A record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protection of sound recordings and music videos; conducts talent scouting and development of new artists ("artists and repertoire" or "A&R"); and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information.^[1]

Music industry[link]

Within the music industry; most recording artists have become increasingly reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and be both promoted and heard on mp3, radio, etc. and of course television also, with publicists that assist performers in positive media reports to market their merchandise, and make it available via stores and other media outlets. The Internet has increasingly been a way that some artists avoid costs and gain new audiences, as well as the use of videos in some cases, to sell their products.

Major vs. independent record labels[link]

Record labels may be small, localized, and "independent" ("indie"), or they may be part of a large international media group, or somewhere in between. The largest four record labels are called "major labels".^[2] A "sublabel" is a label that is part of a larger record company, but it trades under a different name.

Imprint[link]

When a label is strictly a trademark or brand, not a company, then it is usually called an imprint, a term used for the same concept in the publishing industry. An imprint is sometimes marketed as being a project, unit, or division of a record label company, even though there is no legal business structure associated with the imprint.

Major labels[link]

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Major labels 1988–1998 (Big Six)

1. Warner Music Group
2. EMI
3. Sony Music (known as CBS Records until January 1991 then known as Sony Music thereafter)
4. BMG Music
5. Universal Music Group
6. Polygram

Major labels 1998–2004 (Big Five)

1. Warner Music Group
2. EMI
3. Sony Music
4. BMG Music
5. Universal Music Group (Polygram absorbed into UMG)

Major labels 2004–2008 (Big Four)

1. Warner Music Group
2. EMI
3. Sony BMG (Sony and BMG joint-venture)
4. Universal Music Group

Major labels 2008–2011 (Big Four)

1. Sony Music Entertainment
2. EMI Group
3. Warner Music Group
4. Universal Music Group

Major labels since late 2011, if approved (Big Three)

1. Sony Music Entertainment
2. Warner Music Group
3. Universal Music Group (EMI recorded music division to be absorbed into UMG, pending approval by antitrust regulators^[3][4])

Record labels are often under the control of a corporate umbrella organization called a "music group". A music group is typically owned by an international conglomerate "holding company", which often has non-music divisions as well. A music group controls and consists of music publishing companies, record (sound recording) manufacturers, record distributors, and record labels. As of 2005, the "big four" music groups control about 70% of the world music market, and about 80% of the United States music market. Record companies (manufacturers, distributors, and labels) may also comprise a "record group" which is, in turn, controlled by a music group. The constituent companies in a music group or record group are sometimes marketed as being "divisions" of the group.

Independent[link]

Record companies and music publishers that are not under the control of the big three are generally considered to be independent (indie), even if they are large corporations with complex structures. The term indie label is sometimes used to refer to only those independent labels that adhere to an independent criteria of corporate structure and size, and some consider an indie label to be almost any label that releases non-mainstream music, regardless of its corporate structure.

Sublabel[link]

Music collectors often use the term sublabel to refer to either an imprint or a subordinate label company (such as those within a group). For example, in the 1980s and 1990s, "4th & B'way" was a trademarked brand owned by Island Records Ltd. in the UK and by a subordinate branch, Island Records, Inc., in the United States. The center label on a 4th & Broadway record marketed in the US would typically bear a 4th & B'way logo and would state in the fine print, "4th & B'way™, an Island Records, Inc. company". Collectors discussing labels as brands would say that 4th & B'way is a sublabel or imprint of just "Island" or "Island Records". Similarly, collectors who choose to treat corporations and trademarks as equivalent might say 4th & B'way is an imprint and/or sublabel of both Island Records, Ltd. and that company's sublabel, Island Records, Inc. However, such definitions are complicated by the corporate mergers that occurred in 1989 (when Island was sold to PolyGram) and 1998 (when PolyGram merged with Universal). Island remained registered as corporations in both the US and UK, but control of its brands changed hands multiple times as new companies were formed, diminishing the corporation's distinction as the "parent" of any sublabels.

Vanity labels[link]

Vanity labels are labels that bear an imprint that gives the impression of an artist's ownership or control, but in fact represent a standard artist/label relationship. In such an arrangement, the artist will control nothing more than the usage of the name on the label, but may enjoy a greater say in the packaging of his or her work. An example of such a label is the Neutron label owned by ABC while at Phonogram in Great Britain. At one point artist Lizzie Tear (under contract with ABC themselves) appeared on the imprint, but it was devoted almost entirely to ABC's offerings and is still used for their re-releases (though Phonogram owns the masters of all the work issued on the label).

However, not all labels dedicated to particular artists are completely superficial in origin. Many artists, early in their careers, create their own labels which are later bought out by a bigger company. If this is the case it can sometimes give the artist greater freedom than if they were signed directly to the big label. There are many examples of this kind of label, such as Nothing Records, owned by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails; and Morning Records, owned by The Cooper Temple Clause, who were releasing EPs for years before the company was bought by RCA.

Relationship with artists[link]

A label typically enters into an exclusive recording contract with an artist to market the artist's recordings in return for royalties on the selling price of the recordings. Contracts may extend over short or long durations, and may or may not refer to specific recordings. Established, successful artists tend to be able to renegotiate their contracts to get terms more favorable to them, but Prince's much-publicized 1994–1996 feud with Warner Bros. provides a strong counterexample, as does Roger McGuinn's claim, made in July 2000 before a US Senate committee, that The Byrds never received any of the royalties they had been promised for their biggest hits, "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn, Turn, Turn".^[5]

A contract either provides for the artist to deliver completed recordings to the label, or for the label to undertake the recording with the artist. For artists without a recording history, the label is often involved in selecting producers, recording studios, additional musicians, and songs to be recorded, and may supervise the output of recording sessions. For established artists, a label is usually less involved in the recording process.

The relationship between record labels and artists can be a difficult one. Many artists have had albums altered or censored in some way by the labels before they are released—songs being edited, artwork or titles being changed, etc. Record labels generally do this because they believe that the album will sell better if the changes are made. Often the record label's decisions are prudent ones from a commercial perspective, but this typically frustrates the artist who feels that their artwork is being diminished or misrepresented by such actions.

In the early days of the recording industry, record labels were absolutely necessary for the success of any artist. The first goal of any new artist or band was to get signed to a contract as soon as possible. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, many artists were so desperate to sign a contract with a record company that they usually ended up signing a bad contract, typically giving away the rights to their music in the process. To this day, standard recording contracts define record labels as the rightsholders of the music that the contracts cover. Entertainment lawyers can be used by some to look over any contract before it is signed.^{[citation needed]}

Through the advances of the Internet the role of labels is becoming increasingly diminished, as artists are able to freely distribute their own material through web radio, peer to peer file sharing such as BitTorrent, and other services, for little or no cost. Bigger artists such as Nine Inch Nails have announced an end to their major label contracts, citing that the uncooperative nature of the recording industry with these new trends are hurting musicians and the industry as a whole, and most of all hurting the fans.^[6] Radiohead also cited similar motives with the end of their contract with EMI when their album In Rainbows was released as a "pay what you want" sales model as an online download.

New label strategies[link]

With the advancement of the computer and technology like internet, leading to an increase in file sharing and direct-to-fan digital distribution, combined with music sales plummeting in recent years^{[citation needed]}, labels and organizations have had to change their strategies and the way they work with artists. New types of deals are being made with artists called "multiple rights" or "360" deals with artists. These types of pacts give labels rights and percentages to artist's touring, merchandising, and endorsements. In exchange for these rights, labels usually give higher advancement payments to artists, have more patience with artist development, and higher percentages in CD sales. These 360 style deals are most effective when the artist is established and has a loyal fan base. For that reason, labels now have to be more relaxed with the development of artists because longevity is the key to these types of pacts. Several artists such as Paramore, Maino, and even Madonna have signed such types of deals.

A look at an actual 360 deal offered by Atlantic Records to an artist shows a variation of the structure. Atlantic’s document offers a conventional cash advance to sign the artist, who would receive a royalty for sales after expenses were recouped. With the release of the artist's first album, however, the label has an option to pay an additional $200,000 in exchange for 30 percent of the net income from all touring, merchandise, endorsements and fan-club fees. Atlantic would also have the right to approve the act’s tour schedule, and the salaries of certain tour and merchandise sales employees hired by the artist. But the label also offers the artist a 30 percent cut of the label's album profits —if any—which represents an improvement from the typical industry royalty of 15 percent.^[7]

History[link]

Industry consolidation[link]

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a phase of consolidation in the record industry that led to almost all major labels being owned by a very few multinational companies. CDs still flow through a handful of sources, with the majority of the sales going through the "big four" record labels.

Resurgence of independent labels[link]

In the 1990s, as a result of the widespread use of home studios, consumer recording technology, and the Internet, independent labels began to become more commonplace. Independent labels are often artist-owned (although not always), with a stated intent often being to control the quality of the artist's output. Independent labels usually do not enjoy the resources available to the "big four" and as such will often lag behind them in market shares. Often independent artists manage a return by recording for a much smaller production cost of a typical big label release. Sometimes they are able to recoup their initial advance even with much lower sales numbers.

On occasion, established artists, once their record contract has finished, move to an independent label. This often gives the combined advantage of name recognition and more control over one's music along with a larger portion of royalty profits. Artists such as Dolly Parton, Aimee Mann, Prince, Public Enemy, BKBravo (Kua and Rafi), among others, have gone this route. Historically, companies started in this manner have been re-absorbed into the major labels (two examples are Frank Sinatra's Reprise Records, which has been owned by Warner Music for some time now, and Herb Alpert's A&M Records, now owned by Universal Music Group). Similarly, Madonna's Maverick Records (started by Madonna with her manager and another partner) was to come under control of Warner Music when Madonna divested herself of controlling shares in the company.

There are many independent labels; folk singer Ani DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records is often cited as an ideal example. The singer turned down lucrative contracts from several top-name labels in order to establish her own New York-based company. Constant touring resulted in noteworthy success for an act without significant major funding. Ani and others from the company have spoken on several occasions about their business model in hopes of encouraging others.

Some independent labels become successful enough that major record companies negotiate contracts to either distribute music for the label or in some cases, purchase the label completely.

On the punk rock scene, the DIY ethic encourages bands to self-publish and self-distribute. This approach has been around since the early 1980s, in an attempt to stay "true" to the punk ideals of doing it yourself and not "selling out" to corporate profits and control. Such labels have a reputation for being fiercely uncompromising and especially unwilling to cooperate with the big record labels at all. One of the most notable and influential labels of the Do-It-Yourself attitude was SST Records, created by the band Black Flag. No labels wanted to release their material, so they simply created their own label to release not only their own material but the material of many other influential underground bands all over the country. Ian MacKaye's Dischord is often cited as a model of success in the DIY community, having survived for over twenty years with less than twelve employees at any one time.

Internet and digital labels[link]

With the Internet now being a viable source for obtaining music, netlabels have emerged. Depending on the ideals of the net label, music files from the artists may be downloaded free of charge or for a fee that is paid via Paypal or other online payment system. Some of these labels also offer hard copy CDs in addition to direct download. Most net labels acknowledge the Creative Commons licensing system thus reserving certain rights for the artist. Digital Labels are the latest version of a 'net' label. Whereas 'net' labels were started as a free site, digital labels are more competition for the major record labels.^{[citation needed]}

Open source labels[link]

The new century brings the phenomenon of open-source or open-content record label. These are inspired by the free software and open source movements and the success of GNU/Linux.

Publishers as labels[link]

In the mid-2000s, some music publishing companies began undertaking the work traditionally done by labels. The publisher Sony/ATV Music, for example, leveraged its connections within the Sony family to produce, record, distribute, and promote Elliott Yamin's debut album under a dormant Sony-owned imprint, rather than waiting for a deal with a proper label.^[8]

See also[link]

• List of record labels
• White label

References[link]

v t e Music industry Genres Avant-garde · Blues · Contemporary R&B · Country · Crossover · Dance · Drum and bass · Easy listening · Electronica · Experimental · Folk · Funk · Gospel · Hip hop · Instrumental · Jazz · Latin · Motown · New age · Operatic pop · Pop · Reggae · Rock · Soul · Soundtrack · World Sectors and roles Album cover design · Artists and repertoire (A&R) · Distribution · Entertainment law · Music education · Music executive · Music journalism · Music publisher · Music venue · Musical instruments · Promotion · Radio promotion · Record label · Record shop · Road crew · Talent manager · Tour promoter Production Arrangement · Record producer · Recording artist · Session musician · Songwriter · Sound engineer Record labels Major: EMI · Sony Music Entertainment · Universal Music Group · Warner Music Group · Independent: Independent UK record labels Release formats Album · Extended play (EP)/Mini album · Single Awards American Music Award · ARIA Music Awards · Billboard Music Awards · Brit Awards · Choice Music Prize · Classic Brit Awards · Diapason d'Or · Echo Award · Golden Disk Awards · Grammy Award · Grand Prix du Disque · Juno Award · Latin Grammy Awards · Meteor Music Awards · MTV Europe Music Awards · MTV Video Music Awards · MuchMusic Video Awards · Music of Black Origin Awards · New Zealand Music Awards · NRJ Music Award · TEC Awards · World Music Awards Charts ARIA Charts · Billboard Hot 100 · Canadian Hot 100 · RIANZ Singles Chart · Irish Singles Chart · UK Singles Chart Sales certifications ARIA (Gold · Platinum) · BPI (Silver · Gold · Platinum) · CRIA (Gold · Platinum · Multi-Platinum · Diamond) · PROMUSICAE (Gold · Platinum) · RIAA (Gold · Platinum · Multi-Platinum · Diamond) Publications Billboard · HitQuarters · Hot Press · Kerrang! · Mojo · NME · Q · Rolling Stone · Smash Hits · Top of the Pops Retailers Amazon.com · Fnac · HMV Group · Online music stores (iTunes Store) · Trans World Entertainment · Virgin Megastores Television Black Entertainment Television · Country Music Television · Fuse TV · Idol · Juice TV · MTV · MuchMusic · The Music Factory · Star Academy · Viva · The Voice · The X Factor Other A-side and B-side · Christian music industry  · Hidden track  · Grammy Museum  · White label Category

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Christopher Percy Gordon "Chris" Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is a British businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels".^[2] According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which Blackwell was inducted in 2001, he is the single person most responsible for turning the world on to reggae music.^[3]

Forming Island Records in Jamaica on 22 May 1959 aged 22, Blackwell was amongst the first to record the Jamaican popular music that eventually became known as ska. Returning to Britain in 1962, he sold records from the back of his car to the Jamaican community.^[2]

Backed by Stanley Borden from RKO Entertainment, Blackwell's business and reach grew substantially, and he went on to forge the careers of Bob Marley, Grace Jones and U2 amongst many other diverse high-profile acts. He has produced many seminal albums, including Marley's Catch A Fire and Uprising.^[4]

Childhood[link]

Blackwell was born in London. Blackwell's father, Joseph, who was Irish, was related to the founder of Crosse & Blackwell, purveyors of jarred foods and relishes, and had some residual wealth.^[2] He became a Major in the Jamaican Regiment.^[4]

Blackwell's mother, the former Blanche Lindo, was born in Costa Rica, and was a Sephardic Jew from a Jamaican family.^[3] She belonged to a powerful family who made their fortune in sugar and Appleton rum toward the end of slavery. They are named as one of the 21 families who controlled Jamaica in the 20th century.^[4] Blanche was considered the love of Ian Fleming's later life, becoming the James Bond author's muse and the inspiration for the character Pussy Galore in Goldfinger.^[5] She owned several thousand acres of land near Oracabessa, Jamaica, and sold properties to both Fleming and Noël Coward.^[6] Due to her heritage, Blanche was viewed as a white Jamaican.^[5]

Blackwell spent his childhood in Jamaica, and was sent to Britain to continue his education at Harrow.^[7] Deciding not to attend university, he returned to Jamaica to become ADC to the Governor of Jamaica Sir Hugh Foot. After Foot was transferred to Cyprus, Blackwell left King's House to pursue a career in real estate and other businesses, including managing jukeboxes up and down the country, which brought him into contact with the Jamaican music community.^[2]

In 1958, Blackwell was sailing off Helshire Beach when his boat ran aground on a coral reef. The twenty one-year-old swam to the coast and attempted to find help along the shore in searing temperatures. Collapsing on the beach, Blackwell was rescued by Rasta fishermen who tended his wounds and restored him back to health with traditional Ital food. The experience gave Blackwell a spiritual introduction to Rastafarianism, and was a key to his connection to the culture and its music.^[4]

Career[link]

Aged 22, Blackwell formed a record label in 1958 with a start-up investment of $10,000 provided by his parents, taking its name from Alec Waugh's novel Island in the Sun.^[3] Radio personality Graeme Goodall was his initial business partner.^[4] Blackwell received a small allowance from his mother, which enabled him to have his own apartment at a young age and survive on the little he was earning.^[2] Island's debut release was a piano album by Bermudian pianist Lance Hayward. Blackwell began recording Jamaican popular music in 1959, achieving a number one hit there with Laurel Aitken's "Boogie in my Bones/Little Sheila".^[3]

In 1961, Blackwell acted as a location scout and production assistant for the 1962 Bond film Dr No. After the movie wrapped, producer Harry Saltzman offered him a full-time position. Conflicted between music and film, Blackwell visited a psychic, who told him that he would be successful if he stayed in the music industry.^[4]

By 1962, the fledgling record producer had released 26 singles and two albums on Island.^[3] Blackwell returned to England that year and continued to grow his business. He began having success with the niche market of Jamaican music, and progressed to bringing in licensed master tapes. One of these contained a performance by fifteen-year-old Millie Small, who Blackwell brought over to England. In 1964, he produced Small's cover of a 1956 Barbie Gaye song "My Boy Lollypop" which was one of the first songs recorded in the "ska" style. Millie Small's version was a smash hit, selling over six million records worldwide. It launched Island Records into mainstream popular music, and is acknowledged as the first international ska hit.

Blackwell later remembered his breakthrough release:

After discovering The Spencer Davis Group, featuring Steve Winwood, Blackwell focused on the rock acts that Island had signed. Island became one of the most successful independent labels of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with artists like Traffic, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, Grace Jones, Free, John Martyn, Sly and Robbie, Sparks, Spooky Tooth, Nick Drake, Roxy Music, Robert Palmer, Melissa Etheridge, The Cranberries and U2. "The bigger labels are supermarkets", Blackwell remarked. "I like to think of Island as a very classy delicatessen."^[3] However, Chris has admitted to turning down some major names. One was Elton John: He considered the pianist too shy to become a performer.

Island and Blackwell himself became renowned for a relaxed, nurturing vibe. Blackwell showed skill in spotting and creating trends, as well as a gift for finding talent. He had an imaginative flair for marketing, and Island's releases were often packaged in lovingly designed gatefold sleeves.^[2] Blackwell has said: "I really believe that if people see something that looks good, subconsciously they'll think maybe there's something going on inside, on the record. There were times when somebody came out with a cover which was actually better than the record itself, so I'd have to send them back to remake the record."^[2]

Island Records was also the first home for Trojan Records, Chrysalis Records and Virgin Records and the American Label Sue Records, who produced Jimmy McGriff, The Soul Sisters and Ike and Tina Turner.^[3]

Eventually, Island moved into movies and released The Harder They Come in the UK, which featured Jimmy Cliff. Produced and directed by fellow Jamaican Perry Henzell, the film marked the first time that Jamaican themes appeared in mainstream cinema.^[3]

In 1977, Blackwell built Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas as a recording home for his and other artists.

One of Blackwell's notable achievements was bringing Bob Marley & The Wailers to the attention of international audiences.^[3] Without a signed contract, Blackwell advanced money to The Wailers for their first Island album, displaying the trust which stemmed from his 1958 beach rescue by Rastas. Blackwell's gesture led to the longterm success of both Marley and the label.

Of his experience with Marley, Blackwell has said:

Blackwell also formed Mango Records, which featured Jamaican and other artists from the Third World. Mango introduced Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Third World (band), Salif Keita, Baaba Maal, Angélique Kidjo, King Sunny Adé and many others.

Blackwell sold his stake in Island in 1989, eventually resigning from the company in 1997. In 2009, Blackwell was at the centre of celebrations held in London for Island's fiftieth anniversary.^[2]

Each of Blackwell's companies was eventually sold to Polygram, and are as of 1998 part of the Universal Music Group conglomerate, but Blackwell left with a unique reputation for looking after artists as diverse as Bob Marley, U2, Cat Stevens, Grace Jones, Steve Winwood, Melissa Etheridge, Tom Waits, The Cranberries, Richard Thompson and PJ Harvey.

After selling these companies, Blackwell went on to found Palm Pictures, a media entertainment company with music, film and DVD releases. In the late Nineties, Blackwell merged Palm Pictures with Rykodisc to form RykoPalm, a new operation.^[3]

Blackwell currently runs Island Outpost, which he set up to operate and market a group of elite resorts in Jamaica and the Bahamas, including Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains (where Marley recovered after being shot in 1976),^[4] Jake's in Treasure Beach, The Caves in Negril, and the recording studio and private hotel Geejam near Port Antonio, where artists such as Gwen Stefani and No Doubt, Drake and Gorillaz have recorded. Island Outpost also owns The Tides and The Marlin in Miami Beach, Florida.^[4]

Blackwell has long owned Goldeneye in Oracabessa, the previous home of Ian Fleming, where the author wrote all the James Bond books. Until his death, Fleming was the longtime lover of Blackwell's mother, Blanche.^[5] Blackwell developed the property into a community of villas and beach cottages, each with its own private access to the sea, and Goldeneye is considered the most exclusive of the Island Outpost resorts.^[4]

Blackwell is involved in a number of philanthropic organizations. Among these are Island ACTS, the Oracabessa Foundation, the Mary Vinson Blackwell Foundation, and the Jamaican Conservation Trust.

In 2003, Blackwell launched the Goldeneye Film Festival, which continues to be held annually at the resort. In September that year, Blackwell received the coveted Jamaican Musgrave Medal, awarded to Jamaicans who excel in the arts, music and public service. In 2004, the Order of Jamaica was bestowed upon Blackwell for philanthropy and outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry.^[4]

With a family legacy rooted in Jamaica's banana, coconut, and rum export industries, Blackwell served as the inspiration behind the recently launched Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum. The aged rum is a deep, rich, and fragrant black gold liquid that has been infused with tropical flavors.

In April 2009, the UK magazine Music Week named Blackwell the most influential figure in the last 50 years of the British music industry.^[8][9][10]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Baugh, Edward (1998). Chancellor, I Present. Mona: Canoe Press.
• Bradley, Lloyd (2001). This is Reggae Music. London: Grove.
• Childs, Peter and Mike Storry, eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge.
• (2001). "Chris Blackwell." Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

External links[link]

• Video Interview with Chris Blackwell
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Inductee Biography of Blackwell
• Palm Pictures website
• Island Outpost website
• Compass Point Studios website
• Chris Blackwell interview: Island Records – The Telegraph
• Island: The record label which changed the world – The Independent

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Alphonse Daudet
Born	(1840-05-13)13 May 1840 Nîmes, France
Died	16 December 1897(1897-12-16) (aged 57) Paris, France
Occupation	Novelist, Short story writer, Playwright, Poet
Literary movement	Naturalism
Influences Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Frédéric Mistral, Émile Zola

Alphonse Daudet (13 May 1840 – 16 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the father of Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet.

Early life[link]

Alphonse Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune and failure. Alphonse, amid much truancy, had a depressing boyhood. In 1856 he left Lyon, where his schooldays had been mainly spent, and began life as a schoolteacher at Alès, Gard, in the south of France. The position proved to be intolerable and Daudet said later that for months after leaving Alès he would wake with horror, thinking he was still among his unruly pupils.

On 1 November 1857, he abandoned teaching and took refuge with his brother Ernest Daudet, only some three years his senior, who was trying, "and thereto soberly," to make a living as a journalist in Paris. Alphonse took to writing, and his poems were collected into a small volume, Les Amoureuses (1858), which met with a fair reception. He obtained employment on Le Figaro, then under Cartier de Villemessant's energetic editorship, wrote two or three plays, and began to be recognized, among those interested in literature, as possessing individuality and promise. Morny, Napoleon III's all-powerful minister, appointed him to be one of his secretaries — a post which he held till Morny's death in 1865 — and showed Daudet no small kindness. Daudet had put his foot on the road to fortune.

Literary career[link]

Daudet's Mill

In 1866, Daudet's Lettres de mon moulin, written in Clamart, near Paris, and alluding to a windmill in Fontvieille, Provence, won the attention of many readers. The first of his longer books, Le petit chose (1868), did not, however, produce popular sensation. It is, in the main, the story of his own earlier years told with much grace and pathos. The year 1872 brought the famous Aventures prodigieuses de Tartarin de Tarascon, and the three-act play L'Arlésienne. But Fromont jeune et Risler aîné (1874) at once took the world by storm. It struck a note, not new certainly in English literature, but comparatively new in French. His creativeness resulted in characters that were real and also typical.

Jack, a novel about an illegitimate child, a martyr to his mother's selfishness, which followed in 1876, served only to deepen the same impression. Henceforward his career was that of a successful man of letters, mainly spent writing novels: Le Nabab (1877), Les Rois en exil (1879), Numa Roumestan (1881), Sapho (1884), L'Immortel (1888), and writing for the stage: reminiscing in Trente ans de Paris (1887) and Souvenirs d'un homme de lettres (1888). These, with the three Tartarins, Tartarin de Tarascon, Tartarin sur les Alpes, Port-Tarascon, and the short stories, written for the most part before he had acquired fame and fortune, constitute his life work.

L'Immortel is a bitter attack on the Académie française, to which august body Daudet never belonged.

Daudet wrote some stories for children, including "La Belle Nivernaise," the story of an old boat and her crew.

In 1867 Daudet married Julia Allard, author of Impressions de nature et d'art (1879), L'Enfance d'une Parisienne (1883), and some literary studies written under the pseudonym "Karl Steen."

Daudet was far from faithful, and was one of a generation of French literary syphilitics. Having lost his virginity at age twelve, he then slept with his friend's mistresses throughout his marriage. Daudet would undergo several painful treatments and operations for his subsequently paralyzing disease. His journal entries relating to the pain he experienced from tabes dorsalis are collected in the volume In the Land of Pain, translated by Julian Barnes.

Daudet died in Paris on 16 December 1897, and was interred at that city's Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Political and social views, controversy and legacy[link]

Daudet was a monarchist and a fervent opponent of the French Republic. Daudet was also anti-Jewish, though less famously so than his son Léon. The main character of Le Nabab was inspired by a Jewish politician who was elected as a deputy for Nîmes.^[1] Daudet campaigned against him and lost. Daudet counted many literary figures amongst his friends, including Edouard Drumont, who founded the Antisemitic League of France and founded and edited the anti-Semitic newspaper La Libre Parole. Daudet also exchanged anti-Semitic correspondence with Richard Wagner.^{[citation needed]}

It has been argued that Daudet deliberately exaggerated his links to Provence to further his literary career and social success (following Frederic Mistral's success), including lying to his future wife about his "Provençal" roots.^[2]

Numerous colleges and schools in contemporary France bear his name and his books are still widely read and several are still in print.

Works[link]

Major works, and works in English translation (date given of first translation). For a complete bibliography see Alphonse Daudet Bibliography

• Les Amoureuses (1858; poems, first published work)
• Le Petit Chose (1868; English: Little Good-For-Nothing (1885) or Little What's-His-Name (1898))
• Lettres de Mon Moulin (1869; English: Letters from my Mill (1880), short stories)
• Tartarin de Tarascon (1872; English: Tartarin of Tarascon (1896))
• L'Arlésienne (1872; novella originally part of Lettres de Mon Moulin made into a play)
• Contes du Lundi (1873; English: The Monday Tales (1900); short stories)
• Les Femmes de Artistes (1874; English: Artists' Wives (1896))
• Robert Helmont (1874; English: Robert Helmont: the Diary of a Recluse (1896))
• Fromont jeune et Risler aîné (1874; English: Fromont Junior and Risler Senior (1894))
• Jack (1876; English: Jack (1897))
• Le Nabab (1877; English: The Nabob (1878))
• Les Rois en Exil (1879; English: Kings in Exile (1896))
• Numa Roumestan (1880; English: Numa Roumestan: or, Joy Abroad and Grief at Home (1884))
• L'Evangéliste (1883; English: The Evangelist (1883))
• Sapho (1884; English: Sappho (1886))
• Tartarin sur les Alpes (1885; English: Tartarin on the Alps (1896))
• Le Belle Nivernaise (1886; English: Le Belle Nivernaise (1892); juvenile)
• L'Immortel (1888; English: One of the Forty (1888))
• Port-Tarascon (1890; English: Port Tarascon (1890))
• Rose and Ninette (1892; English: Rose and Ninette (1892))
• La Doulou (1930; English: In The Land of Pain (2003; translator: Julian Barnes))

References[link]

• The story of Daudet's earlier years is told in his brother Ernest Daudet's Mon frère et moi. There is a good deal of autobiographical detail in Daudet's Trente ans de Paris and Souvenirs d'un homme de lettres, and also scattered in his other books. The references to him in the Journal des Goncourt are numerous.

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Alphonse Daudet

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alphonse Daudet

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alphonse Daudet

• Works by or about Alphonse Daudet at Internet Archive (scanned books original editions color illustrated)
• Works by Alphonse Daudet at Project Gutenberg (plain text and HTML)

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.