Wendy Day explains A&R as the most coveted job at a record label after owner. A&Rs find talent through networks and online buzz, then champion artists internally across radio, publicity, and video. Success requires nurturing artists, understanding timing and market cycles, and building a track record before landing a label job.
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Hey, there are many jobs at record labels, and probably the most coveted job at a record label— well, besides the owner— um, the most coveted job at a record label is the A&R person. A&R stands for artist and repertoire, and the A&R person at a record label is the person who usually goes out and finds the talent. So either they, um, get music from people that they know and respect, or they check out different markets around the country and see who's popping on on the streets of that area, or they might check out the internet and see who's got a really decent internet buzz. But the A&R person is the person responsible for bringing the talent into the label. And then once they get the talent at the label, like once the artist signs to that record company, The A&R person is the person inside the label who is the cheerleader for that artist. So they're the person that is the go-between between the artist and the radio department, the artist and the publicity department, the artist and the video department. Um, they're usually the ones that go around the label and get the other staff excited about the potential of this artist experiencing success. Um, an A&R position is without a doubt the most popular, um, job inside of a record label. And so many people feel, because they're so passionate about music, they feel that they could do the job of an A&R and would very much like to have that job. Um, Every label is different, so I can't really give you a formula as to how to get a job as an A&R, but I can tell you that once you have a track record of success in building talent, finding and building talent, um, it's much easier to get a label to take you seriously than if you've got no experience, you've never worked at a label, and you've never helped an artist have a successful career. Um, everyone that I know thinks that they have a great ear for music. They think that they can tell what the single is going to be when they hear it. Um, almost everybody feels that they have that ability, but very few people have had the opportunity to prove it. Um, it's kind of like with stockbrokers. A lot of stockbrokers think that they have the opportunity to tell you what stock is going to rise, what stock is going to decline, what you should buy, what you should get into. But very few people really have the track record to back that up as a broker. Um, it's the same in the music business. Everybody thinks that they've got a great ear, everybody thinks that they can spot talent, but until you've done it repeatedly it's really hard to convince somebody that you have. So if you want to get a job at a record label as an A&R person, or if you're looking to start your own label because you've got such a great ear as an A&R person, I would suggest that you volunteer your time and intern with somebody that is successful at it so that you can see if exactly what it takes to succeed, because it's really a lot more than listening to music and picking singles. It's a lot more than finding talent and predicting who's going to be successful and who's not. You know, the thing about the music industry is it's not like we're selling a tangible item. You know, we're not selling scissors or pens or cell phones. We're selling human beings, basically their art form. And the thing about human beings is that they're emotional. They react to situations. They have life coming at them. So you might be able to find talent. The question is, can you nurture it? Can you help build an artist to the pinnacle of success. And I say that because it takes so much more than the music. There's so much more. There's timing, there's personality, there's work ethic, there's, there's just so many factors, you know, competition. Um, there's so many different things that build success that it's very hard for you to sit at home and listen to an album and say, oh, this is the obvious single on this album, this is the song that the bulk of fans are going to react to. It takes so much more to be an A&R than that, you know. You've got to be able to, um, be proactive instead of reactionary, meaning you need to know what cycle is coming next in the music business, what fad is coming next in the music business. You know, you have to know, are our beats going slower or are they speeding up? There's so many different aspects that you need to take into consideration when you're creating a career of an artist. And all that to say that if you want to be an A&R, you know, work under somebody that's great at it. If you feel that you've got, you you know, enough experience and the ears and the ability to be an A&R person, then intern at a record label in the A&R position. You know, do that. You have to build a track record of success to be taken seriously in this industry. I'm probably told 10 times a week by people that they can spot stars and break records and they know what the next hot thing is. Um, but they've never had to prove it. So until you prove it, it's really just your opinion in yourself. So my best suggestion would be to go and prove it, and then once you've proven it, you can write your own ticket. You can start your own label. You can work for a major label. You can work for an independent label. You can pretty much do what you want because the folks that are good at spotting talent developing it and nurturing it and then cheerleading it through the system to build a successful artist. They are truly the backbone of the music industry. They are truly the people that get paid, um, the most money next to the owners, obviously, of the labels. But they're the people that make the most money because their job is the hardest. So take that into consideration. That's what an A&R person is and does. And thanks for tuning in.
