Record Labels

Record companies are the main investors in, and developers of, musical talent in the UK and globally. Around 23% of label revenue is poured back into the signing and developing of new talent through their A&R (artist and repertoire) departments. Record labels enable artists, through advances and marketing/sales support, to treat music making as a full-time career. They exploit the artists’ recordings commercially and collect and pay the resulting royalties on their behalf.


Labels traditionally pay for the recording and mixing of albums (with this money being recouped through the sale and wider exploitation of those recordings) and they often underwrite new acts’ touring costs to help raise their profile and sales. On top of manufacturing and distributing the recordings which is both physical and digital retailers, record labels provide an essential promotional and marketing role. This includes developing and executing ad and marketing campaigns as well as promoting the acts to media.

Labels can also seek out other ways for the recordings to be exploited, such as being used in movies and adverts, and license rights to global parties in different markets. In recent years, a number of labels have moved beyond the sole acquisition and exploitation of the rights associated with sound recordings to take an interest in artists other sources of income.