2. CEO
They must have strong skills in business management and financial
analysis
CEOs must understand the different kinds of music distribution methods,
you must determine the best method based on its profitability and its
ability to get the most exposure for the label.
CEOs recruit and hire management staff members. These employees must
not only be good at their specific jobs, but be able to effectively
communicate with the CEO.
The CEO are the ones who make all of the final decisions with the help of
the vice president.
3. Vice president
Most record labels have several vice presidents.
There are different vice presidents for each department at the record
label who manage the daily oversight of their departments. Depending
on the size of the label, there may be up to 10 or more vice presidents for
a single record label. Examples of departments that have vice presidents
include business affairs, legal, art, artist and repertoire, publicity,
marketing, sales and label liaison. Each of these departments has a
different function that works to build the label.
4. Business affairs/ accounting
The often unseen side of a record company is the business affairs department. As
in any large organization, this department takes care of bookkeeping, payroll and
personnel, finance and various other day-to-day functions.
The administrative side of a record company may have little involvement with the
artists on a daily basis. If you’re in a band with your own management, you might
not even deal with this department directly. If you are a band’s manager, it will
benefit you greatly to know how the different departments work.
To work as an accountant in the business affairs department you should have the
following skills: Accounting Skills, Computer Skills, Auditing Skills, Business
Administration Skills, Spreadsheet Application Skills, Math Skills, Critical Thinking
Skills, Finance Skills, Business Statistic Skills, Business Law Skills and Tax Law Skills.
5. Legal department
A record company’s legal department is responsible
for all the contracts that are made between the
company and the artist. The label’s team of
attorneys will draft the recording contracts and do
the final negotiations with the artist’s manager or
lawyer. Any legal actions, such as lawsuits between
musicians and the label, go through this department.
6. A&R
A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire. The is the division of a
record label that is responsible for talent scouting and the
artistic and commercial development of the recording artist.
It also acts as a liaison between the artist and the record
label.
The role of A&R has three main responsibilities:
Finding talent
Overseeing the recording process
Assisting with marketing and promotion
7. Artist development
The artist manager’s role covers just about the widest brief in the music business.
It is the manager’s job to serve the artist; to deal with all the everyday mundane
business affairs so that nothing is left to interfere with the delicate creative
process.
Artist managers also may find themselves dealing with the personal life of their
artists. Certainly they will be involved in any decision that directly concerns the
artist’s earning potential. A manager must be prepared to negotiate with record
labels, publishers, tour managers, booking agents, promoters, producers, lawyers,
accountants, journalists, photographers, merchandisers, fan clubs and often the
artist’s friends and family.
8. Marketing
The marketing department creates an overall marketing plan
for every album that the record company releases. It helps
coordinate the plans of the promotion, sales and publicity
departments.
Marketing also includes organizing street teams, maintaining
social network presence as well as traditional broadcasting
such as TV and radio. The marketing department is also in
charge of the art department.
9. Sales
These are the people who sell the product to the various
retailers and distributors throughout the country. Some
salespeople focus on specific large accounts; others may deal
with several different outlets in one particular city or
geographical area. Marketing people back up these sales
efforts by creating additional visibility for the product; this
includes the development of advertising campaigns, special
promotions, and in-store posters and displays.
10. Online/new media
This 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.
11. Art department.
The art department is in charge of all of
the artwork that goes along with
producing an album. This
includes CD cover art, advertisements
and displays at music stores.
12. Publicity/ promotions.
The publishing side of the music business is concerned with the songs themselves
(music and lyrics). So it’s perfectly possible for a songwriter to be signed by a
publisher before a cd has been released or even before that songwriter has a
record deal. In fact, quite often a good publishing company will spot a promising
writer at an early stage, offer advice, nurture their song-writing skills and help to
secure a recording contract.
A good publisher will also be pro-active in seeking to place songs on film and TV
soundtracks, adverts and compilations and will use their contacts to promote
suitable songs for use by established artists.
