{"id":6088,"date":"2011-01-17T12:36:22","date_gmt":"2011-01-17T12:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=6088"},"modified":"2022-06-09T12:27:01","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T11:27:01","slug":"major-labels-a-r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/major-labels-a-r\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Labels are Abandoning Traditional A&R"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a very interesting article on DigitalMusicNews<\/a> that I just had to let everyone read.<\/p>\n

The following is a guest post by Ritch Esra of the Music Business Registry<\/a>, who attempts to answer the question: whatever happened to traditional A&R?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

“My take is that the traditional A&R process as we knew it is dying for a few reasons;<\/p>\n

(1) The major labels are hiring fewer and fewer A&R executives\u00a0because the volume of acts –\u00a0and more importantly the types of acts<\/strong> – that they sign has\u00a0dramatically decreased.<\/p>\n

(2) The A&R process used<\/strong> to be about the discovery, signing &\u00a0nurturing (ie, making the album) of the act. \u00a0Today, A&R executives are not looking for talent per se<\/strong>. \u00a0They are looking for an ongoing business.<\/p>\n

(3)\u00a0An artist that has developed some kind of traction and awareness\u00a0on their own is what I’m talking about. \u00a0Today, acts need to be “developed” or at least developing in a business sense for any label to have even the slightest amount of interest. \u00a0The idea that today’s A&R executives will discover\u00a0an unknown act \/ artist and develop that artist is an illusion.<\/strong> They have neither the desire, time or money for that matter in 2011.<\/p>\n

And by the way, this last point is about to become profoundly illustrated in the next 60-90 days – as dramatic and sweeping changes<\/strong> happen at Universal and Sony.<\/p>\n

(3) This is why from an A&R perspective, only the\u00a0most generic, ubiquitous type of acts get any attention from labels today. \u00a0There is only a\u00a0certain type of act these days that major labels are willing to sign.<\/p>\n

So if you happen to have those specific skills these days – great! \u00a0Otherwise, our stats show it all: not one of the 40 A&R people let go last year has found another A&R job. \u00a0Not one!”<\/p>\n