Industry overveiw

I got this from a group on facebook and thought i would post it here. much love to my girl Adrienne Hill and here is a link to her group page http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=107267617130

As an unsigned artist, it’s important to know the role of various key players in the industry. Nothing is worse than running into someone that works for a label or is a position of stature and not knowing how to approach them or how they can potentially help you. Everyone at a label isn’t an A&R, but that doesn’t mean that they are of any less importance. Chances are they might be able to help you more than you think, if you know how to approach them.

Steps in the record label process

1. The A&R Department, or artist and repertoire is responsible for finding talent, signing talent, preparing the talent and packaging the artist. They are responsible for single selection and the overall creative process of making an album.

2. The Marketing Department creates a marketing plan that outlines the strategy for a particular release. This includes product info (price, street date), radio promo plans, sales projections, advertising commitments, online marketing and available promotional tools.

3. The Sales Department outlines sales figures for each title and decides how many records to ship to vendors that sell their product. These figures are calculated from artist's selling history, account holder feedback, similar competitor histories and marketplace trends. The sales department is also responsible for tracking album sells and wavering how much product to send out to stores.

4. The Publicity Department informs and reminds the public about an
artist through interviews, appearances and performances across all media including radio, print, television and internet.

5. The Promotions Department works to increase artist visibility in the marketplace. They target radio stations and video channels in effort to maximize video and record airplay. They are also responsible for reporting market trends and artist feedback to the label to gauge a project’s or artist’s popularity in a particular market.