Mogul City Media & Entertainment Group

Want your own recording label? Producing music has never been easier or cheaper. Richard Budrik, 54, had been manager of a Manhattan wine store for two decades when he decided last year to start his own record label. Huh? A middle-age man who knew zip about the shark-eat-shark music business? Throw money into an industry that was laying off thousands of workers? Budrik, though, did not have to risk his life savings, as he might have done a generation ago. He invested a measly $5,000. More surprising: In just 18 months his little label, Premier Cru Music, has pulled in revenue of $16,000 and has gotten worldwide airplay on BBC radio. Budrik woke up one morning to find himself producer of a Bangkok disc jockey's top-five pick. Technology has done to the marketing of recorded music what it did a decade ago to the publishing of the printed word--lowered the barrier to entry down to just about zero. Clay Pasternack, chairman of the Association for Independent Music, says you can put out...

The distinction between a music publisher and a record label is often misunderstood. The previous section outlined the responsibilities of music publishers. This section addresses the role of record labels. You will see that these two entities serve very different functions. Record labels are in the business of signing and developing recording artists—not songs. They are also responsible for the promotion and distribution of their artists' works. Employees in various departments of a record label oversee virtually all budgetary and creative decisions involved in the recording and marketing of albums. The Artists and Repertoires Department (almost always referred to as A&R) is responsible for the creative elements of the process. The A&R department's employees' responsibilities include scouting, signing, and developing artists; helping artists to find the ideal producer to best capture their sound; locating hit songs for those acts who do not write their own material...