A
music executive or
record executive is a person within a
record label who works in senior management, making executive decisions over the label's artists. Their role varies greatly but in essence, they can oversee one, or many, aspects of a record label, including
A&R,
contracts,
management,
publishing,
production,
manufacture,
marketing/
promotion,
distribution,
copyright, and
touring. Although music executives work in senior management, a number of music executives have gone on to establish their own record labels as owners themselves, sometimes being involved in the music industry initially as artists, A&Rs, or producers for a number of years and building a strong reputation.