Who Are the Major Players and Their Roles?
Record Labels
The Majors Three companies control the majority of the global recorded music market: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group. These "majors" offer artists comprehensive services including funding, production, marketing, distribution, and promotion. They have the capital to invest millions in breaking new artists and the infrastructure to promote them globally.
Independent Labels Beyond the majors exists a vast ecosystem of independent labels, ranging from substantial operations like Beggars Group and Concord to boutique labels run by a handful of people. Indies often offer artists better royalty rates and more creative control but typically lack the marketing muscle and capital of majors.
Label Services Companies A hybrid model has emerged where companies like AWAL, Believe, and The Orchard provide label services—marketing, promotion, playlist pitching—without taking ownership of master recordings. Artists retain their rights while accessing professional support.
Managers
Artist managers are perhaps the most crucial team member, serving as the strategic quarterback of an artist's career. They typically take 15-20% of an artist's gross income in exchange for guiding career decisions, coordinating between team members, and handling day-to-day business affairs. Managers negotiate deals, identify opportunities, manage relationships, and essentially act as the CEO of the artist's business. The best managers combine creative vision with business acumen, understanding both artistic development and commercial strategy.
Business Managers
While personal managers handle career strategy, business managers handle the money. These financial professionals—often CPAs or financial advisors specializing in entertainment—manage cash flow, pay bills, handle taxes, oversee investments, and ensure financial compliance. They typically charge 5% of gross income or work on a monthly retainer. For successful artists, business managers become essential for navigating complex income streams, tax obligations across multiple jurisdictions, and long-term wealth preservation.
Agents
Booking Agents Booking agents, working for agencies like CAA, WME, UTA, or Paradigm, focus exclusively on live performance opportunities. They book tours, negotiate performance fees, coordinate routing, and manage relationships with promoters and venues. Agents typically take 10% of touring income and are legally regulated in many states, requiring licenses to operate.
Talent Agents Broader than booking agents, talent agents seek opportunities beyond touring—brand partnerships, acting roles, book deals, and other revenue-generating activities that leverage an artist's fame.
Publishers
Music publishers manage the composition copyright (as distinct from the recording copyright). They ensure songwriters get paid when their compositions are used, whether through mechanical royalties from recordings, performance royalties from radio play, or sync fees from TV and film placements. Major publishers like Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group offer advances to songwriters and actively pitch songs for commercial opportunities. Publishers typically take 15-50% of publishing income, depending on the deal structure.
Distributors and Aggregators
Physical Distributors Companies like Alliance Entertainment and ADA (Alternative Distribution Alliance) handle the logistics of getting physical products—vinyl, CDs, merchandise—into retail stores. Despite digital dominance, physical distribution remains important, especially for vinyl, which has seen remarkable resurgence.
Digital Aggregators Companies like DistroKid, TuneCore, and CD Baby enable independent artists to distribute their music to streaming platforms and digital stores. For a flat fee or revenue share, they handle the technical and administrative requirements of digital distribution, making global distribution accessible to anyone.
Digital Service Providers (DSPs)
DSPs are the platforms consumers use to access music. Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube dominate streaming, while Bandcamp and SoundCloud serve more niche communities. DSPs have become the primary intermediary between artists and listeners, wielding enormous influence over discovery through playlists and algorithms. They typically keep 30% of subscription and advertising revenue, distributing the remaining 70% to rights holders based on complex formulas involving stream share and negotiated rates.
Performance Rights Organizations (PROs)
PROs like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC (in the US) collect and distribute performance royalties when music is played publicly—on radio, in venues, on streaming services. They act as intermediaries between songwriters/publishers and the thousands of businesses that use music, making it practical to collect royalties that would be impossible to track individually.
Promoters
Concert promoters—from giants like Live Nation and AEG to independent regional promoters—take financial risk on live events. They book venues, advance costs, market shows, and manage event logistics. Promoters typically work on a split deal with artists after costs are recouped, with the split varying based on the artist's leverage and ticket sales performance.
Production Professionals
Behind every recording are producers, engineers, session musicians, and songwriters who shape the creative product. Producers, who might work for flat fees, royalties, or combinations thereof, guide the creative process and often define an artist's sound. The rise of bedroom producers has democratized production, but top producers remain highly sought after and well compensated.
Marketing and Promotion Specialists
The modern music industry requires specialized promotion across multiple channels. Radio promoters maintain relationships with program directors, playlist curators pitch to DSP editorial teams, social media managers build online communities, and publicists secure press coverage. These specialists have become increasingly important as the number of songs released daily has exploded.
Emerging Players
New categories of industry players continue to emerge. Data analytics companies like Chartmetric provide market intelligence, rights management platforms like Kobalt offer technology-driven publishing administration, and investment platforms like Mars Markets are creating new ways to fund and monetize music. Social media platforms, particularly TikTok, have become kingmakers, capable of breaking artists overnight.
Interconnected Ecosystem
Understanding the music industry requires recognizing how these players interconnect. An artist's success depends on coordinating these various specialists, each contributing unique expertise and resources. The most successful artists build strong teams where each member's strengths complement the others, creating a whole greater than its parts.
This ecosystem continues to evolve as technology creates new opportunities and challenges. The rise of AI, blockchain, and direct-to-fan platforms suggests the industry's structure will continue transforming, potentially creating entirely new categories of players while reshaping the roles of existing ones.
