Record companies take big share in the work of the music industry.
They sign, develop, record, promote, publicize and sell music.
Of course, all those things happen before the album ever gets into the store.
Remember that today, many record companies are huge corporations that own a variety of
record labels.
These corporations usually consist of a parent company that owns more than one record label.
Often, the subsidiary labels are each mini-companies operating under the umbrella of the larger
corporation.
To describe the hierarchy of a record company, it's best to start at the top.
The CEO or Chief Executive Officer is in charge of the business of the whole company.
In addition, each label also has its own president.
Legal Department is responsible for all the contracts that are made between the company
and the artist, as well as contracts between the record label and other companies.
Any legal issues that arise (such as lawsuits between an artist and the company) go through
this department.
Business Affairs department deals with the business side of things.
It takes care of bookkeeping, payroll and general finances.
Under the president of the individual label, there are executive vice presidents in charge
of different departments.
Let's take a look at the departments that make up a major record label:
A&R or artists and repertoire department is often considered the most glamorous department
at a record label.
This is because A&R is in charge of discovering new talents.
They do everything from assisting with song selection to choosing the people that will
produce the album to deciding where the album will be recorded.
The people in this department work as the link between the recording artist and all
the other departments of the record company.
Promotion Department’s main purpose is to make sure that an artist is being played on
the radio.
It must get an artist's new songs on the radio in order to ensure the future success of the
record company.
Artist Development department is responsible for planning the careers of the artists who
are signed to the record label.
It promotes and publicizes the artists over the course of their career.
The Marketing Department creates the overall marketing plan for every album that the record
company will release.
It helps coordinate the plans of the promotion, sales and publicity departments.
Publicity department is responsible for getting the word out about a new or established artist.
It arranges for articles to be written in newspapers and magazines.
They also deal with radio and television coverage of an artist.
The New Media department is in charge of dealing with the newer aspects of the music business,
including producing and promoting music videos for the artist.
In addition, this department is often responsible for helping an artist create a presence on
the Internet.
It deals with the new technologies in which artists can stream music and music videos
through the Internet.
Label Liaison department is usually one person, or small group of people, who serve as the
liaison between the distribution company and the record company.
The label liaison also helps decide when to release an album and makes sure it doesn't
conflict with any of the other labels the record company owns.
Sales department oversees the retail aspect of the record business.
It works with the record store chains and other music stores to get new albums onto
retailers' shelves.
The sales department often coordinates these efforts with the marketing department.
Art Department is in charge of all the artwork that goes along with producing an album.
This includes CD cover art, advertisements and displays at music stores.
This department is closely connected with marketing and sales departments.
Remember that any given record label may have a slightly different organization.
As large companies buy up smaller record labels, the organization of record companies changes
a great deal.
Most record companies have their own Web sites where you can find what labels the company
owns and what artists the company is promoting.
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