So You Want a Career in the Record Label Business?

by Robert Marshall

Saying you want a career in the record label business is just about as broad as saying you want a career in music. The possibilities are almost endless! To succeed you must find your niche, and to do this it is best to have a clear idea of what positions are available in the field.

To understand how record labels work, it can be useful to take a “top-down” approach to how they are organized. Many major record labels are owned by parent companies with other subsidiary record labels. Reprise Records, for example, is owned by Warner Brothers Records just as RCA is owned by Sony BMG. In the case of these labels, there is a CEO (chief executive officer) for the parent corporation that controls business for the company at large. We will begin our job search with the labels underneath the corporation, as these positions are available for indie as well as major labels.

• Executive Level

Record label jobs at the executive level can include the Director, President, or Vice President. Like in the major label model, the president controls the business and legal affairs of the company, where the vice presidents below him are in charge of the departments that make up the label.

• A&R (Artist and Repertoire)

The A&R department is in charge of finding new talent for the label to sign. The A&R Coordinator is responsible for scoping out venues, attending showcases, and listening to/watching demos. The A&R coordinator is also responsible for finding songs for signed artists. The A&R Administrator works alongside the coordinator fulfilling clerical tasks. The administrator is responsible for creating and maintaining a working budget for the artists and their expenses. They find studios to record in, session musicians to record with, and manage all other miscellaneous expenses for the artist.

• Promotion

The Promotional Staffer is in charge of contacting radio stations to generate airplay for all of the label’s releases. They work with program directors, music directors, and disc jockeys to promote new releases and supply the stations with promotional material for the artists they represent. This job hinges on creating and maintaining fruitful relationships with radio stations and directors.

• Artist Development

Artist development is the critical link between labels and artists. The Artist Development Representative (Artists Relations Representative) represents the interest of the label to the artist and vice versa, as well as maintains communication/ cooperation between the two entities. The artist development rep must make the band feel appreciated by the label. He/she must also mediate when problems arise and advise the artist on creative/performance-related issues.

• Marketing

The marketing department of a record label holds many job opportunities for the record company aspirant. The Marketing Representative oversees specific markets and reports sales of records to radio stations and trade publications. An Advertising Account Executive develops ad campaigns for the label’s products. Regional Sales Managers supervise the sale of the label’s records to wholesalers and/or retail outlets in a specific region, while Consumer Researchers analyze consumer trends for the label, which in turn informs the marketing representative.

• Publicity

As you might expect, the most important position in the publicity department is the Director of Publicity, or Public Relations Director. The PR director supervises the different publicity departments and develops/oversees all publicity campaigns. Staff Publicists, or Press Agents address all of the publicity and press needs of signed acts. One main aspect of this job is to get the artist exposure in as many forms of media as possible. This is accomplished by writing press releases, sending them to the correct media outlets, talking to media about acts, maintaining social media sites, and arranging interviews. These publicity events are often used to generate a buzz about an upcoming album or tour. The Assistant Publicist aids the staff publicist by compiling press kits for the artists, writing press releases, and double checking information for accuracy.

Sources:

Klein, Allison.  "How Record Labels Work"  25 May 2003.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/record-label.htm>  21 November 2011.