf and what it offers . once again , for a much more complete overview on the subject , please refer to urltoken .
the process of moving the driver package to the target computer and installing the driver is called deploying the driver . you can deploy a driver sample automatically or manually .
down in kernel mode , the umdf kernel mode reflector driver ( or simply reflector ) provides the necessary connections between user mode and a kernel device stack . there is one reflector device instance installed in each kernel umdf device stack . the reflector is responsible for forwarding i / o , power , and pnp messages from kernel mode to the host process .
this section describes user - mode driver framework ( umdf ) and details the differences between umdf versions 1 and 2 . it also provides high - level architectural information about umdf . use this section to determine if a umdf driver is the right choice for your needs , and to decide which umdf version to use .
16 . the device driver framework of claim 15 , wherein the kernel stub invokes an interrupt service routine in response to an interrupt received from a device ; and wherein the software based fault isolation mechanism monitors for exceptions thrown by a device associated with the user - mode module .
at 210 , a hardware device raises an interrupt . executable code within kernel stub 106 for the isr is invoked that copies volatile device state into the sdd memory 104 . at 212 , the user - mode framework driver is signaled . this may be performed through the isr execution .
] . we show that program analysis techniques can automatically identify critical functions in a device driver , following which a semantics - preserving transformation can split the driver into a user - mode and a kernel - mode component . we discuss the design and implementation of such a refactoring tool in
the driver includes code to handle only those events for which its device requires device - specific support . all other events can be handled by framework defaults .
optimizing device drivers for terminal servers plug and play device redirection framework gaurav daga program manager windows terminal server microsoft .
microsoft believes that by moving these types of drivers to user mode , it will simplify driver writing and improve the overall stability of the windows operating system . i certainly agree with this statement since user mode is a much more forgiving environment . let ' s face it , if you can develop a driver for a device without having to worry about the complexities of kernel mode programming or risking crashing a user ' s machine when it misbehaves , your customers and microsoft will be much happier .
for more information about using msbuild to build a driver package , see building a driver .
as the name implies , a umdf driver runs in user mode , specifically in a process running the executable image wudfhost . exe . the general layout of umdf modules is shown in
umdf is based on the same conceptual driver programming model as the kernel mode driver framework ( kmdf ) that is also part of wdf . however , the two frameworks implement the model with different components , device - driver interfaces ( ddis ) , and data structures . kmdf includes some objects that are available . . .
to make porting code easier from kernel mode to user mode , and to keep a consistent architecture , umdf uses the same conceptual driver programming model as kmdf , but it uses different components , interfaces , and data structures . for example , kmdf includes objects unique to kernel mode , while umdf includes some objects unique to user mode . objects and functionality that can’t be accessed through umdf include direct handling of interrupts , dma , nonpaged pool , and strict timing requirements . furthermore , a umdf driver can’t be on any kernel driver stack or be a client of another driver or the kernel itself .
in an implementation , the xks _ isr interface 114 may be implemented by a small shim in the user - mode framework reflector 108 . the xks _ isr interface 114 may be responsible for watching for interrupt storms . an exemplary isr interface may be :
the splitter analyzes the device driver and determines how functions implemented in the driver must be split between kernel - mode and user - mode . it builds a static call - graph of the driver ( including edges for indirect calls ) , identifies critical root functions , and classifies functions transitively called by them as critical , as described in the study in
umdf exposes the user mode device - driver interface ( ddi ) . umdf is a dll of com - style objects that support the presentation , flow , and management of i / o and plug and play requests to the driver .
thus , an implementation to solve the contention may be to use a stop - and - go strategy where a device is initialized in non - interrupting state . when the user - mode driver receives transfer requests , it sets up one dma transfer including enabling interrupt for the dma transaction . the user - mode driver then waits on the interrupt event . at some point , interrupt occurs either due to error or completion of the transfer . the kernel mode isr dismisses and disables the interrupt , by reading and writing registers , and it signals the user mode isr which processes the result . the user - mode driver then can continue the next dma transfer if there is one . this serialization of isr and dma request eliminates the contention of accessing hardware registers and any shared resources .
a device driver includes a kernel mode and a user - mode module . the device driver may access device registers while operating in user - mode to promote system stability while providing a low - latency software response from the system upon interrupts . the device driver may include kernel stubs that are loaded into the operating system , and may be device specific code written . the stubs may be called by a reflector to handle exceptions caught by the stubs . a reset stub may be invoked by the reflector when the user - mode module or host terminates abruptly or detects an interrupt storm . the reset stub may also be invoked if errant dma operations are being performed by a hardware device . the reset stub may ensure that hardware immediately stops unfinished dma from further transfer , and may be called by the user - mode driver module .
all kmdf and umdf 2 drivers can use an always on , always available inflight trace recorder ( ifr ) . when a driver provides a custom trace , the driver ifr log contains the trace messages . note that the new driver ifr log is separate from the framework ifr log that wdf creates for each driver .
i ' m sure i noticed that when i installed wmp11 one of the install steps was registering the user - mode driver framework . or words to that affect . does this mean that the umdf can be taken downstream , or is the installer talking rubbish ? ( or me , it could be me talking rubbish )
the user - mode framework driver 101 may transfer data from a system to a device using dma , which is a capability provided by some computer bus architectures , including pci , pcmcia and cardbus , which allows data to be sent directly from an attached device to the memory on the host , freeing the cpu from involvement with the data transfer and thus improving the host ' s performance . dma buffers 102 provide a memory where data is buffered as it is communicated to / from the user - mode framework driver 101 . the dma buffers 102 may be allocated as a contiguous buffer or may be fragmented in the physical memory and mapped to a contiguous buffer in the calling process ' s virtual address space . in some implementations , the dma buffers 102 may come from requests presented to the user - mode framework driver 101 , in which case they may not need to be mapped into the address space of the host or even accessible directly to the stub .
i realise you probably cant tell me this which i can perfectly understand i mean its not optimised yet etc but . . . do you have any rough benchmarks at the moment comparing a user mode driver to kernel mode and if so what were the results and the device being testing ? on a seperate note , sorry if this is mentioned elsewhere but will the user mode process run at a higher priority to normal apps ?
a device driver framework in a computing system may include a user - mode module , one or more kernel stubs including a reset stub , a shared memory to share information between the user - mode module and the kernel stubs , and a reflector to manage communication between the user - mode module , the kernel stubs , and an application . the kernel stubs may include code that is invoked as an interrupt service routine in response to an interrupt received from a device and write information from the device to the shared memory . the user - mode module may then read information from the shared memory . after executing the interrupt service routine , the kernel stub may hand off handling of the interrupt to the user - mode module . the kernel stub may be protected using a software - based fault isolation mechanism that monitors for exceptions such as an interrupt storm . upon detecting an interrupt storm , the reset stub may stop a hardware device from generating the interrupts to maintain system stability . the kernel stubs may synchronize with the interrupt service routine and / or user - mode module using a deferred procedure call .
safe device driver model based on kernel - mode jvm
, chen et al . , 2007 , pages 1 - 8
3 . checking and dismissing interrupts may take a read and a write to the registers for most hardware . therefore , it is non - atomic . if drivers set up dma in user - mode , which has to manipulate hardware registers , there may be contention between isr and the user - mode code .
three factors lead us to believe that implementing non - critical functionality as a user - mode process will also improve system reliability and availability as a whole .
the driver manager is a windows service that manages all instances of the wudfhost driver host process . the driver manager launches and tracks information about each driver host process . each host is a child process of the driver manager . only one driver manager exists per system . the driver manager starts during installation of the first umdf device and runs on the system thereafter .
the code generator uses the critical functions identified and emits code for the kernel - mode and user - mode components . it also generates all the code to handle upcalls and downcalls , including stubs and code to marshal / unmarshal data structures . the object tracker and threadpool implementation ( for the multithreaded user - mode component ) are common to all microdrivers and need to be written just once .
] report user - mode driver performance comparable to in - kernel device drivers . however , unlike microdrivers , they require both kernel support , and rewriting device drivers , making them incompatible with existing operating systems .
of course , microdrivers are not a panacea for device driver reliability problems . a bug in the kernel - mode component of a microdriver could still crash the operating system . it is also possible that by splitting functionality between a user - mode and kernel - mode component , microdrivers can expose otherwise latent bugs . for example , a latent race condition in a device driver could potentially be exposed in its microdriver implementation .
commodity operating systems achieve good performance by running device drivers in - kernel . unfortunately , this architecture offers poor fault isolation . this paper introduces microdrivers , which reduce the amount of driver code running in the kernel by splitting driver functionality between a small kernel - mode component and a larger user - mode component . this paper presents the microdriver architecture and techniques to refactor existing device drivers into microdrivers , achieving most of the benefits of user - mode drivers with the performance of kernel - mode drivers . experiments on a network driver show that 75 % of its code can be removed from the kernel without affecting common - case performance .
the kernel stubs may be untrusted , while executing safely in the kernel because of a software based fault isolation mechanism 107 , such as xfi , that allows user - mode framework drivers to add kernel stub to the kernel without possibly corrupting the integrity of the kernel itself , or its subsystems .
in addition to the wudfhost process hosting your driver , there is another user mode process that ' s part of the umdf
system .
the second process is the umdf driver manager service that communicates with the wudfhost process running your driver and any other wudfhost processes running on the system . this service , which is started as part of starting the device , is responsible for host process lifetimes and responding to messages from the umdf kernel mode reflector driver .
umdf drivers run in a driver host process , which runs in the security credentials of a localservice account , although the host process itself is not a windows service . thus , user - mode drivers are as secure as any other user - mode service . when a umdf driver issues i / o requests , it can optionally impersonate its client process . impersonation enables the driver thread to run in the security context of the client so that the system performs access checks against the client ' s identity rather than that of the driver host process .
before writing a driver—even a user mode driver—you must understand the basics of the windows i / o architecture , as shown in figure 1 . in this overview , we will discuss some of the major principles behind the i / o system and define the most important terms .
before writing a user mode driver you must understand the basics of the umdf architecture . ron reeves , author of windows 7 device driver , looks at the overall block diagram of the umdf , and at the major activity : the i / o flow for the umdf .
unlike kmdf drivers , which run as driver objects representing a . sys image file , umdf drivers run in a driver host process , similar to a service - hosting process . the host process contains the driver itself ( which is implemented as an in - process com component ) , the user - mode driver framework ( implemented as a dll containing com - like components for each umdf object ) , and a run - time environment ( responsible for i / o dispatching , driver loading , device - stack management , communication with the kernel , and a thread pool ) .
] , synchronizes copies of a data structure in the kernel ' s address space and the user - mode process ' address space . it has three main functions .
several enhancements are possible to the basic architecture of a microdriver . functions that are repeatedly called from both the kernel - mode component and user - mode component can potentially be replicated in both components , thus avoiding the overhead of an address - space change each time the function is accessed . similarly , a frequently - accessed data structure can be allocated in a shared memory region that is accessible both to the kernel and the user - mode process . finally , to ensure fast operation of the user - mode process , the operating system can pin the process ' pages to memory .
the host process is the process in which the user mode driver runs . the host process is a child process of the driver manager and runs in the security credentials of a localservice account , although it is not a windows service . the host process includes the following components :
by default , if the objectsforleakdetection key is not specified , the framework monitors wdfrequest , wdfworkitem , wdfkey , wdfstring , wdfobject , and wdfdevice .
] , and is an important motivation for microkernels . this has resulted in several services , that were previously implemented in the kernel , being implemented in user - mode (
kernel - mode drivers if specific kernel support for a device that is managed by a umdf driver is needed , it is also possible to write a companion kernel - mode driver that fills that role . in this way , it is possible for a device to be managed both by a umdf and a kmdf ( or wdm ) driver .
3 . handling of level triggered interrupts that are not shared . this mechanism may be implemented with a minimal amount of kernel - mode code . if the interrupt is not shared , then the interrupt handler may mask the interrupt at the interrupt controller ( effectively blocking it ) and notify the user - mode driver to handle the device . the user - mode driver code may make a request to the system ( reflector , etc . ) at the end of processing that unmasks the interrupt line , at which point a new interrupt may come in .
first , fault isolation improves . any bugs that crash the user - mode process of a microdriver will potentially render the corresponding device unusable but will not affect the rest of the operating system . the device driver can then be restarted in isolation to restore operation of the device . note that because the kernel - mode component of a microdriver implements critical device functionality , such as interrupt processing , it is possible to keep the device operational even if the user - mode process crashes . for example , the kernel - mode component can implement error - checking code that detects that the user - mode process has crashed , and wait until the process restarts . however , as it does so , it can still serve other requests to / from the device .
to determine the version of the library that your driver is running with , the driver can call wdfdriverisversionavailable or wdfdriverretrieveversionstring .
] . second , switching between the kernel and a user - mode device driver involves the costly overhead of changing protection domains . for devices such as high - throughput network cards , this can result in significant latencies and performance penalties [
2 . interrupt information is reflected in completed buffers or in a hardware register set which is manipulated by user mode code which may synchronize among multiple threads that access hardware registers .
the reflector is a kernel - mode driver that permits an application and a driver host process ( and user - mode device stacks ) to communicate . the reflector creates a separate device object for each device instance and handles plug and play ( pnp ) and power i / o requests associated with each device instance . all communication between the application and the driver host process happens through the reflector . for more information , see architecture of umdf .
the host process is the process in which the user mode driver runs . it is separate from the application process and the driver manager . it runs in the security credentials of a localservice account , although it is not a windows service . the host process contains the user mode device stack for the device . the device stack is visible to all applications across the system . each instance of a device has its own device stack . currently each instance has a separate driver host process , too . the host process includes the following components :
umdf is a new way of allowing drivers that support protocol bus based devices ( initially just usb ) to be written in user mode . the types of devices currently supported are :
second , because the kernel - mode component of the microdriver implements critical and heavily - used functionality , this code is likely more heavily tested than the user - mode component . further , because the kernel - mode component is a relatively small entity , it can either be verified , subject to thorough code audits , or be protected with mechanisms such as sfi [
to achieve this goal , the framework is designed to work with drivers on an
opt - in
basis . when you write a umdf driver , you provide callback routines for only the events that affect your device . for example , some devices require intervention immediately after they are turned on and just before they are turned off . the driver for such a device can implement callback functions that the framework calls at those times .
the user - mode framework driver 101 may operate as part of a stack of drivers that manage a hardware device . in an implementation , to provide for hardware that requires a low - latency response , the user - mode framework driver 101 may include kernel stubs loaded into the operating system , and may be device specific code written by , e . g . , hardware vendors . the kernel stubs may be provided to handle outstanding dma transfers and to provide better performance . the stubs are called by a reflector 108 via xkd _ ddi 112 . the reflector 108 contains code to handle exceptions in stubs caught by sfi 107 . the following kernel - mode stubs may be implemented : stub _ reset 105 ( reset ) , stub _ isr 106 ( isr ) and stub _ syncexe 109 ( syncexe ) . these three stubs execute at dirql with the interrupt spinlock , hence synchronization is provided for .


the content ( l ) abel is a los angeles based independent record label and collective .

it was formed in 2004 by music producer dday one .

content label ( record label )

technical issues - have releases from our content provider . following up with content team .
urltoken 4 releases here . will follow up with content team to identify missing content .
technical issues - cannot find in our content provider catalog . following up with content team .
the content ( l ) abel is a los angeles project - based record label and collective . as the logo illustrates , over the years
technical issue - we have content , but not showing up in search . urltoken
technical issue - we have content , but not showing up in search . urltoken
when negotiating a record deal , always inquire about the label’s marketing efforts – for social media , online and offline press and radio .
the artist will also have to warrant that they haven ' t breached copyright in another person ' s work in making their record . the label should be notified of any uncleared samples and all session musician consents must be obtained before the label will accept the record .
es are not responsible for the content of any other websites that are linked from here . so there .
the job of a record label is to represent and exploit sound recordings . these are also known as master recordings , or masters in short .
1987 : markus staiger founds nuclear blast in his hometown of donzdorf . the first record released on the label is the compilation _ senseless deat _ h .
this concludes the third episode of the understanding the music industry . in our next episode we will go in - depth about record label deals and agreements .
there are other ways to get content onto these services and labels need guidance on which route might be right for them .
“dancephonic… another distribution service who has blatantly copied all content from our website and pdf’s . innovators ? we think not ! ”
physical distribution . they have partnered with alliance entertainment , super d and amazon to get your cd / record in record stores around the world . you must apply for this feature .
he is also the author of the newly published book the complete guide to starting a record company , a primer that takes readers by the hand and guides them through the many steps involved in building an independent record label . it’s available exclusively at urltoken .
there are labels missing from the table below . there are still many that we will need to follow up on status of with our content provider , content team and technical team . others we might not have content for . please have patience as we continue to collect feedback and spot check these . we are also working towards a better way to collect & prioritize feedback .
artists are paid royalties based on record sales . in a typical major - label deal , the artist will earn somewhere between 14 and 18 percent of the record ' s dealer price ( ppd ) which may be between £6 . 50 and £8 . 50 .
@ dancephonic another distribution service who has blatantly copied all content from our website and pdf’s . innovators ? we think not ! !
when it’s out : tbd , but definitely this year because his record label is doing that
release an ep first then use feedback to shape the lp
thing .
when it’s out : in the spring . the record will make its live debut in july .
urltoken 59 , 99eur monthly for 100 % of royalties for your label in the main stores worldwide ( include beatport ) . more than 2150 label choose waxtone . non annual payment for release or track , 100 % right for label .
important  easily the most important release in the recent history of the music business  are its record label and its retail price : there is none , and there is none .
album
brothers
to record the song , and he made a fantastic job of it .
pluggers operate either independently or are employees of record labels ( in the radio department ) or pr agencies . the majors labels always have a one or multiple pluggers servicing radio within a given territory , who push their current high - priority content .
what chrismaslin said . i , too , was wondering where ellen allien ' s new release was after bpitch control ' s content got restored .
professional record labels have deals with distribution companies that send their records to stores , whether physical or digital .
our label is based out of hungary and we are currently available on stores such as : itunes , junodownload , audiojelly , etc . . our content is delivered to stores worldwide by a popular distributor that currently works with hundreds of labels ( symphonic distribution ) . in addition to our established content delivery methods , we have a marketing plan that we use to promote our releases .
please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker . ads are what helps us bring you premium content ! thank you !
the big change is this : control over the distribution of content has shifted from a selected few , to everyone . the death of the gatekeepers .
a label’s distribution deal has a lot of impact on the deals they can offer artists .
in turn , the distribution commission ( percentage or flat - fee ) reduces the income an artist will receive . and time needed for a distributor to deliver content to stores determines how long in advance a label will need to receive final masters .
the artist should aim to secure a positive release commitment from the label ( at least in the uk ) , coupled with a minimum marketing spend to support the release . should the label fail to release your record , you should be able to terminate the deal , and / or buy back your recordings , so they can be licensed to another label , or perhaps self - released .
name and likeness : the artist should consent to the record label using his or her name and likeness in connection with the promotion of records only . make sure you reserve all other uses of your likeness — for example , in merchandising , which is potentially a very lucrative area and entirely separate from the record deal .
with good music , grit and an understanding of the internet , anyone can build a core audience of superfans to sustain one - self , or to leverage for deals and get signed to a record label .
it ' s important not to allow the record company to recoup from the artist ' s royalty - income advances paid to the producer . in the uk , producer advances are the responsibility of the label .
good publicists know how to deliver clean press releases , submit content for review feature far in advance and are punctual and detailed about providing ‘premiere’ and ‘exclusive’ opportunities .
. most of the artists on this record come from the us rock music direction . brian ' s contribution here is
if you’re looking to get signed with a record label , the a & r is the person you should reach out to . find out who they are . build relationships . only pitch the best of your material .
humming records is a berlin based independent label run by peter krahlisch , colin lovrinovic and joerg peters .
* their slogan is “become major” which is misleading as every musician equates “major” with “major label . ”
the contract should anticipate scenarios that could give the parties the right to terminate the agreement . there should be safeguards where the label goes into liquidation , or fails to release the record , or where either side is in breach of contract .
the artist will have to promise the label that they will perform their duties to the best of their ability , and that they are free to enter the agreement — ie . not currently signed to another record label . more specifically , they ' ll have to promise to attend interviews and undertake personal appearances and all other reasonable promotional duties . costs incurred in connection with the latter ( for example , travel and accommodation ) should be borne by the label .
another protection the label will ask for is a re - record restriction . this prevents the artist from re - recording their music on another label for a certain number of years following expiry of the contract . any restriction you agree should apply for a maximum of five years following the end of the contract , and should only ever cover records actually released .
in order to raise the profile of a release , the artist will have to undertake some domestic and international promotional work . in the event that you don ' t follow in the footsteps of sandi thom , by webcasting your ' tour ' from the comfort of your living room , the record company will deploy an army of radio , press , and new media marketeers to talk up your record . the considerable cost this may incur should not be recoupable from artist royalties . after all , the record label benefits whenever the record sells , and promotion is a reasonable overhead of their business . and , of course , with a likely earnings ratio of 3 : 1 in the label ' s favour , they ' re going to break even a lot quicker than any artist can recoup .
an a & r is the person that works at a label and is responsible for communicating and signing new acts , developing them and their music until they are ready to be marketed , and initiating their involvement with the label .
these are not record labels . these are not label deals . even though some of them offer
label services
they don ' t own anything . these companies are just providing services . you retain 100 % of your rights no matter who you use . even if they take a commission , it ' s just from your revenue . no ownership . none . capiche ?
all retailers want to know who the label is . if you don’t list one , the retailer will most likely default to the distributor name or the artist name . to have control over this create your own label name when distributing .
song selection : this relates to the choice of songs you record and the order in which they will be released — ie . singles , eps , albums , b - sides , bonus tracks , greatest hits , and so on . manufactured acts will generally lack control over this area and instead will have to record the songs their manager or label boss decides for them . bands who write their own material are signed precisely because the label has shown faith in their abilities . it therefore becomes easier to influence decisions around songs .
recording contracts are legally binding agreements , enabling record companies to exploit an artist ' s performance in a sound recording , in return for royalty payments .
creating a label , operationally , can be cumbersome , especially when it comes to distribution . for noon pacific , a simple , easy method of distributing content and sharing data and earnings with collaborators was imperative to the success of its label . when looking for a distributor , it became clear that not many were optimized for a high volume of single releases , and none could help to automate the manual accounting process that comes from splitting royalty payments .
international label and collective chopstick dubplate perform live original soundsystem music for all the subwoofer massive and crew right round the world .
they can’t . that’s why i left them out . you have to apply to the orchard ( as a label ) .
our label uses waxtone and is very good , all the information ( relase , accounting , sales ) , is accessible at any time and your customer service is very fast and have a help center support in 2 languages ( english – spanish ) , our label has gone through several distributors but we got to waxtone recommended by another label and was our best choice .
surely you have heard the term of ‘ label a & r ‘ . it stands for ‘ artist and repertoire ‘ .
their job is to take a record to the program makers or show - hosts and to pitch them on playing the track . it’s all based on the plugger’s reputation and relationships . the end goal is to get a track put in rotation – meaning that a record is getting consistent spin ( play ) .
audio1 is an established dj and producer from the san francisco bay area . whether its nationwide syndicated mix shows , curating exclusive content for direct music service or club / festival dj appearances , this man is everywhere .
in other words , things you should know when you’re looking to get signed by a label or are currently negotiating a deal .
what if the a & r guy who signs you leaves the label , or the md who ' s a big fan of your music is suddenly fired ? in this situation you might be glad you ' d negotiated a key - man clause in your contract , allowing you to leave the label as well . this would enable you to sign a new record deal elsewhere and avoid being left on the shelf .
if the record company does go into liquidation , you should be able to terminate the agreement and get the rights in your recordings back . otherwise your copyrights could become the property of third - party creditors fighting over the remains of the now - defunct label . a similar provision , but much harder to obtain , is to allow the artist the right of termination where the label is sold , merged , or taken over . don ' t forget : the label is still obliged to continuing paying the artist on all recordings sold , even after termination .
believe digital is a fraud . they claim most of the copyrighted content from africa on youtube and pockets the google ad proceeds without paying african content creators . one can view their public french profile and they only have a share capital of 222 860 euros or $ 293 , 990 and they haven’t filed a public financial report since 2008 . a petition is filed at the white house to sanction them for appropriating royalties from the congo . see urltoken
believe digital is a joke . they claim most of the copyrighted content from africa on youtube and pockets the google ad proceeds without paying african content creators . one can view their public french profile and they only have a share capital of 222 860 euros or $ 293 , 990 and they haven’t filed a public financial report since 2008 . a petition is filed at the white house to sanction them for appropriating royalties from the congo . see urltoken
is bgo the name of a label ? in any case , i ' ll certainly add ronin rhythm records to the master list .
labelpush is a good option , distribution , promotion , accounting solution and demo service for your label for free ! for commission option .
this leads to two types of intellectual property , called music copyrights . one for the song , another for the sound recording . the song is typically represented by a publisher , whereas the sound recording is represented by a record label . for a better understanding , read my guide on music copyright .
c ) the gaps . many labels are
back
, but they seem like their content is fairly limited . you mentioned fat possum above . but as far as i can tell , their content at emusic ends at about 2012 , with nothing more recent . i also mentioned cherry red in another post , observing the opposite problem : only a few 2017 releases . i could also mention domino ( missing austra ) , scat and american laundromat being back , but with big gaps in their content . what ' s going on here ? is there a time table to get their full catalogs back , or did these labels only make a limited offering available to emusic ?
routenote was one of the first distributors to partner with soundcloud . they have a small record label and management services . routenote moderates the data and if they see songs that are starting to catch they will target tastemakers and playlist editors . “artists don’t typically know that they are being pushed” steve told me .
there are a number of books on the subject as well as a great deal of software to assist you . a google search for “business plans” revealed hundreds of web sites on the subject , many with sample plans and outlines . if you decide to purchase business plan writing software , be sure it conforms to your unique label and what you want to achieve with it . not all “canned” plans will work for the record industry , in fact probably very few will . make use of the ideas and formats , not the content .
read on to learn more about noon pacific’s approach to music curation and how stem’s technology enabled them to pursue a singles - only label .
it sounds cool though , i just wonder how they can get all the licenses , because sometimes , the label asks for crazy prices .
care should be taken not to allow the label to recoup advances paid to leaving members for solo releases against the remaining members ' royalties .
1997 : hammerfall become the label’s first power metal success story when their debut album , glory to the brave , reaches the german top 40 .
also just noticed that there are only 9 albums available from the dronarivm label . . . would love to have all the rest up there !
the name wobblyhead embodies what the record label is all about .
the term implies something a little off kilter , something ' s that ' s a little bit surreal or psychedelic ,
says baumann . to moore ,
it ' s vague , open - ended , and it rolls off the tongue well .
- a rare piece cd , being only 2000 released by amhurst records for rock record collectors club . a compilation of tracks from various artist . brian ' s contribution here was
2013 : the label dips its toes into the world of retro rock with devil man , the second ep from swedish psych - rockers blues pills .
success in starting a label is not guaranteed , but if you keep the costs under control , there’s little to lose , but much to gain .
. there ' s no label or distribution partner to cut into the band ' s profits  but then there may not be any profits . drop
in the case of a group signed to a label , usually the company will reserve the right to terminate the contract should a key member of the band decide to leave . the label may also try to obtain a clause allowing them to sign any leaving member as a solo artist — and if the group break up before releasing a record , but after spending their advance , they ' ll probably be sued for breach of contract and return of the monies they ' ve received !
why we’re psyched :
nelly
was low - key incredible . his whole last record was low - key incredible .
low - key incredible
seems to be his thing .
music publicists and pr ( public relations ) agencies are responsible for generating press , both online and offline . they do this for record labels , artists , event promoters and venue owners .
technologies such as peer - to - peer file sharing , torrents and sites such as youtube and soundcloud reinvented how media was shared and distributed , including music . it made the distribution of content more efficient – but also reduced the demand for physical products .
- this probably a bootleg tape , where brian is found on a cassette tape which is predominantly the georgia satellites , but has 6 tracks from the
brothers
album tucked on the end . the tape cover came trimmed with only track listing and a picture of georgia satellites . the tape is produced by team records ( catalogue number t3910 ) and has zero information about the either artists or the record label . having searched the internet for the label has come up with no additional information .
a ) i don ' t know much about no one buys records , apart from the fact that this is the label that garfunkel & oates released their music on . whenever i looked up their stuff on the old emusic site , that was the label that was listed . could be a vanity label ? ( a duckduckgo search brought me to the ever reliable discogs , and this link . indeed , there are only garfunkel & oates releases here . urltoken )
city slang is available in the uk . 4ad / beggars / matador / rough trade went a few years ago . city slang is an excellent label .
8 years ago a group of friends started the label humming records to help share great music with the world - today . . . urltoken 1 year ago
in this third part we will expand on the different types of record labels , the role of a & rs , distribution deals and music promotion ( via radio pluggers and pr agencies ) .
plugging a record to radio in the hopes it will be put in constant rotation , securing coverage on music blogs and magazines , feature placements on itunes and spotify… all ways to generate exposure .
touring can be expensive , especially if you like to be as over the top as legendary rockers iron maiden . if you go on tour to promote a record release , don ' t forget that the cost of tour support will be recouped by the label from your royalty , so it ' s a good idea to cap what can be spent .
tour support paid by the label to get the artist on the road is recoupable , so it ' s best to agree a limit on spend for obvious reasons .
when negotiating a record deal for a track that has radio potential , always have the label clarify their radio marketing efforts . if dealing with majors , have them add a clause that guarantees plugging efforts , for each market . with independents , if they do not have an internal plugger , ask for a budget that may be allocated to a mutually approved independent radio plugger .
you ' ve written and recorded your demo , you ' ve played some great gigs , and you can now boast a multitude of myspace friends , from watford to wichita and back again . a & r guys are falling over themselves to get to you and there ' s now a major - label record deal on the table . what do you do ? sign ?
a well - negotiated deal will ensure that the artist is entitled to a 50 : 50 share of any secondary income earned by the label . this could be in the form of advances paid by overseas labels licensing your record , income from compilations , or sync fees that are paid when a sound recording is used in a film or tv commercial or on a computer game .
it is possible for one person to write a song ( also known as a composition , or a work ) , while another performs and records it . or the same person could both write and record it .
even though volume cd packaging these days is cheap , record companies typically make a royalty deduction of 20 to 25 percent deduction for it — which might look like a bit of a rip - off . . .
also bear in mind that the document will vary depending on the type and size of record company you want to build . for example , if you’re not planning to seek outside funding , it’ll primarily be used as your road map and can be fairly brief . however , if you’re planning to raise money from family , friends , or independent investors for a somewhat more substantial label , it’ll need to reflect more of the business and mechanical aspects of the label’s operation . finally , if you need to raise substantial capital , it’ll have to be considerably more comprehensive .
there are several positions the artist can adopt in relation to creative control . firstly , they can attempt to negotiate varying degrees of creative control in relation to each issue . alternatively , they can seek to obtain a right of consultation across the board , where the label must seek their opinion before acting , but can ultimately ignore their wishes . finally — and by far the best outcome for the artist — they can seek to negotiate a right of approval . this would mean that the label couldn ' t make a creative decision without the artist ' s permission . however , note that where the artist is dropped by the record company , or their contract has expired , the label can make all manner of creative decisions without the artist ' s approval .
the thing i was most excited about after my call with mike were the opportunities they make available for their artists . like festival , label , playlist , radio and audition submission opportunities .
mixnauten is a joke , work with them only 2 months and i went to label worx . work using the system from another distributor that asks them 30 % commission , this is not informed to the labels , offering 400 stores in your web and service only delivery to 40 stores , it’s just one label and its “customers” are… . . sublabels . a big lie .
in reality , most ' deductions ' are artificial and in no way reflect the true cost to the label . packaging on cds manufactured in volume is cheap . similarly , as more records are sold through digital channels , a reserve for breakages and the allocation of free digital goods ceases to make any sense at all , other than to boost the label ' s profits .
in this lawsuit , the record labels sued online video site vimeo , alleging that dozens of sound recordings were infringed in videos posted on the site . a ruling from a district court judge earlier this year found vimeo could be responsible for copyright infringement , and in doing so imposed new , impossibly high standards for websites hosting user - generated content . in an amicus brief filed wednesday , eff argues that the decision undermines the safe harbors created by the digital millennium copyright act ( dmca ) , and the innovation and expression those safe harbors make possible .
this fee is totally justified when you get consistent play . the exposure drives sales , increases an artist’s profile and leads to public performance royalties for the songwriters ( collected via prs’ like ascap ) and for the recording artists and record label ( collected via prs’ like soundexchange , almost everywhere in the world except for the usa , where radio / tv do not have to pay master - right holders for using their records ) .
more generous advances should be negotiated for the exercise of successive options — ie . when the next album becomes due — irrespective of whether previous advances have been recouped . recoupment is a process by which the label will first recover the advance against any artist royalty income . care should be taken to remove any wording stating that an advance is repayable . this would have the effect of turning it into a personal debt , which you could be liable for at any time . you should only ever have to repay advances where your record sales generate sufficient royalties to cover them . failing that , the label bears the loss .
inevitably , there have been plenty of failures , too . gerardo names virginia death metallers arsis as one of the label’s biggest disappointments . “they had so much potential but they basically self - destructed , ” he says . similarly , there have been those bands who slipped through the net ; gerardo says current nb mainstays lamb of god received knockbacks from the label early in their career .
onerpm is moving away from a diy focused business and is focusing more on label / distribution deals ‘signing’ artists . 95 % of their business are from artists they sign or labels they represent .
i worked 11 years whit different distributor : symphonic : good amadea : release contract hold 12 months , not good . label worx : excellent ( dasboard and professional service ) kzv : 60 % comission for the label , not good . believe : good . waxtone : excellent ( dashboard very simple , fully transparent , audio player promotion service is amazing ) feyr : horrible ditto : good
now that is interesting . so could the issue here be less about the actual rights to the content and more about whether emusic ' s site is able to plug into a given distribution network ? i did , by the way , check on mexican summer ' s sister labels , and at least here in the us , we don ' t seem to have any of them currently . the irony of all this is that almost all the mexican summer content i currently own originally all came from emusic - that is , before the changeover to the new site . in any case , i ' ll go and update the master list above .
what we know : hopelessness was co - produced by glitch - king oneohtrix point never and hudson mohawke , master of the glittering drop . it’s the first record by the former antony as anohni , which she says will be her performing name going forth . in an interview with a fan site , she called it
a dance / experimental electronic record with quite a dark thematic undertow ,
and it is
as different as could be
from her previous work .
record sales plummeted and the industry lost millions . the recording industry association of america ( riaa ) started a whole series of lawsuits against companies such as napster , kazaa and morpheus – even suing thousands of people that downloaded a few songs .
other rights the label will wish to acquire include rights in the album artwork and the right to use the artist ' s name and likeness in connection with the sale and promotion of the records .
these are sums of money paid to the artist on account of future royalties . they ' re paid when the artist signs to the label , and again as and when further options are exercised .
some independent artists have territory specific record deals and cannot distribute their album independently in certain territories ( like a deal with universal uk – not us ) . it’s important to have this flexibility . you never know what lies ahead for your career .
in the rest of this article i will outline the role and function of record labels , a & rs , music distributors , radio pluggers and publicists . because as you better understand this framework , it’ll be easier to win at the game .
while many are content to stream your music , a vocal minority of hardcore fans still demand high - quality download formats like flac and apple lossless . we make it easy to keep them happy : you upload a single lossless file ( wav , aiff or flac ) and we lovingly convert it to every conceivable format under the sun .
with symphonic recently , your report helped me choose but also done my own research . working with a label that distributes through them , so costs me nothing at all and the label take a % as normal . notice quite a few small labels working well like this but this is my first release in this way so only time will tell . check out ratrace – fidget btw , out now everywhere 😉
overall , you might only get paid on 90 percent of actual sales , since retailers are able to return records they don ' t sell . the record label therefore holds on to a portion of your royalties , usually 10 percent , as a reserve , until all sales are verified . you must make sure that this reserve will be liquidated ( paid out ) at regular intervals , and that the artist ( you ) receives their entitlement in full .
from my experience , slight a & r involvement is always beneficial . guaranteeing a certain standard of quality within the arrangement , mix and master of a record . and to help artists find artistic direction if they’re lost on a track or visual branding .
by submitting my information above , i acknowledge that i have reviewed and agreed to the privacy policy and terms of use , and i agree to receive updates and marketing messages from time to time from [ artist ] and [ its / his / her ] record label . for sms messages , i understand that message and data rates may apply , and that i may receive up to 2 sms messages per week from [ artist ] ' s mailing list .
so once you’ve got your first recorded project , how will you go about selling it ? other than raising start - up funds , this is probably the most difficult and critical part of establishing a label .
under most exclusive recording contracts , the artist will assign copyright in the sound recordings to the record company . an assignment is a transfer of ownership for the full life of copyright . in the case of sound recordings this will be 50 years from release .
by submitting my information above , i acknowledge that i have reviewed and agreed to the privacy policy and terms of use , and i agree to receive updates and marketing messages from time to time from [ artist name ] and [ its / his / her ] record label . for sms messages , i understand that message and data rates may apply , and that i may receive up to 2 sms messages per week from [ artist name ] ' s mailing list .
what we know : painting with is anco’s first record since 2012’s centipede hz , and their first that wasn’t worked out in concert . it was recorded without josh
deakin
gibbs , and is heavily influenced by early beatles , early ramones , and dinosaurs .
however , in this age of do - it - yourself , now is a great time to consider starting your own label . the cost of entry is comparatively modest , and the process is not too complicated .
label : jungle cat , satta sounds style : jungle / ragga - jungle / clash / hip hop started : 2002 dub - liner brings the fire with high energy mixing , heavy jungle selection and dubplates galore .
label worx is a good company but too demanding for the new labels , on the one hand it’s good , but maybe for emerging labels they should be a little more open to passing some of their requirements .
those were the days when music was played from vinyl discs and cassette tapes , and when the discovery of music was limited to listening to the radio , going to a venue to see a live - show or by browsing your favorite section in the record store .
radiohead’s a moon shaped pool and blood orange’s freetown sound have been cited two times and agnes obel’s citizen of glass three times . brussels - based label [ pias ] has two nominees : dubioza kolektiv and agnes obel .
members : johnny o label affiliations : mashed youths , unjustified , hibiki , off me nut , junglinskiy their
clip & carbine ragga jungle sample pack
and
gunshot dubwise sample pack
influences many jungle producers .
although the thought of large advances may get you excited , they come at a price . often , if the advance is large there ' ll be more pressure on an artist to succeed immediately . then if the first record is a flop the label may cut its losses and simply ' drop ' you . if you ' re after a little more stability and you truly believe in yourself , you should probably opt for a smaller advance and instead aim to secure a higher royalty rate .
i ' d also like to add ronin rhythm records to the inquiry queue . there were a couple of their items i managed to add to my wishlist before the label disappeared , and in fact i can still click from there and load the album pages , even though they ' re not for sale . if it ' s not too tricky to code , is it possible to gray out wishlist items or label which ones are unavailable ?
hi all , we are currently collecting feedback and aiming to get back soon with updates for the other mentions in this thread . i unfortunately can ' t give an expected date as to when we ' ll have those updates ( ideally within next 2 weeks ) but ask for & appreciate your patience as we continue to check the status with our content and technical team .
i would like you to conduct this study on catapult distribution . this is the company that i currently use and i really like them . but , i would love to see how they compare to the above companies . i also use mondo and i feel the same way about their website it sucks… . . i only really want the register my record label but what that actually did or what they registered my company with , i have no ideal . email me when you complete this comparison at
this much is true . a few hours earlier , hammer bumped into marcus at our shared hotel . before introductions had been properly made , he was already playing a song on his iphone by new us band sink the ship , one of the latest signings to sharptone , an nb offshoot label that focuses on rock and alternative music ( another subsidiary label , arising empire , is home to up - and - coming metalcore and punk bands ) .
here’s a full overview of the series : 1 . understanding the music industry : artist managers and booking agents 2 . understanding the music industry : music publishers , syncs and licensing 3 . understanding the music industry : record labels , a & rs , distribution , pluggers and pr
two issues are of particular concern here . firstly , even unreleased recordings remain the property of the label for the artist ' s entire career . and secondly , even once the artist has repaid all recording costs , the label will still own the masters . this was one of the reasons why mick hucknall decided to part company with warner music in early 2000 , claiming that his deal was ' immoral ' . warner made approximately £192m from the relationship , and kept all the masters , whereas mick earned a paltry £20m ! hucknall has since taken control of his destiny , along with a greater share of the profits , releasing music on his self - financed label , simplyred . com .
san francisco - the electronic frontier foundation ( eff ) and a coalition of advocacy groups have asked a federal appeals court to block record labels ' attempt to thwart federal law in capitol v . vimeo —a case that could jeopardize free speech and innovation and the sites that host both .
when it’s out : any day now , possibly . he’s hinted that he’s made finishing the record a top priority , but his first deadline—january 6 , to coincide with the album title—came and went . here is a photo on instagram showing us drake’s earnest commitment to album - finishing .
why we’re psyched : monastic living was terrible , but it felt designed to be , something to clear the room of the unfaithful . well , they can’t fend us off : we’re still excited about the prospect of a new record from the wittiest and most passionate indie rock band going .
krinjah started producing in 1995 helped to kick - off the ragga - jungle revival with ragga jungle releases like the “burial” , “angel” and “bam bam” remixes . krinjah has releases on king kong sound , hand grenade , junglexpeditions , cause and effect , tiger tech and too dutty record labels .
distribution of digital music hardly imposes costs at scale . a track uploaded to spotify or itunes can be consumed continuously without more effort on the label’s behalf . the only cost imposed is the one charged by the store for extra use .
before they ' ll see any money , the artist will have to recoup the recording costs , advances , and usually 50 percent of all video costs . the label will make additional deductions , reducing the real royalty rate still further .
final grumble that i hope will be fed back to the decision makers - this is not an improvement on the old emusic , it ' s a step back and will cost you customers unless you sort the content out . speaking for myself personally , i ' ve been spending money on a lot of music lately on music that i would have previously been able to get from my emusic subscription .
“partners receiving releases from symphonic”…” i read it as two entities in the process : symphonic and their partne , r who is releasing music through symphonic . in other words , it’s symphonic and you ( the artist or label ) . if you , bobby brown , wanted to use symphonic to get your music out there then you’d be considered the “partner” . so if “partner” means you the artist and “partners…modify a genre , label or artist name , release name , and / or anything else relating to the release if they feel the need to do so” , then symphonic would be giving bobby brown the creative control to change the genre , label , or artist name , release name , or whatever else he wants to change .
why we’re psyched : hynes—from his days in test icicles , to the solo lightspeed champion , to his two albums as blood orange—only gets better . he’s honed his chops writing for others , too , and we’re hoping this record contains the political anthems as jammy as he can be at his best .
a recording contract might seem like the holy grail , but record labels are not charity concerns and their contracts are not set up with your interests in mind . our guide to contract terms , written by an entertainment lawyer , explains what it all means and what the implications are for the artist .
2004 : nightwish’s once becomes the biggest - selling album released by nuclear blast . dimmu borgir become the first black metal band to play on the us ozzfest tour , helping to properly establish the label as a force on the us metal scene .
eso es falso , dancephonic no tiene acceso a baseware de beatport porque no trabaja “directo” con las tiendas . las imagenes las puede manipular cualquiera con photoshop . tipica venganza de label despedido por derechos de autor o porque esperaban mas ventas de musica basura . — that is false , dancephonic not have access to beatport baseware because it does not work “direct” with stores . the images can manipulate anyone with photoshop . tipical label revenge fired by copyright or because they expected more sales of its garbage music .
hola amigos creo que me encuentro en la misma situacion de indiferencia con dancephonic distribution , el tal enrique molina no responde los correos y no resuelve mis dudas respecto al servicio , me gustaria juntarme con varias label y hacer un reclamo por el servicio .
hey ari , i really enjoyed your article . i am starting a label and the amount of buzz you created through the responses as well as your original research jettisoned my research so much more . now i am following your blog . keep it up .
at issue in capitol v . vimeo are videos that vimeo employees viewed or interacted with , as well as pre - 1972 sound recordings , which receive different copyright protection than post - 1972 works . essentially , the decision would seem to offer service providers an impossible choice : scour the website for any content that anyone could argue might include pre - 1972 audio and thereby potentially lose safe harbor protections , or risk expensive copyright litigation .
that search changed after sealey , who led three six zero group’s investment in stem , introduced dinnison to stem co - founder , tim luckow . stem’s ability to directly distribute to streaming platforms and enable automated splits among collaborators led noon pacific to become one of the first record labels to utilize stem’s technology to power its business :
our label has been with ditto music for 2 years now . their flat annual fee is great but don’t expect much else . we have requested the take - down of our whole catalogue since august 2015 . 7 months gone by and our tracks still show up on half the stores . we have made numerous calls and sent many emails and nothing . also our last release took 3 weeks to go on itunes . honestly guys stay away from ditto music . we are currently dealing with label worx . fantastic and speedy customer service .
and don’t be afraid that someone’s going to steal your ideas . other than talent , not much new has happened in the last few decades in regard to how record companies operate . so you’re unlikely to be ripped off by showing your business plan to interested parties . chances are nothing you’ve come up with will be enormously revolutionary .
this is a trend that is happening across content . it includes the theft of writing , photography , other visual art , video and music . it seems the only option is to perform your music , give it to college and other forms of radio , and sell your own product . i’m thinking one sacrificial lamb of a great song to streaming just for the promotion , even though if your best songs get the most play , you’ll never see a dime .
they are usually hired per - territory , with a label or management working with different agencies in north america , europe , australia / new zealand and asia . for very specific campaigns , they are hired per country ( one in the netherlands , another in france etc ) .
i ' ll add rounder to my list of awol labels above . but as for new west , we seem to have it ? i see some hip hop performer named mooky listed . is that the label you had in mind , or is this just a similarly named outfit ?
packages . for $ 19 . 95 a month they offer a mailing list service ( up to 10 , 000 subscribers ) , free song downloads , the ability to submit to opportunities such as tv placements , label submissions and festival slots , and distribution of 2 releases per year .
what we know : the gary , ind . - based artist broke out with last year’s universally acclaimed dark energy . she made the record between shifts at a steel mill : as she told pitchfork last spring ,
this album took my entire life to make .
now there is a follow - up , already due on hyperdub this year .
you’ll also want to secure a domain name , whether it’s your own name of the name of the label , which might be preferable . you can check availability of the preferred name by doing a “whois” search . then go to an internet registrar with whom you can register the name .
are you sure , plastic ? i distribute through mixnauten from last february ( directly without label … it’s possible with this company ) . mixnauten , in my experience , is the best distribution company i’ve ever worked i can not tell you anything abiut dancephonic , because i do not know it