You're likely to encounter some or all of these people as your career develops.

A & R stands for 'Artists and Repertoire', an integral part of any record or publishing company. A&Rs are responsible for signing acts to their label and once signed it's their job to nurture and develop those acts. Many will want to have a say in the choice of singles, album tracklisting, which producers and studios you might use, in short, everything that constitutes your creative output. It's in your interests to develop a good working relationship with your A&R person, who in return should respect your views on creative development.

As with legal issues, it's important when your career takes off to speak to a specialist music industry accountant to keep you organised because as you start to earn money, you'll need help in to keep your financial affairs (tax, VAT etc,) in order. While many bands can take care of themselves at the outset, when things get more complicated you're likely to want to concentrate on your music, not your tax returns. The Musicians Union will be able to help you find a reliable trustworthy accountant, as would a manager, or other musicians that you know.

An agent works on commission to book gigs or tours on your behalf by striking deals with promoters, venue managers and programmers. They also work closely with your label to co-ordinate the timing of your live shows. Most agents won't take you on unless you are signed or at least have some sort of profile as they rely on your reputation and record company promotion to sell tickets. When you're up-and-coming a good agent should try to get you career-boosting support slots. An agent's commission is usually 15% + VAT of the gross gig fee. Thus if you are paid a guaranteed fee of £100, your agent will bill you for £17.62. Remember to keep this money aside after your gig if you don't have a manager to take care of your finances for you.

Usually to be found in smaller-sized pub or club venues, a band booker is paid to organize which package of bands plays the venue each night. Guaranteed fees are rare, with bands expected to sell their own tickets and give the major cut to the venue, perhaps £4 from a face-value ticket of £6. Bands are often expected to spend their own money promoting and advertising their shows. Bookers are not the equivalent of promoters, who take more of a financial risk by paying the band a fee (although at a beginner level, door splits are not uncommon), hiring venues and advertising shows.

The crucial rule here is that your lawyer MUST be a specialist Music Industry professional. Your sister's mate's brother the law student will not do. Music industry knowledge and experience is essential. Never, ever sign any contract or legal document without proper independent legal advice. The Musicians Union provides a basic legal service to its members which offers to look over contracts and can also provide you with contact info for independent lawyers when you need a more in-depth service.

A plugger's job is to secure radio airplay, sessions and tv exposure for the artist, an important task considering the enormous influence on sales that radio has. Most big labels employ in-house pluggers, others work freelance and are contracted in on a project basis by the record company or the band themselves.

Works on achieving press exposure by liaising with print journalists, editors, photographers etc. Many work in-house at record companies, but independent press and PR companies are a growing industry-within-an-industry and for a variable fee can work short-term on publicising releases or tours. Some of the bigger independents expect an annual retainer to represent you.

Responsible for working in advance with a tour manager to organize the technical requirements for tours. Liaising with promoters and venue staff, drawing up stage plans and equipment lists, booking artics and compiling carnets (official importation documents for overseas tours), and ensuring venue technical specifications are suitable for your sound, lighting, projection/visuals, and stage set-up. On the road, the PM takes responsibility for efficient load-in, set up and load-out at each gig and is the main liaison person for crew members.

Often, but not exclusively, to be found employed in Arts Centres or similar publicly-subsidised venues with multi-purpose usage. They will normally be responsible for booking a variety of entertainment, e.g. films, comedy, exhibitions, for the venue as well as being responsible for live music. A venue such as this would normally promote and advertise its programme at no cost to the artist. Be aware that such venues normally programme 3-6 months in advance.

A gig or club promoter (can be a large company or a one person operation) is responsible for the overall production and promotion of gigs. Often working closely with agents to ensure optimum timing to co-incide with product release, the promoter's first step is booking the talent followed by sourcing and hiring the correct size venue, organising technical equipment and staff within the venue and communicating with tour & production managers, advertising (press, radio, posters and increasingly, marketing by email) and setting up ticket sales outlets. The promoter or, in the case of large companies, the Promoter's Rep, should be in the venue at all times on showdays to make sure everything runs to plan, solve any problems on the day and to complete the financial settlements with the tour manager or band rep.

An increasingly popular job, studio and live sound engineering is a competitive but lucrative field to work in if you are successful. At a basic level, engineers should have some formal qualification or professional training as most companies will not take on wannabes. Hands-on experience is crucial so be prepared to volunteer for unpaid work experience with a studio, band or PA company if you get the chance. Many live engineers are prepared to double up as tour managers and drivers for a reasonable rate. However, it's probably unwise for an unsigned band to commit to paying an extra person until they are signed and have tour support to help pay for this.

Hunts for breaking talent on behalf of record labels and publishing companies by attending gigs. Lots of gigs. Often lots of gigs in one night. Don't be unduly upset if a scout says they'll attend your gig and doesn't show. This could be down to the fact they are trying to see several bands in different venues. Persevere.
Not usually an employee of the company, scouts receive a finder's fee should any act they tip be signed by their label.

A tour manager is responsible for 'advancing' a band's tour then ensuring the smooth running of the operation on the road. Advancing means booking crew members, tourbuses, caterers, hotel accommodation, flights, ferries, equipment insurance and compiling the tour itinerary to include any radio or TV promotion duties scheduled for the band, whilst keeping to the set tour budget as defined by the label or manager.

On the road, their main duty is to take care of the band but also monitoring budgets, paying pds (per diems are 'living expenses' paid to the touring party each day to take care of extras such as phone bills, laundry etc), hotel bills, catering costs, media commitments, guest lists and passes, and importantly, financial settlements with gig promoters. On smaller tours, the TM would usually adopt all the duties of a Production Manager (see above) but to a lesser scale.

Remember there are thousands of people employed in the music industry other than bands and musicians; maybe it's worth considering whether you have any skills that you could put to good use and get paid well for!