Behind the music: Is the A&R era over?

The days of A&R are numbered, according to one industry bigwig. Tell that to artists launched on labels such as XL

Is A&R dead? Consider what happened at a recent meeting between an artist manager and a major label A&R. The A&R commented that he liked the artist’s demo; she looked great, had a great voice and he definitely saw potential for success. When he was told that the artist would need some flexibility as she was dealing with a serious illness in the family, the A&R exclaimed: “Put her up for The X Factor – she’s guaranteed to be in the final 12!” He implied that he would sign her, eventually, if she did just that (contestants are not allowed to have a record deal before entering the competition). The artist declined.

Though it’s never been easy to get a record deal, this particular meeting depressed the manager more than usual. Digital Music News recently reported that there’s been a big cull in A&Rs at record labels in recent years, and if the aforementioned meeting is a sign of the lack of imagination among them, it’s understandable. It used to be that the A&R’s role was to spend their evenings in smoke-filled clubs discovering bands, and helping them to develop before releasing their first record (the Wikipedia entry says: “Artists and repertoire (A&R) is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists”). These days, however, major labels increasingly demand that artists already have a “momentum” going before they get involved.

According to Hartwig Masuch, the CEO of music publisher BMG Rights, the days of A&R are numbered as artists are now able to make and market their own music via the internet. I think his view is simplistic. It’s true that the internet has taken away the middleman, allowing artists to get their music out there without record company promotional power. Yet artists often encounter difficulties getting heard above millions of others fighting for the listener’s attention. A&R acts as a filter. To most artists, their songs are their babies, which makes it pretty difficult to discard them or look at them objectively. Good A&Rs can, so they push artists further.

Major labels may be reinventing the role, but A&R is still alive and kicking at – and even essential to – independent labels. I wasn’t in the room when Adele first met Richard Russell, CEO of XL Recordings, but I have a feeling The X Factor wasn’t included in the conversation. Russell later said: “To me, signing is instinctive. The more I think, the worse it gets. I’m not signing people for who they are, but for their potential. I have to believe in the person.” It appears to be a recipe that works – Adele’s first album had great success all over the world and her second is currently outselling the rest of the top 10 combined in the UK (it’s currently No 1 on the iTunes charts in 16 countries). Compare that to the vast majority of X Factor contenders.

Independent labels aren’t the only ones investing in the development of new artists. Music publishers have provided vital support for numerous unsigned artists for a long time. A&R Caroline Elleray signed both Coldplay and Keane to BMG Music Publishing years before they got record deals, paying for recordings and shopping them relentlessly to labels. This kind of loyalty and belief is also characteristic of Chrysalis Music. When Nerina Pallot was dropped by Polydor after her first album, Chrysalis supported her for years, invested in her follow-up and released it through their “incubator” record label, Echo.

The future role of major labels may be more of a multiple service provider, offering investment and marketing for artists that have gained modest to medium success on their own but want to make a greater impact. Meanwhile, for budding artists who don’t want to take part in televised talent shows, there are still some labels, publishers and managers out there who believe that talent will out and are willing to invest time and money – even if their funds are, unfortunately, more limited.

Source: Guardian Newspaper