If you’re considering becoming an A&R manager, but aren’t sure where to start, this guide will help! In it, you’ll learn about how much an A&R gets paid and what kind of salary can be expected. We’ll also look at some common entry-level salaries and the various career paths available for A&Rs in the music industry.
The amount of money you can earn as an A&R depends on many factors, namely the budget of your label and whether or not you’re full-time. If you are working at a major label, your salary will likely be higher than if you were working for an indie label or something similar. This is because majors have more money to play with and can therefore offer higher salaries. However, this isn’t always true—some indies may have more of a budget than some major labels do (and vice versa), so it just depends on where exactly in the music industry spectrum you find yourself working.
Salaries also vary wildly depending on what part of the world (USA vs Europe vs South America) someone’s in and what kind of experience they bring to the table: entry-level employees tend to earn less than experienced ones; employees within certain departments typically earn more than others (i.e., marketing/promotion department earns less than A&R department).
A&R representatives in Nigeria do not get a fixed salary, but they do receive a commission on sales. This means that they earn money based on the amount of money an artist makes.
A&R in Nigeria are paid on a percentage basis IF THEY ARE PAID AT ALL and can earn as much as N1 million per month if their acts are successful. If a record label is doing well and has a lot of money to spend, they will usually pay their A&R representatives very well. However, if the label is struggling financially, then the A&R representative’s salary will be lower.
While entry-level A&R positions are hard to come by, more experienced A&R managers can make upwards of $80,000 per year. While the average salary for an entry-level position tends to be around $40,000 per year (in the U.S.), experienced A&R managers can earn upwards of $80,000 per year or more.
The budgets of A&R departments vary greatly from label to label. At the top of the list lies Sony Music Entertainment, which distributed around $15 billion in 2015. In contrast, a startup indie label might have a budget of only $20,000.
But it’s not just about size: major labels tend to be more artist-focused, while indie labels are often more innovative and experimental. Regardless of their budgets or focus on artists, however, all record labels employ A&R representatives whose job is to discover new talent and help develop it into successful artists for their companies—and there’s no one better suited for this than you!
If you’d like to become an A&R recruiter, there are two good options. The first is to get a job at a major label. Entry-level salaries average around $40,000 per year – although sometimes they’ll just refer to A&R recruiters as “sales interns”.
As for the second option? That would be joining an independent label! However, if this is your preferred route, then you must understand that there are some limitations on what kind of artists and bands these companies can work with.
There are many alternatives to becoming an A&R manager at a record label. You could choose to become a talent scout for a music-related company like Samsung or Beats by Dre or even for modeling agencies! As long as you have experience with discovering artists and helping them succeed, you can find work in any number of fields related to music. It’s also worth mentioning that there are many opportunities out there if you’d rather work directly with artists instead of the people who manage them. You could try your hand at being their manager, tour manager, or stylist (this is particularly common in hip-hop circles). Alternatively, if you have a knack for producing new songs and beats then it’s possible to make money doing this kind of side hustle as well — especially if what you produce turns into viral hits!
As well as working in A&R, some people also choose to develop their careers as music managers, artist managers, or producers. These roles allow you to work directly with artists and have a more significant impact on their careers than an A&R manager would have.
Music manager: The role of a music manager is to oversee how an artist’s music is marketed and promoted. This involves working with record labels to ensure that the right songs are being released at the right time, and keeping track of how much money is being made from each song released by your client.
Artist Manager:
An artist manager handles day-to-day business decisions regarding an artist’s career including booking gigs, hiring tour crews, etc… They also handle day-to-day business decisions regarding an artist’s career including booking gigs, hiring tour crews, etc… They may also negotiate deals with concert promoters while consulting with lawyers as needed.
As an A&R, you’ll be responsible for finding new talent and new ideas. You’ll also be the first point of contact in the industry for many artists, as well as be able to make key decisions on whether or not they’re worth investing in. The best part? There are plenty of opportunities to get promoted within this field. In fact, according to information from 2018’s “Research Report Into The Employment Market for New Artists And Record Producers”, A&Rs make up between 20% and 30% of record labels’ total workforce which means there’s plenty of room for career growth within this field!
A&R salaries can vary significantly based on your location, experience, and other factors. However, we hope this article has given you some insight into what it takes to become an A&R manager as well as how much they make on average per year. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in this field, check out our article on How To Become An A&R Recruiter, or reach out if you need more information!