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Introduction to A&R
A&R (Artists & Repertoire)
Their job is to look after the bands that they have signed. A signed band will turn to their A&R person who will act as their main representative within the label. They'll be fighting your corner when it comes to marketing and recording budgets.
A and R has been around for as long as the popular music environment has been. Initially, the A and R department was the start and end of an artist’s interaction with a record label. In the 50’s, when A and R become a self-sufficient business design, most of the artists at the time were performers who needed material written for them by songwriters. It was the A and R department’s role to match up songwriters with performers, in the hope of making a hit. The role of A and R then compared to now was more of a managerial role, and would involve far fewer people than it would today.
A and R departments in major labels (where it is sometimes known as Find and Sign) can be huge and heavily populated, mostly because some of the most sought after jobs in the music industry fall into this category. A and R can be broken down into four specific areas.
A&R Scouts
Possibly the “most wanted” job for a lot of music fans; scouts can be found at the back of gigs (usually accompanied by a whisper-frenzy of “that guy from that label is here…”) or in the office listening to myriad of demo tapes sent to record labels. Everyone expects these people to be the youngest, coolest scenesters around. Some of them are, but I don’t think you will need “cooler than ice” on your cv. If you have an eye and an ear for talent, this could be the direction you want to go in. But remember, the secret is knowing what millions of people will like, and not just what you would like.
Stereotype ------ ridicously cool person who struggles to get to gigs on time and always knows the next big thing months/years before you do.
A&R Administrators
These people do the less glamorous jobs in A and R, such as booking rehearsal studios or recording locations and trying to negotiate the best deals in that respect. They provide a crucial platform that means that things get done, leaving the rest of the department (and most importantly the bands themselves) to get on with the creative side.
Stereotype ----- uncreative but hard-working person who makes up for their lack of talent by doing the jobs everyone else in the department can’t or wont do. Involves being organized and probably having at least 3 diaries.
A&R Managers
Scouts can not sign bands to a contract; that job rests with A and R managers. These are the people who supervise the band, in a recording studio for example. They also have a supervisory role in the artist(s) development.
Stereotype ----- man in a suit, doesn’t say very much but constantly looks on disapprovingly, much as an angry boss would; would love to tell the band off for throwing a television out of the window, but knows they are making him a large house made entirely out of money on the southern coast of Italy.
A&R Directors
The directors of the A and R department are like managers of any business, they oversee that everything gets done on time and on budget. They hold the purse strings and are responsible for hiring and firing. They can also sometimes combine the role of manager, especially for a large act where copious amounts of money are concerned.
Stereotype ----- the person who thinks money and fun are two different planets. Like a strict yet tasteful father, owning a vast collection of classic sports cars but having only one set of keys to the garage.
Their job is to look after the bands that they have signed. A signed band will turn to their A&R person who will act as their main representative within the label. They'll be fighting your corner when it comes to marketing and recording budgets.
A and R has been around for as long as the popular music environment has been. Initially, the A and R department was the start and end of an artist’s interaction with a record label. In the 50’s, when A and R become a self-sufficient business design, most of the artists at the time were performers who needed material written for them by songwriters. It was the A and R department’s role to match up songwriters with performers, in the hope of making a hit. The role of A and R then compared to now was more of a managerial role, and would involve far fewer people than it would today.
A and R departments in major labels (where it is sometimes known as Find and Sign) can be huge and heavily populated, mostly because some of the most sought after jobs in the music industry fall into this category. A and R can be broken down into four specific areas.
A&R Scouts
Possibly the “most wanted” job for a lot of music fans; scouts can be found at the back of gigs (usually accompanied by a whisper-frenzy of “that guy from that label is here…”) or in the office listening to myriad of demo tapes sent to record labels. Everyone expects these people to be the youngest, coolest scenesters around. Some of them are, but I don’t think you will need “cooler than ice” on your cv. If you have an eye and an ear for talent, this could be the direction you want to go in. But remember, the secret is knowing what millions of people will like, and not just what you would like.
Stereotype ------ ridicously cool person who struggles to get to gigs on time and always knows the next big thing months/years before you do.
A&R Administrators
These people do the less glamorous jobs in A and R, such as booking rehearsal studios or recording locations and trying to negotiate the best deals in that respect. They provide a crucial platform that means that things get done, leaving the rest of the department (and most importantly the bands themselves) to get on with the creative side.
Stereotype ----- uncreative but hard-working person who makes up for their lack of talent by doing the jobs everyone else in the department can’t or wont do. Involves being organized and probably having at least 3 diaries.
A&R Managers
Scouts can not sign bands to a contract; that job rests with A and R managers. These are the people who supervise the band, in a recording studio for example. They also have a supervisory role in the artist(s) development.
Stereotype ----- man in a suit, doesn’t say very much but constantly looks on disapprovingly, much as an angry boss would; would love to tell the band off for throwing a television out of the window, but knows they are making him a large house made entirely out of money on the southern coast of Italy.
A&R Directors
The directors of the A and R department are like managers of any business, they oversee that everything gets done on time and on budget. They hold the purse strings and are responsible for hiring and firing. They can also sometimes combine the role of manager, especially for a large act where copious amounts of money are concerned.
Stereotype ----- the person who thinks money and fun are two different planets. Like a strict yet tasteful father, owning a vast collection of classic sports cars but having only one set of keys to the garage.