Narrative
A is, at heart, an investor in recordings.
A record label is a business that finances, makes, markets, and distributes sound recordings, and in return, owns them.
Strip away the glamour and a traditional label does four things. It finances: it puts up money to record and promote. It makes: it commissions or oversees the recordings. It markets: it pays for promotion, playlist pitching, press, video. And it distributes: it gets the recordings onto platforms and into shops, directly or through a .
For doing this (and taking the financial risk) the label takes ownership of the masters (the recordings) and the larger share of income.