Music Industry

The music industry itself comprises various players, including individuals, companies, trade unions, not-for-profit associations, rights collectives, and other bodies. Professional musicians, including band leaders, rhythm section members, musical ensembles, vocalists, conductors, composers/arrangers, and sound engineers create sound recordings of music or perform live in venues ranging from small clubs to stadiums. Occasionally professional musicians negotiate their wages, contractual conditions, and other conditions of work through Musicians' Unions or other guilds. Composers and songwriters write the music and lyrics to songs and other musical works, which are sold in print form as sheet music or scores by music publishers. Composers and performers get part of their income from writers' copyright collectives and performance rights organisation such as the ASCAP and BMI (or MCPS and PRS respectively for the UK). These societies and collectives ensure that composers and performers are compensated when their works are used on the radio or TV or in films. When musicians and singers make a CD or DVD, the creative process is often coordinated by a record producer, whose role in the recording may range from suggesting songs and backing musicians to having a direct hands-on role in the studio, coaching singers, giving advice to session musicians on playing styles, and working with the senior sound engineer to shape the recorded sound through effects and mixing.

Some professional musicians, bands, and singers sign with record labels, which are companies that finance the recording process in return for part or full share of the rights to the recording. Record label companies manage brands and trademarks in the course of marketing the recordings, and they can also oversee the production of videos for broadcast or retail sale. Labels may comprise a record group — one or more label companies, plus ancillary businesses such as manufacturers and distributors. A record group may be, in turn, part of a music group which includes music publishers. Publishers represent the rights in the compositions—the music as written, rather than as recorded—and are traditionally separate entities from the record label companies. The publisher of the composition for each recording may or may not be part of the record label's music group; many publishers are wholly independent and are owned by the artists themselves.

Record labels that are not part of or under the control of the "Big Four" music groups are often classified as independent or "indie" labels, even if they are part of large, well-financed corporations with complex structures. Some music critics prefer to use the term indie label to refer to only those independent labels that adhere to 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.

Record labels may use an "A&R" (Artist and Repertoire) manager not just to seek out bands and singers to sign, but also to help develop the performing style of those already signed to the label. A&R managers may organize shared tours with similar bands or find playing opportunities for the label's groups which will broaden their musical experience. For example, an A&R manager may decide to send an emerging young singer-songwriter with little live playing experience on a major tour with an established electric folk rock act from the same label, so that this person will gain more confidence.

A record distributor company works with record labels to promote and distribute sound recordings. Once a CD is recorded, record distribution companies organize the shipping of the CDs to music stores and department stores.

When CDs sell in stores or on websites (such as the iTunes Store), part of the money obtained by the record label for the sales may be paid to the performers in the form of royalties. Of the recordings which generate substantial revenues for the labels, most do so only for a short period after they are released, after which the song becomes part of the label's "back catalogue" or library. A much smaller number of recordings have become "classics", with longstanding popularity, such as CDs by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. These albums have continued to generate revenue for the labels and often, in turn, royalties for artists, long after their original release.

Successful artists may hire a number of people from other fields to assist them with their career. The band manager oversees all aspects of an artist's career in exchange for a percentage of the artist's income. An entertainment lawyer assists them with the details of their contracts with record companies and other deals. A business manager handles financial transactions, taxes and bookkeeping. A booking agency represents the artist to promoters, makes deals and books performances. A travel agent makes travel arrangements. A road crew is a semi-permanent touring organization that travels with the artist. This is headed by a tour manager and includes staff to move equipment on and off-stage, drive tour buses or vans, and do stage lighting, live sound reinforcement and musical instrument tuning and maintenance. The tour manager's tasks can vary widely depending on the type of tour and where the group is playing. The tour manager's typical tasks of ensuring that hotel, restaurant and travel arrangements are confirmed may expand into other tasks, if the venue where the band is playing does not have certain equipment. For example, if the venue lacks a grand piano or Hammond organ that the band needs for the show, the tour manager will be responsible for finding a rental instrument for the show and having it moved onstage. Or, if a band member needs an emergency instrument repair, the tour manager and/or the guitar tech will help to find a repair person or replacement instrument. The most high-profile celebrity performers may also have personal assistants, a chef, and bodyguards. Singers may hire a vocal coach to give them suggestions on how to take care of their voice or develop their singing range.