What are the parts of the music industry

If you are about to release your first music, the business around it can look like one big tangle. It is easier to understand when you split it into parts. Each part has its own work, its own money and its own people.

This article maps the main parts of the music industry for artists who are just starting out: recorded music, publishing, live performance, and media. It explains what each one is and what you need to decide in each.

Recorded music

Recorded music is the part most new artists think of first. It covers making a recording, finishing it, and getting it to listeners. Today that mostly means streaming and downloads, along with other formats such as physical copies.

A recording goes through steps: writing, tracking, mixing, mastering and release. Mixing balances the recorded parts against each other. Mastering prepares the finished mix so it plays well across speakers, headphones and services. Each step affects how the final song sounds, which is why many artists work with a producer or engineer.

Berklee Online lists interactive streaming and non-interactive webcasting among the revenue streams in recorded music, along with royalties and advances for featured artists and producers.

Publishing and songwriting

A song and a recording of that song are two different things. The song is the music and lyrics as written. The recording is the specific performance that was captured. In copyright terms they are handled separately, which is why the industry talks about "compositions" and "master recordings."

Publishing is the business side of the composition. Berklee Online lists several kinds of publishing rights: performance rights, mechanical reproduction rights, derivative rights, print rights, and grand rights for theatrical works. It also lists sync licensing, which is the licensing of music for television, film, commercials and video games. Sync uses both the composition and the master recording.

You do not need to master all of these terms before your first release. You do need to know that the song you wrote can earn money in ways that are separate from the recording.

Producers and engineers

The same law has a section about the people who make recordings. According to the Copyright Office, Title III of the Music Modernization Act lets producers, mixers and sound engineers receive royalties for uses of sound recordings under the section 114 statutory license. Those royalties are distributed by SoundExchange under a "letter of direction."

For an artist, the practical point is that how you credit and agree terms with the people who work on your recording can matter later. Put agreements in writing before the session, and keep a record of who did what.

Live performance

Berklee Online states that live music continues to provide the bulk of revenue for musical artists. The live part of the industry includes promoters, venues, talent agents, managers and festivals.

For a new artist, live work is often where an audience first forms. It also connects to the other parts of the map: a good recording gives a booker something to listen to, and a strong show gives listeners a reason to look up the recording afterward.

Media and brand

Music also lives outside songs. Berklee Online lists branding and merchandise as their own areas, including sponsorships, endorsements and brand partnerships, and merchandise. It also lists alternative income such as crowdfunding, grants, residencies, prizes and teaching.

Video and social content belong here too. A release usually comes with lyric videos, short clips and photos that help listeners find the music.

How the parts connect

These areas are not separate worlds. A single song can be a recording, a composition, a live set piece and a video all at once, and each use can bring in money in its own way.

Spotify's Loud & Clear site describes itself as sharing the data behind Spotify's royalty payments and explaining how money flows through the global streaming economy. It is a good place to look once you have music on streaming services and want to see how payouts are explained by the service itself.

A simple way to start is to pick one part and do it well. Finish a strong recording first. Then learn how your songs are registered, plan how you will play them live, and build the media around the release.

A short checklist before you release

Ask yourself a few direct questions. Who wrote the song, and who owns the recording? Did anyone else work on it who should be credited? Where will people hear it, and how will they find out about it? Do you have a way to play it live?

You do not need perfect answers on day one. You do need to know which part of the industry each question belongs to, so you know where to learn more and who to ask.