I've always tried to understand the various stakeholders in a band from a business standpoint, and I've asked the question to others but never really understood the answer (perhaps because they didn't really know).

No one could really articulate the various roles the business personnel around a band (manager, label, the 'record company', producer) assume, and why those roles can't be collapsed into one "entity".

I thought Phil or someone in the industry might be able to explain it better -- I believe there are large companies like MCA that are involved, and then there is a "label" and then there is a manager.

Unless I've got something wrong here, I think the manager looks after booking the band into venues and setting up tours. His role is more operational.

The role of the 'record company' or the label is fuzzy to me --their roles seem to overlap. Does the "MCA" of the mix handle manufacturing, distribution and broad marketing campaigns? If so, what does the label do?

The producer -- when I was in am amateur stuiod a few years ago, our sound engineer told me the producer handles the actual production of a CD and helps critique the music and make the band sound better, but I don't know if that producer is wedded to the label, or some other entity. Is s/he also involved in the actual logistics of planning who the studio musicians will be, booking time in the studio, and handling the project-management side of things....

And, are there other stakeholders in the mix from a business standpoint that I'm missing?

Just curious -- this question has always been a poser for me.