A&R (Artists & Repertoire)

A&R (Artists & Repertoire)

Frank H

Los Angeles, CA

Male, 34

I was an A&R guy for a major record label between 2001-2004. We broke several new artists and produced a handful of platinum-selling records during my tenure, but we also experienced the beginning of the industry’s downfall. Many jobs lost, many artists dropped — what was once an extremely fun and creative profession became far less glamorous, virtually overnight.

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31 Questions

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Last Answer on May 23, 2014

Best Rated

Are record labels becoming obsolete?

Asked by borderXing about 13 years ago

The jury’s still out on this one. The good news for artists is that there are innumerable do-it-yourself (DIY) tools which, in theory, obviate the need for a label. An artist can record music with relatively inexpensive software, sell it through primary retail channels (e.g. iTunes, Amazon) via artist services such as TuneCore or ReverbNation, and market themselves heavily through sites like Facebook and Twitter. Whether these DIY methods can allow an artist to truly become a superstar remains to be seen, but many are earning modest livings using these methods. As a practical matter, a record label certainly enhances an artist’s likelihood of achieving commercial success, given the resources available (e.g. tour support, marketing, radio promotion). But to compensate for that, an artist with a label relationship foregoes a significant percentage of the revenue they’d otherwise earn if they we’re going it alone.

552 Votes

How important is seeing a band play live in deciding whether to sign them?

Asked by passda_mike about 13 years ago

Seeing shows is an important part of scouting, albeit less so than in days past. Now with the advent of so much online audio/video and the social media sites from which artists headquarter themselves, seeing numerous shows becomes somewhat inefficient. In my heyday (the early 00’s), I was literally seeing between 20-30 performances per week in lower Manhattan. I left this line of work a long time ago, but I’d imagine the typical A&R rep these days does far more screening online and then cherry-picks only the most promising shows to attend.

549 Votes

What does an A&R rep actually do?

Asked by mortifyia about 13 years ago

Generally speaking, the A&R rep’s function is to find promising musical talent, recruit the talent to sign with the label, and develop the talent into something commercially viable. Scouting can happen through numerous channels, including seeing live performances, listening to demos, and online research. Coordinating record production is a major component, and given the time, resources, and headcount required to actually make a record, it takes solid organizational skills to get the job done. Also keep in mind, an A&R isn’t just searching for performers. He’s also looking for producers, mixers, arrangers, songwriters, etc — just about every type of specialist that may be utilized in making records. This results in tons of meetings, phone calls, negotiations, etc. Finally, an A&R is constantly working with other label departments to ensure that his projects will be adequately funded, properly marketed, and well-promoted.

538 Votes

Can’t P2P file-aharing actually *help* an artist’s popularity and ticket sales?

Asked by soma55 about 13 years ago

P2P sharing can be great for an emerging band, 99% of whose focus is getting exposure in the earlygoings. You’ll frequently hear small/indie bands telling their concert audiences to go steal their new album. Why? Because unless you’re a huge, canonical artist, there isn’t significant money to be made on the sale of recorded music. The majority of earnings come from concert tickets and merchandise (e.g. t-shirts), as these are higher margin and provide more tangible value to the fans. The artists that typically complain the most about P2P are the huge, household names that no longer need exposure to sell music (e.g. Metallica, who were arguably the most vocal anti-Napster band). They’ll sell out concert venues and merchandise booths no matter what. So for them, piracy simply eats into the profitability of their recorded music.

537 Votes

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What's your opinion of people that say the music business is too hard to break into, or that it's unlikely you will ever make it in?

Asked by Hunter over 12 years ago

Depends on how you define "break into." There was a time when this meant getting a record deal, and yes, the odds were slim-to-none. But now, literally anyone can record music and distribute it through iTunes, Amazon mp3, CDBaby, etc. So if "breaking into the music business" means making your recordings available for sale, there are no barriers to keep you from doing this. And of course, you can always play live shows, make and sell your own merchandise, etc.

Now, if what you REALLY mean is becoming a well-paid (or even moderately paid) musician, well that’s a different story. Per the above, since *anyone* can now do it, the market is insanely oversaturated, making it more difficult than ever to stand out in the crowd. Fans’ attention spans are shorter, they’re showing up less frequently to concerts, and the idea of "paying for music" has gone the way of pay phones and fax machines. You can obviously still earn money (albeit less and less) through the sale of recordings, live shows, merchandise sales, publishing deals, and dozens of other ways, but there are more and more musicians competing for a piece of that same, shrinking pie.

That said, whenever I’m asked questions like this, I typically advise that aspiring musicians diversify their craft a bit. That doesn’t necessarily mean taking some boring 9-to-5, but in addition to writing/performing/selling your own music, figure out other ways to get paid to perform. Session work, writing commercial jingles, corporate gigs .. these may not be your favorite ways to pass the time, but they can keep you afloat while you work on *your* stuff concurrently.

In short, nowadays it’s easier to get in, but consequently, harder to stand out. But if your goal is less about wealth and more about doing what you love, it’s certainly a possibility.

p.s. You might find this 10/5/12 article from DigitalMusicNews.com interesting/relevant: "What a Successful Artist Can Expect to Make These Days...": http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2012/121004successfuls

525 Votes

How do A&R's search for new talent these days? Essentially, where should a new act focus: youtube vids, myspace, other websites, more traditional methods?

Asked by Jay almost 12 years ago

The popular, DIY response is, "Who cares where A&R's search? You don't need them!"

Frankly, I agree with that, but I'll assume for the moment that I'm answering this for someone who knows what do-it-yourself options are available but wants to get a record deal nevertheless.

If you want a quick answer as to where bands should make themselves visible online, I can't tell you much you don't already know: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter... the usual suspects.

But, I'd argue, that's the wrong question to ask. The real question is, "Assuming I make myself visible online, what's going to make an A&R -- or a manager, or publisher, or booking agent -- pluck me from the other X million artists out there?"

In short, it's about track record.

Not too long ago, scouts would scour live music venues hoping to find great new artists. As music became available online, scouts would use the web to supplement the live shows, and help inform themselves as to which ones were worth seeing. If they found artists with a fresh sound and look, they'd attempt to recruit and develop them.

But as the industry took a nosedive, the idea of a label building an artist from scratch became a thing of the past. Signing an artist (no matter how talented) who has yet to build a following assumes an enormous amount of risk. So nowadays, A&R's are looking for talent that already has a dedicated fanbase and has achieved respectable sales (music, tickets, and merchandise). The fanbase and sales don't necessarily need to be huge, and may even be comprised primarily of local fans. But the point is, the A&R and label want to see proof that the artist is worth fans obsessing over.

So what does this all mean? It means that evidence of a fanbase -- regardless of where you dwell online -- is the most important thing. An A&R will be far more impressed with an artist who's sold 20,000 records independently than the artist with no sales but music available throughout the entire social web. So my advice is not to worry TOO much about making sure you've got an active profile on every flavor-of-the-month website, but to maintain a simple presence on 2-3 sites and and focus on the fundamentals.

469 Votes

If you are a small start up label with little revenue, what is a good compensation model for willing A/R reps?

Asked by Tim over 11 years ago

You'll probably have to hire younger folks who have low overhead and the time/energy to do A&R in addition to their day jobs. At the very least, cover their A&R-related expenses (tickets, travel, etc). Offer them generous percentages on artists they get signed to you label. And if feasible, give them an unexpected stipend now and again.

403 Votes

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