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Labels & Record Companies

Understanding the difference between Record Company and Label/Imprint fields

The release form has two fields that are easy to confuse: Record Company and Label / Imprint. They serve different purposes and appear in different places across exports.

Record Company

The parent company or label group the artist is signed to. If you're independent, leave this blank.

This field is used in Panorama exports, where it defaults to “Independent” if left blank. It is not used in SoundExchange or DistroKid exports.

Label / Imprint

How your label name appears on streaming platforms. This is the field that gets exported to SoundExchange, DistroKid, and other platforms. Independent artists typically use their artist name here.

Why are there two fields?
A label group can have multiple imprints. For example, the Record Company might be “Universal Music Group” while the Label / Imprint is “Republic Records”. Most independents only need to fill in Label / Imprint.

How Labels Appear in Exports

SoundExchange

The SoundExchange “Release Label” field uses this fallback order:

  1. Label / Imprint from the release form
  2. Primary master owner — the master owner with the highest royalty percentage on the track

This fallback exists because for self-released music, the master owner is typically the entity that should appear as the label. SoundExchange recommends using your name if self-released.

P-Line

The P-Line (phonogram copyright line) identifies the rights owner of a recording. It uses a similar fallback, prefixed with the release year:

  1. Track-level label — the label field on the recording version (useful if different tracks have different labels)
  2. Label / Imprint from the release
  3. Primary master owner — same as above

The result looks like “2024 Jane Doe” or “2024 XYZ Records”. If all three sources are empty, the P-Line is left blank.

Panorama

Panorama uses the Record Company field (not Label / Imprint). If Record Company is blank, it defaults to “Independent”.

DistroKid

DistroKid uses the Label / Imprint field. It's listed as optional in the readiness check — DistroKid will use your artist name if you don't provide one.