People mix these up constantly, including people who work in music. An artist tells me they "signed with a manager" and it turns out to be a label. A label calls itself "management." A publisher gets confused with a distributor. Each job is different, and knowing which is which is the first protection an artist has.
Here is who does what, in general practice.
The manager
The manager runs the career. The plan for the next year, which deals to sign, how the campaign runs, who is on the team. The manager works for the artist, not for the label or the agent.
- Owns: nothing in the music. The manager owns the plan and the accountability.
- Paid: a commission on the artist's income, usually 15 to 20 percent in general practice.
- Hires: the agent, the publicist, often the radio promoter, and works with the lawyer and business manager.
I wrote more about [what a manager does in practice](/blog/what-a-music-manager-does/).
The record label
The label deals with recordings. It funds them, releases them, markets them and works them at radio and streaming.
- Owns: usually the master recordings, or a license to them for a period.
- Paid: most of the income from the recordings, with the artist getting a royalty, or in some deals a split of profits.
- Does: A&R (picking songs and producers), marketing, promotion, distribution.
For an international artist, the home label and a US label can be different companies. Monsta X, whom I have managed since 2018, signed to Epic Records in the US in 2019. In 2021 I founded Intertwine Records with BMG, a record label, and Monsta X released Unfold on Intertwine in 2026. It went to No. 2 on Billboard Top Album Sales. Intertwine is a label. EG Management is management. They are separate jobs, even when one person is involved in both.
The distributor
A distributor gets the recordings onto streaming services and into stores, and collects the money from them. Some distributors offer extra services like marketing, which is why they get mistaken for labels. The simple difference: a distributor delivers and collects. A label invests and markets.
The publisher
The publisher deals with the song itself, the composition, not the recording. Every recorded song has two copyrights: the master (the recording) and the composition (the melody and lyrics). The label handles the first. The publisher handles the second.
- Owns: a share of the songwriter's copyright, or administers it, depending on the deal.
- Paid: a share of publishing income.
- Does: registers songs, collects songwriting royalties around the world, licenses songs, pitches them for sync and to other artists.
If you write your own songs, you need publishing handled, even if you are not signed to a publisher. Unclaimed songwriting royalties are some of the most common lost money in music.
The booking agent
The agent books live shows. Tours, festivals, private events.
- Paid: a commission on the shows they book, usually around 10 percent in general practice.
- Brought in by: the manager, usually once there is live demand to sell.
CAA, WME and UTA are booking agencies, not management companies. [I wrote about that separately](/blog/music-manager-vs-booking-agency/) because the confusion is everywhere.
The music lawyer
Reads and negotiates every contract. Many charge by the hour, some take a percentage. The artist should have their own lawyer, separate from the manager's and the label's.
The business manager
Handles the money. Collects income, pays bills and commission, handles tax and accounting. Usually paid a percentage or a fee. This is a different person from the manager, and it should be.
The publicist
Gets press. Interviews, features, reviews, TV bookings in some cases. Usually paid a monthly fee for a campaign.
Who works for whom
The simplest way to see it:
- The artist hires the manager, the lawyer and the business manager.
- The manager runs the plan and, with the artist's approval, brings in the agent, the publicist and others.
- The label and the publisher are business partners the artist signs with. They are not on the artist's payroll. They invest money and take a share.
That is why the manager matters so much. The label wants records to sell. The publisher wants songs to earn. The agent wants shows to sell. The manager is the one person whose job is the whole career.
For international artists
The same roles exist in every country, but they are often split differently at home. In Korea and Japan, for example, the label and the management are often the same company. When those artists come to the US, the American business expects the roles separated. A US manager who works next to the home company can bridge that. That is how I worked with BTS from 2016 to 2018, as US managing partner alongside Big Hit Entertainment, and it is the model I use now. More on [US management for international artists](/us-management-for-international-artists/).
More from the blog: Manager, label or label services · What a music manager charges · A music manager is not a booking agent · What a music manager actually does.