Sales and Marketing

These are the people who sell the product to the various retailers and distributors throughout the country. Some salespeople focus on specific large accounts; others may deal with several different outlets in one particular city or geographical area. Marketing people back up these sales efforts by creating additional visibility for the product; this includes the development of advertising campaigns, special promotions, and in-store posters and displays.

Sales and marketing personnel also keep tabs on radio airplay and follow through by making sure that whenever something does get airplay that it’s sufficiently stocked in the marketplace. The sales department often coordinates these efforts with the promotion and publicity departments. In a major label the sales department may have up to 100 employees.

What does the marketing department do? The marketing department creates an overall marketing plan for every album that the record company releases. It helps coordinate the plans of the promotion, sales and publicity departments.

Marketing also includes organizing street teams, maintaining social network presence as well as traditional broadcasting such as TV and radio. The marketing department is also in charge of the art department.