Artists and repertoire (orA&R for short) is the division of arecord label ormusic publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing, and overseeing the artistic development ofrecording artists andsongwriters.[1] It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label or publishing company.
The A&R division of a record label is responsible for finding newrecording artists and bringing those artists to the record company. A&R staff may go to hear emergingbands play at nightclubs and festivals to scout for talent. Personnel in the A&R division are expected to understand the current tastes of the market and to be able to find artists who will be commercially successful.[2]
An A&R executive is authorized to offer arecord contract, often in the form of a "deal memo" – a short, informal document that establishes a business relationship between the recording artist and the record company.[2] The actual contract negotiations will typically be carried out byentertainment lawyers.[3]
A&R executives rely mostly on theword of mouth of trusted associates, critics and business contacts, rather than on unsoliciteddemo tapes.[4]
The A&R division of a record label oversees the music style andrecording process. This includes helping the artist to find the right record producer, scheduling time in arecording studio and advising the artist on all aspects of making a high-quality recording. They work with the artist to choose the best songs (i.e.,repertoire) to record. For artists who do not write their own music, the A&R person will assist in finding songs, songwriters and arrangers. A&R staff will help findsession musicians for the recording. A&R executives maintain contact with their counterparts atmusic publishing companies to get new songs and material from songwriters and producers.
As the record nears completion, the A&R department works closely with the artist to determine whether the record is acceptable to the record company. This process may include suggesting that new songs need to be written, that existing songs need a new arrangement, or that some album tracks need to be re-recorded. A key issue is whether the album has a single – a particular track which can be used tomarket the record.
Once the record is completed, the A&R department consults with marketing,promotion, the artist and their management to choose one or moresingles to help promote the record.
The tastes of particular A&R executives have influenced the course of music history. A&R manJohn Hammond discoveredBillie Holiday,Bob Dylan,Aretha Franklin andBruce Springsteen. Hammond's colleagues were initially skeptical of these artists because none of them appeared to be creating "commercial" music. Hammond's instincts proved to be correct, and these artists went on to sell hundreds of millions of records.[5]Gary Gersh signed the bandNirvana toDavid Geffen'sDGC Records at a time when alternative rock music was not considered commercial.[6] Gersh was able to convince his co-workers to push the record in spite of their misgivings.[7] In cases like these, A&R people have radically changed the direction of popular musical tastes and introduced large numbers of people to new sounds.
This kind of prescience is the exception rather than the rule. Historically, A&R executives have tended to sign new artists who fit into recent trends and who resemble acts that are currently successful. For example,Columbia Records' A&R man in the 1950s,Mitch Miller, favored traditional pop singers likeGuy Mitchell andPatti Page, and rejected early rock-'n'-rollersElvis Presley andBuddy Holly.
This "trend following" mindset has generated several waves of narrowly defined genres, leading to a perception of triteness, includingteen pop (1998–2001),alternative rock (1993–1996),glam metal (1986–1991) anddisco (1976–1978). Trend following can be counter-productive, since it has often led to over-promotion followed by backlash (ashappened to the disco genre for example). Towards the end of the life of each wave or trend, record companies have found themselves faced with enormous losses as consumers' tastes changed. For example, at the end of the disco boom in 1978, millions of records were returned by record retailers, causing a deep recession in the music business that lasted until 1982, whenMichael Jackson'sThriller finally brought the public back into record stores in large numbers.[8]
The general move towards more conservative and business-minded signings from the 1980s onwards is seen to be symptomatic of an industry where the most powerful figures are no longer music fans or people with musical backgrounds, but are business executives, a group largely composed of individuals with uniform backgrounds. Traditionally A&R executives were composers, arrangers and producers –Atlantic Records's headsJerry Wexler andAhmet Ertegun were producers and composers respectively – but an A&R with musical ability and knowledge has become a rarity, withRon Fair andMartin Kierszenbaum being notable recent exceptions.[9] The composer and arrangerRichard Niles has said,
What you've got now is huge multinational companies where most of their A&R staff are businessmen. They're people who look at music from the standpoint of marketing, not from the standpoint of music and talent. They will say, "Go out and get me anything that's popular now."[9]
Hip hop groupWu-Tang Clan referenced this stereotype of the business-minded A&R executive in their single "Protect Ya Neck", metaphorically likening them to "mountain climbers".[10][11]
According toRhythm King Records andLizard King Records founder Martin Heath, the A&R community in the UK is more integrated than it is in the US, being very London-centric and encompassing a relatively small number of people.[12] "If scouts are chasing a band, you'll see the same thirty people in one room. You get aherd mentality in the UK, but also some very diverse signings as well," he said in an interview withHitQuarters.[12] Heath believes that in the US it is more typical for A&R to wait until a band is established – having attracted other offers or achieved a level of sales – before taking action, a technique which often works out as being more expensive.[12]
New forms ofdigital distribution have changed the relationship between consumers and the music they choose.Gerd Leonhard and others argue that the wide selection of music on digital services has allowed music consumers to bypass the traditional role of A&R.[13] In the wake ofdeclining record sales, many A&R staffers have been terminated.[14]
