Final answer:
Small, independent record companies that served the R&B market are known as independent labels. They played a significant role in the promotion of R&B music, offering more artistic freedom despite financial limitations. The passage of time has seen a shift towards artists producing their own CDs and using online platforms to reach wider audiences.
Step-by-step explanation:
The R&B market was primarily served by small, independent record companies in its early days. These companies, often playing a crucial role in the development and fostering of R&B talent, were known as independent labels or indies. These independent record companies were pivotal for the discovery and promotion of R&B artists before the genre gained mainstream attention, allowing for a diversity of sounds and artists to emerge in the market.
In the context of the broader music industry, these independent companies worked outside the major label system, often with limited financial resources, but with greater artistic freedom. Despite the challenges, some were incredibly successful in identifying new talents and genres that the larger labels often overlooked. Today, the landscape of music production and distribution has drastically changed, enabling artists to produce their own CDs and use web-based commerce platforms such as Amazon to reach a global audience.