A&R duties may also include organizing promotional and marketing efforts, supervising the entire recording process, finding musical collaborators, offering creative input, and more.Ī&R departments have long served as the music industry’s tastemakers and the gatekeepers of record labels. Traditional A&R responsibilities involve signing an artist, guiding their subsequent career, artist development, and representing their interests within the label. However, A&R roles vary depending on the size, structure, and budget of a record label or publishing company. They also rely on an evolving understanding of current music tastes and industry trends to find talent with the most potential of commercial success. They also act as a liaison between the artist and the record label or publishing company.Ī&R reps spend the majority of their time listening to music, scouring clubs, watching social media, reading music blogs, checking metrics, and tracking industry buzz on the hunt for promising new musical talent. A&R representatives are responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of artists. Even then, surviving A&R representatives wield less influence at cash-strapped record labels bent on making every dollar count, the newspaper stated.A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire. Many A&R representatives have entered related careers, or left the industry. This failure to embrace the online world led to free-falling profits, followed by mass layoffs, label mergers and termination of contracts or companies deemed unprofitable. Long-Term ProspectsĪ&R representatives' prospects dwindled throughout the 2000s, as consumers increasingly rejected the compact disc for the convenience of Internet file-sharing, "L.A. Haridy's signing of the band George - whose album went double platinum in Australia - proved the biggest factor in jump-starting her success. Within a year, Haridy advanced to her present position, for which she reportedly earned $45,000 to $50,000 per year. A journalism graduate, Haridy first started as an assistant to Michael Parisi, the label's managing director - himself a former A&R man, "The Age" reported in July 2003. By contrast, senior A&R executives with top-level credentials may command six-figure salaries, performance bonuses and "points," or income percentages reaped from successful projects, according to Freni.įestival Mushroom Records A&R manager Catherine Haridy typifies the mid-career and salary path of her profession. Entry-level A&R employees often start as assistants, earning $20,000 to $25,000, according to TVT Records representative Joshua Freni. Crucial Factorsįor any A&R representative, career advancement depends on his ability to spot potential winners as he juggles multiple tasks, which is one reason why salary spreads in this field are so pronounced. However, the representative's job is distinctly different from that of an A&R administrator, who oversees the department's clerical functions, although their salary spread is equally wide, ranging from $25,000 to $65,000 per year, according to the survey. Depending on their experience and track records, A&R representatives can earn anywhere from $27,000 to $175,000, the survey shows. A survey of music industry payscales commissioned by the Berklee College of Music shows how widely A&R salaries vary.
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