Lifestyle to Livelihood: A&R

Are you good at spotting the next Big Thing? Are you a trend setter, who has a natural knack of knowing whether a new band is going to make it or just be a One-Hit Wonder? If so, A&R is the career for you!

What is A&R?

So you know what we are actually talking about, A&R stands for “Artists and Repertoire”.

A&R reps are ones who scout out new talent for the record labels, which includes listening to all the demo tracks that are sent in, and going out to gigs and concerts to check out local talent. Freelance scouters will also keep in contact with a record label’s A&R rep to let them know of any new talent they have spotted.

Once an A&R rep has got a new act signed up by the record label, the A&R rep will be required to act as the main link between the artist, their manager and the record company. It will be your responsibility to sort out the record deal, and pretty much everything else that needs to be done, such as project managing the album and artist.

Step 1: Get work experience!

Being a good A&R rep doesn’t rely on what grades you get in school. A record company needs someone who is good at spotting talent, not who got 6 ‘A’ grades at A2.

The best way to get your foot in the door is to get some work experience. Before you start, make sure you are clued up on the record label’s policy (which can be found online, or you can call them). Once you have a place, offer to go through any demo tracks to pick out new talent.

Never complain about being given a boring job on work experience – all companies will give you the jobs that no one else wants to do, or has the time to do. Expect to make a lot of tea, do shredding and the filing.

Always accept every task you are given, and work to your best ability. Companies are looking for people who show dedication and who will work hard, no matter how dull the task. When they see how hard-working you are, they are more likely to offer you a permanent position.

Remember, A&R is a hard job, that involves long hours and a lot of the work can be boring – even if you enjoy listening to music, after listening to 100 demo tracks each day, you might get a little bored.

Step 2: Get in on the local scene

Go to gigs, make friends with music journalists, promoters, A&R people and the musicians. The more people you know, the more likely you are to build up invaluable contacts.

It is a good idea to get yourself known at privately run music stores or small music chains – many artists will approach the store directly to sell their music, and the shop may know of some local talent. (This won’t apply to big stores like HMV or Zavvi, as they will tend to only sell tried-and-tested material).

Step 3: Become a freelance scout

A good way to get into the A&R business is to become a local scout. Go to gigs and check out the musicians. If you spot some talent, contact an A&R agent, who will then check them out. This is a good way to practice spotting talent and it will get you friends in the industry.

Step 4: Make contacts are record companies

If you meet anyone in the industry, get their contact details and keep in touch. That way, if a job comes up, your name might pop into their mind first…

Step 5: Get the Skillz

To be a good A&R rep, you will need to have the following skills:

• Good judgement – to assess artists, their music and their potential for commercial success.
• Negotiation – if you are good at negotiating extra money from your parents, you will probably do well negotiating the best deals for the record company, whilst also supporting the artist’s ambitions.
• Communication – do you like talking on the phone and instant messaging all the time? You probably have good communication skills, which are vital in A&R. You will need to keep the artist, record label and manager up to date with any new developments, and to keep everyone from screaming at each other.
• Understanding music – you will need to have a strong music background for A&R. Understanding how songs work and how albums are recorded and produced is a major part of an A&R rep’s role.
• Resilience – it doesn’t always happen quickly. You will need to work long hours, and even if you find a good artist, it doesn’t mean the record company will like them. Most of your finds won’t ‘make it’, so you have to be able to bounce back. If you find it hard to cheer up when things don’t go your way, A&R is not the career for you.
• Good telephone technique – you will need to learn to speak clearly, slowly, and learn to prepare your responses and questions before you make a call. You may be dealing with a major record boss who can only give you two minutes of her time – if you mess up the call by not being prepared, it is likely she won’t bother taking your calls again. This could mean that your artist loses a record deal.

Step 6: Get your details right

If you are writing to or calling an A&R rep, make sure you find out their full name first. Never address a letter to “EMI’s A&R rep” for example, it will be chucked in the bin. If you are seriously interested in the businesses, it is common courtesy to learn the name of the person you want to speak to. If you don’t, someone else will and they will get the job.

You can get A&R contact details in “The A&R Registry”.

REALITY CHECK

Here comes the bad news…

Salary

Initially, when acting as a freelance scout, you will be lucky to get your expenses paid! However, if you get an A&R position will a major label, your starting salary will be in the region of £15,000 – 20,000 per year.

Hours

Very long! You will be expected to work from about 10am – 7pm and then you will be expected to set off in search of new talent in the evenings, when most gigs will take place. You will be lucky to get home much before 2am… Your weekends will probably be involved going to gigs as well.

There is no rest for A&R reps, but if you would have spent your evening going to gigs anyway, this will probably appeal to you. All your tickets and expenses will be paid, so you will get into gigs for free.

Number of Jobs

There are usually only one or two A&R reps at each record company. At present, there are about 400 record companies in the UK, so that makes 400 A&R reps across the nation. However, work hard and you stand a good chance of making it.

Be persistent and don’t give up if this is what you want to do!

Further Information

The following books are articles offer good advice for people looking to work in the A&R industry, or aspiring artists who want to contact an A&R rep.

“Inside A&R: The Musician’s Guide to Pursuing a Major Label Record Deal” by Ken Krongard and Evan Sanchez.

These guys are big A&R players, and have worked for Avril Lavigne, Sugar Ray, Brandy, Kiss and more. This book is the best one to read about how to get into A&R, and it offers a step-by-step guide about the industry and how to contact A&R reps.

If you are an aspiring artist, this is a great book to learn how to contact A&R reps to get them to listen to your stuff.

“The A&R Registry”

This is the music bible for A&R contact information. Get it, get it, get it, if you are seriously interested in working in A&R or you want an A&R rep to come and see you. Not only does it have the name and contact details of A&R people, but also CEO and A&R reps’ assistants and secretaries (who will be the first people to take your call or read your letters).

“2005 Recording Industry Sourcebook”

Although it a few years old, it is an excellent directory for A&R, music business and production contacts. It contains over 15,000 listings in more than 67 categories.

“10 Things You Should Know About Record Deals, A&R, and the Music Biz” by A&R executive Rick Goetz, Elektra Records.

This tells you what “points” are, how much money a band should get when they are signed to a major label, what your cover letters should say to A&R scouts plus much more. Strongly recommended reading.