The sales department manages all the retail activities of the label both physical (CDs, vinyls, cassettes…) and digital (streaming platforms, digital sales). A few decades ago, this department was only focused on the physical side. Their goal was to create a relationship with the record store chains and market retailers to distribute the albums.

Recently, the rise of DSPs also called the “streaming era”, has changed the listening habits of consumers, drastically reducing the sales of physical copies for a digital subscription. Therefore, the sales department has transformed and is now working mainly with DSPs. Before a release, they make sure the platforms have received the records and are ready for the D-day. They also negotiate deals for royalties payments and ad placements with DSPs.  

​Their tasks being mainly operational, sales are often found at the record company level meaning there is no one department in each label, but a big one overseeing multiple major labels (ex: in Sony 'Global Digital Business' group oversees the sales work for all major labels - Columbia, Arista, RCA, etc.)

The sales department inside major record companies is a sort of in-house music distribution company. They sign deals with record labels or artists which gives them the right to sell their music to shops (physical or digital). Independent labels usually don’t have their own sales team and go through distribution companies instead.

Today, a lot of digital (only) distribution companies like TuneCore or CD Baby have emerged. They allow DIY artists to distribute their songs easily to streaming platforms without needing a label.