A Record Label
Record companies (known as record labels because albums have a label indicating which company produced it) take on a lion's share of 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.
Desert Sky has teamed up with RENOWNED artist and producer GARDNER COLE. When Records and singles need to be at the top of the charts, The people behind the curtain are the ones that make the difference.
A&R
The A&R (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 talent. A&R people work very hands-on with the artists that they "sign." (When a record label "signs" an artist, it simply means that the artist makes an exclusive contract with that record label.) 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.
Artist Development
This 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. According to Music Biz Academy, many labels no longer have artist development departments. As record labels have come to see artists as products in recent years, some artist development departments have been renamed "Product Development." Many insist that this is because the emphasis in the current music business is to promote artists very heavily in the beginning of their career, as opposed to long-term planning. *If you don't want to be a "one-hit-wonder," pay close attention to how the record label views this aspect of career planning.
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.
This group is also 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. Many artists also have their own independent publicists who help coordinate publicity with this department as well.
Promotion Department
This 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. This department makes sure that all the other departments are communicating about the best way to sell the artist to the public. The promotion department may also try to get videos played on MTV or VH1 channels. This can be the responsibility of this department or in conjunction with the New Media department.
