A&R representatives, or “A&Rs,” are the people who work with artists to help them record their albums, find producers and songwriters, and more. They’re also responsible for signing artists to record deals and creating a marketing plan around their music.
The A&R position can be both rewarding and extremely challenging. To succeed in this role, you’ll need to have an in-depth knowledge of the music industry, as well as an understanding of how to market your artists’ work effectively. A&R reps typically work for labels or management companies that represent artists. Their primary responsibilities include:
Managing artist development: A&R reps are responsible for developing talent from the ground up. This includes everything from finding new artists to coaching them on stage presence and performance skills. A&R reps also work with managers and agents on behalf of their clients to secure gigs, tours, and appearances on television shows or at festivals.
Managing artist contracts: A&R reps negotiate contracts on behalf of their artists with record labels, publishers, and other entities involved in creating an album or single release.
This includes negotiating royalties, advances, and other contractual terms so that they’re fair for both parties involved in an agreement
A&R reps are typically paid a percentage of the artist’s royalties and other income. The exact amount varies depending on the record label, but it’s often between 10% and 25% of the artist’s publishing royalties or revenue from sales or licensing.
For example, if an artist earns $5 million in royalties over the course of their career and the A&R rep gets 15% of that money, they’ll earn $750,000 (15% multiplied by $5 million).
What the A&R Rep Does
The A&R rep is the person who signs and develops new artists, as well as helps them to create their music. The A&R rep has many roles, including finding new talent and signing artists to record contracts with their record label. They also help develop careers for their artists by helping them find producers, songwriters, and other people who can help them make their music sound great.
How an A&R Rep Finds Talent
An A&R rep finds new talent by listening to demos sent in by artists’ managers, By social media platforms, or by going to live shows where they can meet artists and watch them perform. If they hear someone they like, they approach that artist’s manager and try to get a meeting set up with him or her. Once they meet with an artist, they’ll try out different songs on them to see how well they work together musically. If these meetings go well, the A&R rep will sign that artist to a contract with his or her record label.
After a record company signs an artist, it is the A&R rep’s job to help build the artist’s career. The A&R rep often works closely with the artist and his or her manager to develop the artist’s image and music. The rep will also work with radio stations, television shows, and other media outlets to promote the artist and his or her music. In addition, an A&R rep may book concerts for their artists or arrange for them to appear on television shows like American Idol or The Voice.
The A&R rep may also be responsible for selecting songs for an artist that they want to be included on an album. The rep listens to new songs submitted by songwriters and decides which ones are good enough for inclusion on an album. If a songwriter does not submit a song that is good enough for one artist, he may send it along to someone else at the same record label who needs new material for a different artist in their stable of artists.
The A&R rep is the person who finds new artists, develops them, and helps to get their music heard by record labels. The A&R rep will also help to manage the artist’s career once they’re signed.
The job of an A&R rep is not just about finding new music; it’s also about helping the artist grow as a performer and a musician. One of the most important functions of an A&R rep is to find new talent and allow help that artist develop into a successful performer.
In today’s world of music, there are thousands of artists looking for a big break in the business. Many people think that being signed by a major label is all it takes to make it big, but this isn’t necessarily true. Today’s music industry has changed drastically from years past, largely due to technology and social media taking over everything we do online. The internet has brought us closer together than ever before; this includes musicians who are all trying to get noticed by fans all over the world through social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. This has become one of the best ways for musicians to market themselves today because it allows them to reach out to millions of people in just minutes!
The job of an A&R rep is to scout and sign new artists, as well as develop existing artists. A&Rs are also responsible for overseeing the careers of artists they have signed. This includes things like negotiating contracts, making sure that albums are promoted properly, and helping to plan tours.
A&R reps can work for record labels or be self-employed. In either case, they may be involved with several different artists at once. A&R reps typically work with several different genres of music, although some specialize in one type of music (e.g., afro beats, hip hop, R&B, etc).
Senior A&R Executive: Senior A&R executives oversee all aspects of an artist’s career and work under the supervision of the president of the company or label they are working for. They may also have their staff and assistants who carry out various tasks related to signing new artists, developing existing artists and promoting albums and songs on radio stations, television shows, and other types of media outlets that play music videos, such as HIP TV, M TV BASE, etc.
A&R reps are responsible for scouting out new artists and developing them into stars. As you might imagine, it’s a very competitive field with lots of competition from other A&R reps who have similar goals.
So what does an A&R rep do? What do they get paid? And what are the steps to becoming one?
A&R stands for Artist & Repertoire, which means that the person in this position is responsible for finding new talent and then molding them into stars. They’re also responsible for choosing songs and overseeing album production by signing off on budgets, approving artwork, and more.
A&R reps can make a lot of money, but they don’t always. The average salary for an A&R executive is $77,000 per year. If you’re an A&R rep at a major label, your salary may be higher or lower depending on how successful you are at signing artists and getting them recording contracts. If you’re working as an independent A&R rep, like me, your payment will be much higher.
As an independent A&R rep, I charge 6 figures per artist that I sign to my label. That’s the price you’ll pay if you want me to find you a deal with one of the major labels. If I sign an artist directly to my label without going through a major label first, then I charge less. (because it’s easier for me).
Music publishers are the people who handle the songwriting credits and royalties. They act as a liaison between the artist and the record label, ensuring that the songwriter is compensated for his or her work.
The A&R rep often works with music publishers to make sure that they have all of their ducks in order before they send out tracks to labels. This means checking up on things like copyrights, publishing splits, and royalties owed. If you’re an artist who has written songs for other artists, you need to know how much money you can expect to make from them.
A&R reps can help with this by keeping track of royalty splits that were agreed upon in contracts. They also ensure that everyone involved receives their fair share of royalties when they’re due!
The A&R rep is an important member of a record label, who helps to find and develop new artists. They also have other tasks that help the label, such as creating compilations or writing liner notes for albums.
music companies are responsible for the production of albums and singles, the promotion of albums and singles, the marketing of albums and singles, the time scheduling of album recording sessions and singles recording sessions, the correct signing of new artists to contracts that are fair to both parties, and more. It is a difficult responsibility. A&R representatives are also responsible for some of these things as well, but they’re also required to be great listeners–not necessarily good musicians–to be able to tell if an artist or band will be successful on stage and record with their recently signed contract. They must be professional when meeting with the artist and his or her band members during the signing process so trust will be created between the two parties. They must be able to effectively tell when an artist needs help in getting their band’s career off of the ground again by issuing them either a letter or a phone call or by having dinner or drinks with them so that they can better assist them from thereon out toward success. And if you want your artists to not get lost in the shuffle of all of the other bands out there now competing for fame (which is more difficult than ever these days), they need an A&R rep they can trust wholeheartedly.
You are reading this article because you want to change your life. That’s great! I’m here to tell you that it is possible, and becoming an A&R will help you with that. Here are just a few of the ways:
Once you start doing your job, you will never get tired of it. Because every day is different and there is always a new challenge to work on. You will always be learning something new and making progress in your career. This can keep your mind active and engaged throughout the day, which will make time fly by quicker than ever before!
If you’re bored with your current job then this might be what’s causing it:
You’re a part of the team that helps people with their careers. You can help people with their careers in a way that no one else can, and it feels great!
You are important for the success of the company you work for.
You may not think that your job is very important, but it is! You are responsible for finding new talent and helping them succeed in their careers. The A&R person hears songs first, so they have an opportunity to help artists figure out what works best for them with their image and sound. They can also help connect them with producers who will make their music sound better than ever before!
Being a freelancer, you have the freedom to work from home and take time off when you need it. If you don’t like your current job, then quitting is easy because there’s no one looking over your shoulder or keeping track of your hours. You can even travel around the world while still being able to do your job thanks to technology today!
Your salary is great, and it doesn’t stop when you are in retirement.
A&R salary is not tied to your age or performance. As long as you’re working for an A&R company, your salary will be the same regardless of whether or not your team wins a game or how many hours per week you put into the job. This may sound like a dream come true for some people who hate their jobs but can’t quit because they need the money so badly. But what if there was another way? What if I told you there was another way?
If you want to change your life then becoming an A&R is the way to go!
A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire, which means that you are in charge of finding new talent or artists and helping them develop their music careers. You will be working closely with producers, managers, and record labels to make sure everything goes smoothly with each artist’s career. It sounds like a lot of responsibility but it also gives you a lot of freedom in your work and life since there are no strict hours at this job.
The A&r’s Role In The Music Industry And How It Benefits Artists: A blog about the importance of a&r in the music industry and how a&r has helped beginners succeed in the music industry.
The A&R department, or the Artist and Repertoire Department, is a very important part of the music industry, but have you ever noticed it?
This is an article that proves how A&R can help and even benefit artists, I’m going to tell you what it means for someone to be an A&R, and why every artist needs an a&r.
The A&R department is so often overlooked as a part of the music industry. The role of the A&R is to discover, develop, and champion artists and most importantly, to secure recording/publishing contracts for those artists with record labels. Many people think that the recording industry is all about producing albums but the truth is, without amazing songs and artists that can deliver life, there is nothing for anyone to sell.
The A&R is really the internal affairs of the label. Their main job is to pick potential upcoming artists and work with them till they become massive names, both within and outside the music industry. In order for an artist to succeed, they must have a strong relationship with the A&r. A strong partnership between the two of them can be beneficial to both parties.
While streaming services now offer a pretty good income to artists, artists still have to deal with a lot of problems. There is no such thing as free money. Artists are bound by contracts and have to deal with many people who are involved in their careers, many of whom don’t even understand the music which makes the job of understanding and helping them even more challenging for an artist.
The role of A&R in the music industry is one of the most interesting and misunderstood. We’re here to shed some light on what A&Rs do, and how they can help you.
A&R stands for “artists and repertoire,” which is a fancy way of saying that A&Rs find musicians that they believe in, and help them develop their careers. They’re often likened to talent scouts, in that they go out into the world looking for artists with star quality. But that’s really just the start of it!
A&Rs are also responsible for putting together teams that can help an artist achieve their vision. They work collaboratively with their artists to build a plan for their career including everything from recording to marketing to touring. This can be a pretty big job since it includes everything from getting the right producer on board to finding the right photographers for album art.
When an A&R finds an artist or song they like, they present it to the record label’s executives. If the executives approve of the idea, the A&R will then take on a managerial role of sorts for that artist; they’ll help them sign with a producer, negotiate contracts, plan tours and appearances, and resolve conflicts with other labels or artists.
It can be hard to know where to start if you’re trying to get an A&R’s attention—and that’s where we come in! We’re experts at helping emerging artists get themselves noticed by people who can help them develop their careers.
They also work with record labels to ensure that their artists are performing well by comparing their sales numbers to those of similar artists. This can help them determine whether or not a particular tour or appearance has been successful.
A&Rs are typically music lovers who spend their days listening to songs, attending shows, and discovering new music. They network with artists, producers, managers, and other industry professionals to find the best talent for their label.
Working in the music industry is all about networking. You can’t just send your resume to a company and expect them to call you back. Instead, you need to build relationships in order to make your way into the industry.
The job requires an understanding of where music is in terms of development as well as what audiences are looking for, so anyone interested in being an A&R should have a deep knowledge of current trends and know how to analyze data. They should also be able to recognize talent in a variety of different genres.
We did some research on How to get a job as an A&R, the music industry is a welcoming, fun place to be, but it’s also complicated and competitive, and here’s what we came up with.
You’re going to need connections in order to get anywhere in this business. If you don’t have any connections yet, start making them now: follow industry people on social media and engage with their content; attend conferences and events where music people might be; volunteer at local shows and festivals; etc. Get yourself out there so that industry people start recognizing who you are and what you’re capable of.
You won’t get far in music if you don’t know how to look things up online. You should be able to quickly find the names of pretty much anyone relevant in music—artists, producers, labels, executives, etc—and then know how to find information about them and their business practices. For example, if you want to pitch an artist or producer about working with your label, learn as much as you can about them online so that your pitch sounds more informed and less generic.
If you want to get a job as an A&R, you need to do your research and learn how the industry works. Research research research. How do you discover new talent? How does the process work? What does the hierarchy look like? You can do this by reading books about the music business or talking to people who work in the industry.
The best way to get a job in any field is to build relationships with people who work in that field and build your own network of contacts. When you have a network of trusted friends who are working in the music industry, you’ll have someone who can introduce you to potential employers or give you advice on what steps you should take next.
Building relationships with industry professionals is not only helpful for finding out about open positions at labels or management companies, but it’s also good practice for being an A&R in itself because they need strong communication skills.
Sometimes there’s no substitute for doing an internship at a label or management company if possible. This will give you first-hand experience of what it’s like on the inside and help you build up valuable contacts that may lead to jobs later down the line!
Many people do not understand the role of A&Rs in the music industry. Here are some tips on how to be an effective A&R and create a strong relationship with the artist.
Tip 1: Be reliable.
An effective A&R will always be available when they are needed by their artists, whether it is advice that is needed or just someone to listen to them. Always being there for your artists will build trust in your relationship and they will know they can count on you.
Tip 2: Be supportive.
Whether in the studio or at a show, an A&R should provide support to their artist. This support can come in many forms, such as giving feedback on their songs or providing constructive criticism or words of encouragement during a show, but it is all about helping them grow and develop as an artist.
Tip 3: Listen.
One thing that an A&R should always do when working with its artist is to listen. Listening to what the artist has to say about their music and listening for what could make their music better, or even just listening for any ideas that the artist may have for future projects.
A&R managers are gatekeepers to the industry. They find new artists and develop their careers by helping them get record deals and guiding them in their professional development.
The music industry is filled with different departments, roles, and responsibilities. From A&R to talent management to distribution and beyond, it takes a team to create the perfect song.
But some people forget one crucial role: artist and repertoire. A&R is the department that is charged with finding new talent and keeping them on track to succeed. But what exactly does A&R do?
A&R reps work directly with producers, songwriters, managers, and others in the music industry to find new talent for their labels. They also work with artists on the label to develop their careers and make sure they’re on track for success.
While many people still think that A&Rs are just responsible for signing artists, they actually do a lot more than that! For example:
Music is the universal language. It can transcend culture, language, and distance to bring the whole world together. If your dream is to make it big in the music industry, you’re going to need a lot of help to accomplish your goals.
Artists need A&R because they are experts at marketing your music and making sure it gets heard by the right people. They have relationships with radio stations, press outlets, playlist curators, influencers, etc., and know how to maximize your exposure. This is their job—they do it every day! Without an A&R professional on your side, you’re essentially going solo against an entire industry: not smart!
A&R can help you with all of that. The expertise and experience of an A&R representative can point your career in the right direction—and fast.
A good A&R rep will do more than just try to get you a record deal. They’ll also help you manage your career by giving you advice on your songwriting and performances so you can grow as an artist.
Since we started back in 2006, we’ve always made artists our first priority. This new feature helps artists, managers, and indie labels track measurable success on TikTok, and we’re stoked to be able to offer it before anyone else.
“How people are consuming and interacting with music is evolving at such a rapid pace. As a distributor, it’s critical that we move quickly to get this data into the hands of our clients so they can maximize their reach. Our team is laser-focused on delivering value and we’re excited to be the first distributor to offer this level of insight into TikTok data,” says Symphonic VP of Product, Ali Lieberman.
This tool makes it easier for creators to understand the TikTok metrics that really matter and helps maximize the impact of their future TikTok marketing campaigns. Importantly, Symphonic’s proprietary TikTok analytics makes the distinction between views and creations. While view counts get a lot of attention, it is creations that actually drive royalties on the platform.
The new tool delivers comprehensive and easy-to-read metrics on how many videos have been created using an artist’s music as well as how many views, likes, comments, and shares the video generated.
Navigate to this feature by clicking on Analytics -> TikTok
The landing page provides a catalog-level view of performance across the entire catalog on a given date range that you can change. The page is broken down into the following cards:
Activity counts are displayed for Videos and Views. The video count is the metric that generates royalties. Hovering over any bar will show you the detail of a specific day.
Activity counts are displayed for each time the video using your music receives a Favorite, Comment, Share, and Like during the time period selected across your entire catalog.
Each section shows the top 5 entries sorted by Videos (created) in descending order (e.g., the Territory section shows the top 5 countries where videos were created on TikTok using your songs). Click the ‘View All’ button to see more data if available.
Source symphonic distribution
I’ve been a Spotify user for years, and I’m always learning new things about it. The best part of using Spotify is that it’s constantly improving thanks to its algorithms — and you never know what you might discover next! In this article, we’ll discuss how the Spotify algorithm works and how it affects your listening experience on the service. We’ll also explore how you can use your personalization algorithm to improve your Discover Weekly playlists.
The reason why it’s secret is that Spotify does not disclose the algorithm to the public, and it’s constantly changing. The Spotify team updates it whenever they find any flaws or bugs in their system, so you never know what will happen next with your music.
The algorithm is made up of many algorithms working together to deliver you the best possible listening experience. It uses machine learning to improve itself over time.
In addition to your listening habits and social media activity, the algorithm also considers how other users are interacting with your music.
Spotify uses all of these factors to create a personalized experience for each user. This means you might see one kind of playlist in one week and something completely different the next time you log on–but that’s okay! You can always find what you want on Spotify if you know where to look and how best to use their tools (like those featured here).
Spotify’s algorithm is what drives your Discover Weekly playlist.
Discover Weekly uses machine learning to recommend songs to you. It is a personalized playlist that is based on your listening habits, so it can help you find new artists and genres that you might like without having to spend hours searching for them.
There are two kinds of algorithms — personalization and discovery. Yours does both!
Personalization is about making your experience on Spotify better. It’s what makes the app feel like it knows you so that it can recommend music that fits your tastes and moods, or help you find new artists to love. Discovery is about finding new music that you’ll love: whether it’s an album by a band you’ve never heard before or an artist with whom you share friends on Facebook (or both).
The Spotify Algorithm is constantly changing. The way it works is that, as a creator, you want to make sure that your music is being heard by as many people as possible. This means uploading new songs and promoting them through social media channels like Instagram and Twitter. It also means getting your fans involved by sharing links with them so they can listen before they buy!
Once you have all of these things in place, then comes the hard part: waiting for results from the algorithm. While there are no guarantees when it comes to what will happen next (or even if), there are some things we know about how this process works at its core level–and we’d like to share those tips with our readers here today!
A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire. This is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and the artistic and commercial development of the recording artist. It also acts as a liaison between the artist and the record label. The role of A&R has three main responsibilities:
A & R can sign new or established talent to the company’s roster. They then continue to work closely with the artist, acting as their liaison to the label’s business affair department and as an advisor who will help nurture a certain sound and image Their duties include listening to demos, aligning artists with the right producer, and offering creative input. for the unsigned musician, A&R can be the gatekeepers of the industry. It is not their job to keep you out, so much as it is to find marketable music for their company. A&R reps are the musicians’ point of contact at the label during contract negotiations. They also play an important role in the development of the artist – how the band will be marketing, sometimes choosing songs for the musicians to record if they don’t write their own material, and building a basic promotional foundation for the album and the band.
According to Allison Klein of How Stuff Works, A&R is seen as the glamorous part of working in a record company:
This is because A&R is in charge of discovering new talent. A&R people work very hands-on with the artists that they “sign.” (When a record label “signs” an artist, it simply means that the artist makes an exclusive contract with that record label.) They do everything from assisting with song selection to choosing the people that will produce the album to deciding where the album will be recorded.
As you can imagine, going to clubs, scouting new talent, chatting it up with recording studios, superstar producers, and the such, makes this one of the most sought-after jobs in the recording industry.
In the music industry, signing an artist is a very important decision. You will be investing time and money into this person and their career. Therefore, either you are A&R,Label owner, producer or talent manager it is essential that you do your due diligence before signing that contract.
There’s a lot to consider when you’re signing an artist. Here are some of the most important factors to consider when deciding whether or not to sign an artist.
A&R is a crucial role in the music industry. It’s the job of an A&R person to find and sign new talent, as well as develop it for commercial success. But what makes an A&R person successful? What are the qualities of someone who excels in this role?
Here are some things you should keep in mind when hiring an A&R:
A good A&R will have a deep understanding of the artist’s history and how they’ve developed over time. That means knowing how they started out, why they decided to pursue music, and what happened in between.
If you’re looking at someone who has never signed an artist before, you want to make sure they have this kind of knowledge. It shows that they understand where artists come from and what drives them to create their art.
An artist who has been around for a while may not need as much coaching on their development process because they already know what works for them. But if you’re looking at someone who has never been signed before or doesn’t have much experience working with artists, it’s important to get them up-to-speed quickly so that they can help guide your new signing through their career path from day one.
As an A&R executive, it’s your job to find and sign artists that will help your label grow. But before you sign someone, you need to know what you’re getting yourself into.
Do they have a unique sound? Do they have a big social media following? What makes them different from other artists?
What kind of artist do they want to be? Are they looking for commercial success or is their focus on artistic growth? What’s their ultimate goal in music?
You also need to consider how well albums have sold for other bands in your genre. This will tell you whether or not this particular band might be worth signing or not
An A&R’s job is to sign artists and help them develop into successful acts. But the A&R must also look at the entire picture of an artist’s career.
If you’re just starting out as an A&R, there are some important things to consider when signing an artist.
You’re going to need fans before anyone else will take you seriously. If you don’t have a built-in fan base, consider if they have a way of building one on their own. Some artists have huge social media followings, while others make music that appeals directly to listeners who might not be on social media at all. The more options an artist has for growing their fan base, the better their chances are in making it in the music industry.
The best way to determine an artist’s talent level is by listening to their music or watching them perform live. However, if they’re still developing their craft, it can be difficult to tell how good they really are until they’ve had some time to improve their skills and build confidence on stage. In this case, ask yourself whether their songwriting abilities are strong enough for them
As an A&R, you’re going to be responsible for finding and signing new artists. But before you do that, there are a few things you need to consider.
The first thing you need to know is whether or not your artist is ready for the spotlight. Artists can be ready for fame at any age, but there are some things that will help them get there more quickly and easily than others. If your artist doesn’t have good vocals yet, you should probably wait until they do before trying to take them on tour or promote them in any way. If they don’t have enough experience performing in front of crowds or making music videos or photoshoots, then again this could be something you want to wait on before bringing them into the spotlight.
It also helps if your artist has a solid social media presence so that fans and potential fans can see what they have to offer before signing with your label. If they don’t have any kind of following already established online, then you’ll want to make sure they start working on this right away once they join your label so people will know who they are when their album comes out!
The next step is checking out
The A&R Guide to Signing Artists is a book that sets out the basic principles of A&R and how they apply to sign artists. The book covers all aspects of artist development, from signing artists through to the release of their first album. It also covers how artists can be developed through social media and other digital channels.
The book is aimed at people who are interested in becoming an artist manager or an A&R person for a record label. Still, it would also be useful for anyone who wants an insight into how the record industry works.
The nature of A&R and the artists signed by a record label is changing. The power and potential of the ‘hit’ song are now just one of the factors when signing an artist whereas a decade ago it was, along with the image of the artist, the most important. These days due to the increased power of the consumer, the development of social media and its mass appeal and promotional power, the financial risks that record companies now face (due to the decline in physical album sales and the effect that has had on their traditional business model) and the hundreds of media channels have meant that signing an artist is no longer done on a whim or one person’s hunch.
The role of A&R has changed from being solely responsible for finding new artists to managing those artists already signed. The days when an A&R person would travel around trying to discover new acts have gone. The world has changed regarding how music is marketed and promoted; therefore, so must A&R departments if they remain relevant in today’s music industry.
The A&R scout is the talent spotter and is the ears and eyes of the record labels and publishing companies. The A&R scouts’ job is to discover the hottest new artists around and to be aware of the latest media & cultural trends. They will attend dozens of gigs, artist showcases and industry meetings throughout the week to enable them to be aware of every new artist being talked about within the industry.
The A&R scout will listen to demos sent in by bands they may have heard about through word of mouth or friends in bands who have previously been signed. If an act impresses them enough, they will invite them into their office for a meeting or invite them to a showcase gig where all the record labels will be present.
During this meeting or showcase, the band will play several songs and talk about their history, goals etc. If they impress during this meeting then they may be invited back for another meeting at their office or even asked to come into one of their offices for an interview with their marketing team. At some point during these meetings, they will discuss signing contracts if they want to sign with a label and negotiate how much money will be paid out if they do sign up with them.
If both parties are happy then an agreement will
The role of A&R is more about selecting quality music than anything else. This means that A&R need to know about all the best new music, the latest hyped artists and ‘buzz’ bands, and the bidding wars between labels and the most popular in-demand artists around. In summary, if the artist is good enough A&R will know about them.
So how do you get their attention? How do you make sure they pick up your music? And how can you pitch yourself so that they take notice?
A distinctive voice, vocal style, quality and a great emotional connection with a song.
Songs: The ability to write hit quality songs to promote artist and album, to gain radio play, press reviews, and television performances and ultimately drive record sales and brand awareness.
Music & Image
The musical direction and production of the record. Does the music fit the current market and follow trends or is it a trendsetter and market leader?
The image has to be marketable. Does the artist’s look suit the music? What are the Press and TV implications and brand potential?
This is the personality, charisma, mystery, confidence, commitment, passion, ambition, humour, and political/controversiality of the artist – The Star Quality!
The back story is an essential marketing tool. It helps connect emotionally with the consumer, gain media interest and provide journalistic content for the media helping to build a celebrity profile.
An artist needs to show that there is a lot of promotion, fan engagement and media activity surrounding them. This shows commitment and ambition too. The more website traffic, Youtube views, tour date bookings, fans at gigs, Merchandise sales, Facebook ‘Likes’, online chatter, press coverage, music reviews and music downloads the more it attracts attention from A&R and the media. The more attention the artist gets the less risk it is for the label and the more sales potential there is.
This is the professional team around the artist. If the artist is represented by a manager with proven success, has a credible press and radio PR agent on board, a live agent and possibly a music publisher then this can increase the chance of success and lessens the financial risk for the label.
The financial investment required. Pop artists such as boy bands and girl bands are very expensive acts for the label due to the costs of transport, styling, hair, make-up and the polished production values required when promoting these types of acts. Additional revenue streams will be important to the label when considering signing a pop act. Solo artists and rock/indie bands are much more economical for labels to promote and work with. This can be an important factor in deciding whether to sign an artist.
We hope that this A&R Guide to Signing Artists is useful for any music lover out there looking to strike it big in the music industry. We have attempted to cover as much of the “art” and “science” as we could, so take a look at our music industry blueprint and get your career on its way!
The history of A&R can be traced back to the early days of the recording industry when companies such as Columbia and Victor were signing acts to contracts. In those days, there was no such thing as independent record companies. The artists signed to labels like Columbia or Victor all came through the same talent scout system, which was referred to as artist and repertoire.
The first record company that used this system was Columbia Records in 1917. The company’s founder, Eraklai V. Phonograph Company, hired a young man named Frank Walker to find new talent for his label. Walker did this by going around New York City and visiting theatres where musical acts were performed. He would watch these acts perform and then sign them if he liked their sound.
This system continued until 1928 when Victor Talking Machine Company started its talent search department under the direction of Arthur Judson and Harry Jolson (father of Al Jolson). This department was known as the Artists’ Bureau; it continued until 1931 when it became known as Artists Records Incorporated (ARI).
ARA continued through World War II, but by 1947 it had been replaced by a new company called Artist Management Association (AMA).
The term “A&R” was coined by Jerry Wexler, who was then a talent scout for the Atlantic Records label. He coined the term “A&R” to refer to his duties at Atlantic, which included both artist and repertoire.
Wexler later became famous as the vice president of A&R at Atlantic Records. He had been hired by founder Ahmet Ertegun in 1947 after having worked with Ertegun at Billboard magazine.
In 1963, Wexler described his role at Atlantic Records: “I was doing all right by myself, but then I got into work with artists such as Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, and others. They were also responsible for discovering major talents such as Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding.
Wexler claims that he turned down numerous artists including Elvis Presley, James Brown, and Bob Dylan because they did not fit the image that he wanted for the company: “Blues singers were beginning to be heard on what we called rhythm-and-blues stations on their local radio stations” (p. 12). However, he also states that “we didn’t get into the rock until we found out that it paid
A&R – BACK TO THE beginning over a hundred years ago the music industry consisted of the live industry and the music publishing business. The public could listen to popular songs by either going to see a live concert or by listening to someone playing the piano at home or by mechanical means via the Piano Roll. Before the invention of phonographic records (the 7 and 12-inch vinyl records as they came to be known), the music business was dominated by sheet music sales. Music publishers would discover a songwriter and print their music on sheet music to sell in music stores to the public.
The emergence of popular entertainment and the success of Vaudeville variety shows across America gave a huge boost to the publishing business. With Vaudeville and Broadway shows in New York, music publishers and instrument stores started to congregate around an area that would become, famously, known as Tin Pan Alley. These publishers would hire pluggers to promote their sheet music in stores and to Vaudeville and Broadway performers.
PHONOGRAPHnRecords were invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 and were originally called Phonographs – the ‘P’ in the copyright symbol ℗ stands for Phonograph. The development of Phonographs over the next few decades ushered in the first record companies that saw commercial value and market potential.
Record companies, in the form we know them today, came to the market soon after the invention of the Phonograph by Edison, and the further development and innovations made by Emile Berliner shortly afterward. With the advent of record labels at the turn of the 20th-century records became the main sound-carrier format that people purchased to enjoy music. Music publishers needed artists to record their songwriter’s songs, whereas Record companies needed publisher’s songs for their artists to record. For the first half of the century, the recording industry’s business model was founded on the hit singles market – it was all about the ‘Song’. In the early 1900s, there were three major record companies: Victor, Edison, and Columbia. Today, just over 100 years on and after many mergers and buy-outs, there remain three major record companies: Universal, Sony (that owns Columbia records), and Warner – and the business, once again, is all about the song.
Although phonograph records existed since the 1880s, for the first 50 years the album and Long Playing record format (LP) did not exist commercially. The technology not arrived at the mass market which could produce over 45 minutes of music in one sound-carrier format. The phonographic record was the disruptive technology of the time and the record industry replaced sheet music as the main form and structure of music consumption.
Artists such as Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Bing Cosby were amazing performers, personalities, and vocalists who could capture a great song’s emotional essence and vocal performance. However, they didn’t write the songs so the artist & Repertoire representative would marry the artist to the song (or the artist with the songwriter, composer & arranger). Song standards such as ‘Come Fly with Me’, ‘Summertime’, ‘Stardust’, ‘Mack the Knife’, and ‘My way’ were written by famous songwriters such as Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael, Leiber & Stoller, and George & Ira Gershwin who wrote for Broadway Musicals and the popular artists of the time.
The 1950s saw the continued success of the phonograph record. This was thanks to technological advancements in recording and sound reproduction; the growth of national radio broadcasting, Broadway musicals, and the Hollywood film industry; the popularity of jukeboxes as well as the increased economic conditions after the great depression and World War II. The 1950s saw the record business boom with success from global superstar artists such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Bobby Darrin, and Andy Williams. It also saw the post-war growth of the youth market with the birth of Rock n Roll and exciting new artists such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.
A&R was most evident during this period which saw the number of artist signings increase significantly to the major record labels. It was the decade that ushered in the 45” EP, the popular format for releasing singles, and the 12” vinyl record which was soon to become the significant format and game changer to the traditional business model. Originally best suited to classical music’s longer pieces, the 12” became an art form in itself with concept albums such as Frank Sinatra’s ‘The voice of Frank Sinatra’.
Although during the 1950s the 45” format was the biggest selling format, it soon became apparent that there was more profitability in selling the more expensive LP format and so record companies started using singles as promotional tools to sell albums. They also started making hit songs only available to buy on LPs to increase profits.
Singles have always been treated as a non-profit making promotional tool (i.e. a loss leader) but their purpose was to market and drive album sales. Of course, if you sell millions of singles and can license the song to compilation albums and synchronize it to a movie or television program then there is a very healthy income stream. However, the traditional business model and main income stream were in selling albums. Today with the fast-changing market conditions and the move to online digital download and streaming services the model is changing, although albums still account for half of the recording industry’s revenue streams.
By the mid-1950s and the explosion of rock n’ roll to the youth market, artists started writing their songs. Artists such as Chuck Berry, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Kinks, and Rolling Stones wanted to express the feelings of their generation and started writing their songs for creative and financial reasons.
with the advances in recording technology and technical complexities of the recording process the role of record producer developed and adapted as artists sought more sophisticated arrangements, experimentation, and artistic expression in their music.
During this period it was often the case that A&R managers were also recorded producers, composers, and arrangers for the artist such as in the case of Lieber and Stoller for Elvis Presley and George Martin for The Beatles and either worked or were hired by Record labels to work with their artists on composing, arranging, recording and producing their music.
Throughout the 1960s A&R executives became more focused on signing artists that could write their songs, rather than seeking songs for their performers. Those artists that didn’t write their songs started to form long-standing relationships with songwriters such as Elvis Presley with Leiber & Stoller, Elton John with David Taupin, and still happens today with collaborations between Robbie Williams with Guy Chambers or Adele with Paul Epworth.
This era was the domain of only 5 major labels that started acquiring other labels in buy-outs and mergers. It was a Singles driven market and the 12” was the new disruptive technology of the time.
Are sounds familiar doesn’t it? These days most people download singles, cherry-picking their favorite tunes rather than buying full albums. The business consisted of 5 major labels in the early 2000s but with the de-merger of Sony/BMG and the recent acquisition of EMI by Universal Music Group, the market is left with only 3 major record companies. Napster and iTunes are the recent disruptive technology. And all of this happened 50 years after the launch of the 12” record.
From its early days under Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson to its maturation as an industry segment in the 1990s, A&R has seen it all. It’s gone from a job title to an entire department of execs and artisanal record-makers. From its 1960s dominance to its struggles in the ’90s, A&R may never be quite what it once was (or in some cases, was again), but it has always influenced popular music.
A&R Terminology – A&R stands for Artist & Repertoire. This is the department in a record company that is responsible for scouting upcoming talent, signing new artists, and overseeing their creative development. (To read more about the history of A&R see Wikipedia – A&R)
A&R terminology is a working knowledge that will help you and your colleagues stay on the same page when referencing an artist and his or her work. It is also useful if you wish to enlist the help of professional music execs. Knowing A&R terminology will also help you understand how artists (and their record labels) are evaluated.
A&R stands for Artist & Repertoire, it refers to the person who searches out new music talent. The Scout is at the frontline of their label’s A&R team and they are responsible for discovering new talent
Where the artist, the A&R representative, and key record label staff (and any invited special guests) listen to the finished record together for the first time – can be quite nerve-racking for the artist and A&R person.
The artist will be listening out for any negative comments from their new team; the A&R person will be looking out for signs that their role has been usurped by someone else. The whole team will be hoping that the record is good enough to get signed on the spot, but in reality, this rarely happens.
Playbacks should take place as soon as possible after the completion of production so that there’s still time to make changes if necessary, but not so early that everyone gets bored of hearing it over and over again. The ideal situation is when everyone can all sit down together in one room at one time and listen without interruption, but this isn’t always possible.
If you’re doing a playback over email or phone, then it’s best to send out one track at a time so that people can respond to each one individually before sending on to the next one (there’s nothing worse than hearing two tracks back-to-back which doesn’t work). Make sure there’s enough space between tracks so that
The monitor mix is the version of a record that leaves the recording studio before it has been professionally mixed.
A rough reference copy from the recording studio to send to the artist, A&R dept, and mix engineer before the mix session.
The monitor mix is usually made with a limited set of speakers or headphones, so it sounds as close as possible to what you’ll hear on other systems.
The sleeve notes contain the songwriting and producer credits, the long list of thank you’s, lyrics, and the copyright information contained in the inlay sleeve of records.
Artists & Repertoire. The person or people who have control over an artist’s musical direction, including their selection of songs to record. Often these people also act as producers.
The visual elements that are used on an album cover or CD booklet include photographs, illustrations, typefaces, logos, etc…
An audio processor used for correcting out-of-tune vocals during recording sessions or live performances. Andy Hildebrand originally developed Auto-Tune from Antares Audio Technologies Inc. His original intention was to use it as a tool for singers with disabilities such as laryngitis or bad vocal habits (such as poor breath support) but it has now become a standard studio tool for many mainstream pop artists too!
A non-refundable amount of money is received by the artist and songwriter from record and publishing companies for the exclusive right to copy, sell, adapt, distribute, broadcast, and perform their music. It is paid upfront before recording commences and allows the artist to concentrate and focus their time and energy solely on their music. An advance is negotiated between the artist manager and the record company via music lawyers.
The person who manages an artist’s career on a day-to-day basis acts as an intermediary between the record label and the artist or band. Artists’ managers are responsible for all aspects of their clients’ careers including booking shows; booking studio time; negotiating recording contracts with labels; negotiating publishing deals with publishers; marketing; promoting tours etc.
A type of record deal where an artist receives a small amount of money upfront from a record company in exchange for ownership of their master recording (the finished album). This type of deal is most commonly used by developing artists who are not yet making any money from touring or merchandise sales (or have only just started doing so).
This is an agreed % of revenue an artist will receive from every record sold, e.g. a 20% artist royalty rate will mean that the artist will be paid 20% of the published dealer price (PPD) of each record sold. If an album’s dealer price is £8 per CD then the artist will receive £1.40 in royalty payments from the sale of that one CD after all costs have been recouped by the record label (see below).
These are expenses that are charged back to an artist on a per-unit basis, such as manufacturing, marketing, and distribution costs. The recoupable period for physical products is usually between six months and one year after the release date, depending on the type of product being released. For digital releases, there is no recoupable period, as all costs are borne by the label and then recovered out of royalties earned every month following the release date.
This refers to units lost during manufacturing or handling processes due to breakage or damage. Breakage rates may vary depending on how sensitively fragile your product is but we recommend budgeting
The ‘drop-down’ section of a song comes directly after the second chorus. It features either an instrumental solo section or an alternative melody line to that of the verses and chorus. It is usually 8 bars long, hence why it is known in the UK as the Middle 8.
A section of music within a song that directly follows the Chorus and precedes the Refrain.
The main refrain of a song is repeated several times throughout the song.
Refrain (or Chorus): The main refrain of a song that is repeated several times throughout the song.
The first part of each verse typically sets up what will be said in the second part (the body) and often ends with an incomplete thought or idea (incomplete rhyme scheme).
A solo played over an instrumental backing track without any vocals present; this can be during or after a bridge or middle 8 sections of a song, or at any other point in time within an arrangement where you feel it would suit your purpose best! Instrumental solos are usually between 4-16 bars long but can be extended beyond this if required.
A&R (Artist & Repertoire) is the department in a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the careers of recording artists.