The first party you probably think of when you want to release a track is a record label. This is likely because record labels are more in the forefront when it comes to releasing music, and what they do is pretty straightforward. So what do they do, and what are the pros and cons?

A record label handles the artist’s master recordings. They can distribute them, release them, promote them, collect money on them, use them for promotional purposes, and more. So if you don’t know how to release music and want to get help, they can do that for you. The role of record labels has shifted over the years. It’s good to look back at what the early record labels did to get a better understanding of what their role is.

Before the digital era, music was sold on vinyl, tape, and CDs. All of these needed to be physically manufactured, stored, and distributed before they could be sold. Manufacturing, storing, and distributing a large amount of physical products was not cheap. A starting artist would likely not have the money to manufacture a large amount of products, and it was a large risk to take (what if they didn’t sell?). In addition, buying studio time to record the music in the first place was also expensive. This is where the record label came in. A record label would have the capital to make these kinds of payments. When they found an artist they believed in, they were willing to invest money in their studio time, the manufacturing, and distribution of their CD. In addition, a record label would preferably have a large network of stores, radio stations, DJs, and other people to promote the CD.

In short, the label would invest money in the artist’s music, get ownership of their master recordings, sell their music, (hopefully) earn the money of the investment back, make a profit, and share some of the profit with the artists (more on this in the Major Labels section).

Today, things are a lot different. Physical copies of music were expensive to make and distribute, but today, almost all music is consumed digitally. It is not expensive at all to distribute music digitally (see Independent Releasing), so the role of the record label has changed.

Because the large cash investment to manufacture the music is out of the equation, record labels’ role in the distribution of music became smaller. However, they have not disappeared. Record labels do more than just distribute music. They can invest in the artist’s career in different ways. For example, they may pay the artist an advance so the artist can live off that and pay for studio time (more on this in Major Labels). Labels also still play a large role in the promotion of music. They may have a big network and a big audience to push the music of their artists. They also may get the artist in contact with people who can help their career. And lastly, they can simply take work out of the hands of the artist, so the artist can focus on making music (see Independent Releasing). To dive deeper into the activities of a record label, it’s good to look at major labels and independent labels separately, because they work differently.