If you’re trying to build a career in music, you’ve probably heard people talking about A&R.

But what does A&R actually mean?

A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire. Traditionally, A&R departments at record labels and music publishers were responsible for discovering talented artists, signing them and helping develop their music.

That basic idea hasn’t disappeared.

But the way A&R works has changed dramatically.

Today’s A&R representatives aren’t just attending small gigs hoping to discover the next superstar. They’re looking at Spotify streams, social media engagement, fan growth, live audiences, release history and countless other signals to identify artists who might be ready for the next stage of their career.

So what does an A&R actually do? How do they discover artists? And perhaps most importantly, how can you get an A&R to notice your music?

Here’s everything you need to know.

What does A&R stand for?

A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire.

It is the area of a record label, music publisher or other music company responsible for discovering artists and helping develop their careers and music.

Historically, the role was particularly literal.

The “artist” side involved discovering singers and performers.

The “repertoire” side involved finding suitable songs for those artists to record.

Today, many artists write their own music, so the role has evolved considerably. Modern A&R teams are often involved in everything from scouting talent and signing artists to connecting musicians with producers, songwriters and collaborators.

The A&R team can also act as an important link between an artist and the wider record label.

What does an A&R do?

An A&R representative’s job can vary enormously depending on the record label, publisher or company they work for.

However, most A&R roles involve some combination of the following:

• Finding new artists
• Listening to demos and new releases
• Monitoring emerging music trends
• Attending concerts and showcases
• Analysing streaming and social media data
• Recommending artists for record deals
• Helping develop signed artists
• Finding songs for artists
• Connecting artists with producers and songwriters
• Giving feedback on recordings
• Helping decide which songs should become singles
• Working with other label departments on releases
• Acting as an internal advocate for an artist

It is part talent scout, part creative advisor and part music industry project manager.

And despite the mythology surrounding A&R, discovering an artist is usually only the beginning of the job.

1. Finding new artists

Talent discovery remains one of the most important parts of A&R.

An A&R representative is constantly looking for artists that could potentially fit their company’s roster.

That might mean attending a tiny gig and discovering someone before anybody else.

But increasingly, discovery happens online.

A&R teams can find artists through:

• Spotify
• Apple Music
• YouTube
• TikTok
• Instagram
• SoundCloud
• Music blogs
• Playlists
• Music distributors
• Managers
• Producers and songwriters
• Existing artists
• Industry recommendations

Streaming and social platforms have made it possible to identify emerging artists much earlier by looking at how audiences are responding to their music. Current A&R guides increasingly describe streaming data and social platforms as important parts of modern scouting.

That doesn’t mean an artist needs millions of streams to attract attention.

Sometimes the direction of travel is more interesting than the overall number.

An artist moving rapidly from 2,000 monthly listeners to 20,000 could potentially be more interesting than one that has been sitting at 100,000 listeners for several years.

Momentum matters.

2. Signing artists

Finding an artist doesn’t automatically mean signing them.

An A&R representative will normally need to convince other people inside the company that an artist is worth investing in.

Depending on the label, that could involve looking at:

• Quality of the music
• Existing fanbase
• Streaming growth
• Social media engagement
• Live performance
• Brand and identity
• Release consistency
• Commercial potential
• Genre trends
• Competition from other labels
• The artist’s team
• Long-term potential

The A&R representative may then champion the artist internally and help move a potential deal through the label.

At larger companies, the person who first discovers an artist won’t necessarily have the authority to sign them alone.

3. Developing an artist

A&R doesn’t stop once the contract is signed.

This is where the “artist development” side of the role becomes particularly important.

An A&R might help an artist determine what music they should make next, provide feedback on demos or introduce them to new collaborators.

For example, they could suggest working with:

• A different producer
• An established songwriter
• Another artist
• A vocal producer
• A mixing engineer
• A studio
• A featured performer

The best A&R relationships aren’t necessarily about telling musicians what to create.

They’re about helping artists make better versions of what they already want to make.

4. Finding the right songs

The “repertoire” part of A&R remains especially important in genres where artists regularly record songs written by other people.

Pop and country music are obvious examples.

Songwriters and publishers might send hundreds of songs to an A&R team hoping that one will be suitable for an artist on the label.

The A&R representative then helps identify songs that fit the artist.

Even when artists write their own material, A&R teams can help arrange co-writing sessions or introduce them to songwriters who might complement their style.

5. Helping make an album or single

A&R representatives can also be involved during the recording process.

They might listen to demos, suggest changes or help decide which tracks should make an album.

If an artist records 30 songs for a project, the eventual album might contain only 12.

Which songs make the cut?

What is the first single?

Does the album need another upbeat track?

Could one song benefit from a featured artist?

Should a different producer work on the track?

These are exactly the types of creative discussions where A&R teams can become involved.

6. Connecting the artist with the rest of the label

Record labels contain many different departments.

There might be separate teams covering:

• Marketing
• Digital marketing
• Radio
• Public relations
• Social media
• Sync licensing
• Distribution
• International marketing
• Business affairs
• Finance

An A&R representative can become one of the artist’s strongest advocates inside that organisation.

They discovered or signed the artist.

They understand the music.

And they can help explain the artist’s vision to everyone else working on the project.

That internal support can be extremely valuable.

How has A&R changed in the streaming era?

A&R used to be much more difficult to quantify.

A representative could attend a concert, see an incredible unsigned band and make a judgement based largely on instinct.

That still happens.

But modern A&R teams have access to considerably more information.

An artist might already have released ten songs independently before ever speaking to a record label.

A label can see whether those songs are growing.

They can look at monthly listeners.

They can see which cities contain the artist’s biggest audiences.

They can look at social engagement.

They can see whether fans are repeatedly returning.

They can see whether an artist is selling concert tickets.

The internet has effectively created a gigantic global talent-development system.

Artists release music independently.

Audiences react.

A&R teams watch.

That has changed the balance of power considerably.

Do record labels still discover completely unknown artists?

Yes, but artists can significantly improve their chances by building something themselves first.

Record labels are businesses.

Signing an artist requires investment, and investment carries risk.

If an artist already has fans, streams or other evidence of demand, some of that uncertainty disappears.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you need millions of followers.

An A&R could become interested because they see unusually strong engagement from a small audience.

Maybe you have 10,000 monthly Spotify listeners but sell out every local show.

Maybe several of your TikTok videos suddenly take off.

Maybe your latest song is growing every week.

Maybe listeners are saving your music at unusually high rates.

A small but passionate fanbase can be extremely valuable.

What do A&R reps look for in artists?

There isn’t one magic formula.

Different labels want different things.

However, there are several characteristics that can make an artist more interesting.

Great music

Everything starts here.

Marketing can generate attention, but people still need to want to listen to the music.

A&R teams listen to huge amounts of music.

You need something that makes them stop.

A distinctive identity

What makes you different?

There are millions of artists releasing music.

Being technically good isn’t always enough.

Successful artists usually have something recognisable about their music, personality, image or story.

Momentum

A&R representatives don’t only look at where an artist is today.

They’re trying to work out where that artist might be tomorrow.

Rapidly increasing streams, followers, engagement or ticket sales can indicate momentum.

An engaged audience

100,000 passive followers aren’t necessarily more valuable than 10,000 genuine fans.

A&R teams increasingly have enough information to distinguish between vanity metrics and real engagement.

Consistency

One viral song might attract attention.

Repeated success is more convincing.

If each release is performing better than the last, it shows that something sustainable could be developing.

Work ethic

Labels aren’t simply signing songs.

They’re entering long-term relationships with people.

Being reliable, productive and easy to work with matters.

How do A&R reps find artists?

Forget the stereotype of an A&R representative sitting at the back of a pub wearing sunglasses and waiting to discover the next Arctic Monkeys.

They might still be there.

But they’re probably also scrolling through their phone.

Modern A&R discovery is happening everywhere.

TikTok can surface songs before they have meaningful streaming numbers.

Spotify can demonstrate rapidly growing listener demand.

YouTube can show whether people actively search for an artist.

Instagram can demonstrate fan engagement.

Live shows can prove that an online following translates into real-world demand.

The strongest artists often have signals appearing across several platforms at once.

How can you get noticed by A&R?

This is the question most independent artists really want answered.

And the slightly frustrating answer is:

Don’t spend all your time trying to get noticed by A&R.

Spend your time trying to get noticed by music fans.

If thousands of genuine people begin listening to your music, following you, sharing your tracks and attending your shows, music industry professionals tend to become much easier to find.

There are still several things you can do to improve your chances.

Release music consistently

You can’t be discovered if nobody can find your music.

Get your tracks onto streaming platforms and continue building your catalogue.

Every release gives you another opportunity to reach listeners.

It also gives an A&R representative more material to evaluate if they discover you.

Build your audience

Don’t wait for a record deal before marketing yourself.

Build your audience now.

Use platforms that suit you and your music rather than trying to be everywhere at once.

That could mean:

• TikTok
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Spotify
• Twitch
• Discord
• Live shows
• Email
• Your own website

The specific platform matters less than whether you’re building a genuine connection with listeners.

Create momentum

A&R teams love momentum because momentum suggests something is happening.

Imagine two artists.

Artist A has 80,000 monthly listeners but hasn’t grown for two years.

Artist B has gone from 5,000 to 40,000 monthly listeners in three months.

Which one looks more interesting?

There are obviously many other factors, but Artist B has a story:

Something is working.

Make yourself easy to contact

This sounds ridiculously basic.

But if somebody wants to talk to you, make sure they can.

Have an obvious contact email on your social profiles or website.

If you have a manager, list their contact details.

You don’t want an interested A&R representative searching for 20 minutes before giving up.

Network naturally

Music remains a relationship-based industry.

Managers know A&R reps.

Producers know managers.

Artists know producers.

Songwriters know publishers.

Promoters know everybody.

The more active you become within your local or online music community, the more opportunities you’ll have to meet useful people.

But don’t treat every interaction as a networking transaction.

People remember genuine relationships far more than somebody who immediately asks them for something.

Should you send demos directly to A&R reps?

You can.

But cold-emailing hundreds of A&R representatives usually isn’t the best strategy.

A targeted approach is much more sensible.

If you contact someone, understand:

• Which company they work for
• Which artists they work with
• Whether they work with your genre
• Whether they’re accepting submissions
• Why your music could be relevant to them

Then keep the message short.

You don’t need to send your entire life story.

Introduce yourself, explain briefly why you’re contacting them and include an easy link to your best music.

Most importantly, give them a reason to care.

If your latest release just passed 100,000 streams, mention it.

If you’ve sold out a show, mention it.

If you’re growing quickly on TikTok, mention it.

Provide evidence of momentum.

Do you need an A&R to become successful?

No.

This is one of the biggest changes in the modern music industry.

Artists can now record music independently, distribute it globally and build audiences without signing a traditional record deal.

You can release music to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and other platforms without a label.

You can build your audience through social media.

You can sell tickets directly.

You can sell merchandise.

You can build an email list.

You can license your music.

A label can still be incredibly valuable.

It can provide capital, expertise, relationships, marketing resources and a team capable of accelerating something that’s already working.

But it is no longer the only gateway into the music industry.

That’s an important distinction.

The goal shouldn’t necessarily be:

“How do I get signed?”

A better question might be:

“How do I build a music career so exciting that labels want to work with me?”

Can you work in A&R?

If discovering new music sounds more exciting than being the person on stage, A&R can also be a career.

There isn’t one required route into the profession.

People working in A&R come from backgrounds including:

• Music
• Artist management
• Promotion
• DJing
• Journalism
• Music production
• Publishing
• Record labels
• Streaming
• Social media
• Live events

Internships and entry-level roles at labels, publishers and other music companies can provide useful experience. Music-related education can also help, although it isn’t necessarily essential.

What matters most is demonstrating that you can consistently identify interesting music before everyone else does.

What skills does an A&R need?

A great A&R representative needs more than good taste in music.

Useful skills include:

Understanding music

You need to recognise quality and potential across different stages of an artist’s development.

Spotting trends

Successful A&R isn’t simply about identifying what is popular today.

It’s about identifying what could become popular tomorrow.

Communication

You’ll deal with artists, managers, lawyers, producers, executives, marketers and countless other people.

Networking

Relationships remain incredibly important throughout the music business.

Data analysis

Modern A&R increasingly combines human judgement with data from streaming services, social media and other platforms.

Creativity

A great A&R doesn’t simply discover talent.

They can sometimes see what an artist could become.

Patience

Artist development doesn’t always happen overnight.

Careers can take years to build.

Is A&R still important?

Absolutely.

But the role has changed.

A&R was once one of the main gateways between an unknown musician and the global music industry.

Today, artists can build significant careers independently before a record label ever becomes involved.

That means A&R increasingly operates further along the journey.

Instead of asking:

“Can we make this artist popular?”

The question might increasingly be:

“This artist is already becoming popular. How much bigger could we help them become?”

That shift is hugely important for independent musicians.

The more leverage you build yourself, the stronger your position becomes when labels eventually come knocking.

A&R FAQs

What does A&R mean in music?

A&R stands for Artists and Repertoire. It refers to the part of a record label or music publisher responsible for discovering artists and helping develop their music and careers.

What does an A&R representative do?

An A&R representative discovers artists, evaluates potential signings, supports artist development and can help connect musicians with producers, songwriters and other collaborators.

Do A&R reps sign artists?

A&R representatives can recommend and champion artists for record deals, although the final decision at larger record labels often involves multiple executives and departments.

How do A&R reps find new artists?

Modern A&R representatives discover musicians through streaming platforms, social media, live shows, industry recommendations, managers, producers and other sources. Digital data has become an increasingly important part of scouting.

Do A&R reps listen to demos?

Yes. A&R representatives still listen to demos, although unsolicited submissions are only one of many ways artists are now discovered.

How do I get an A&R to notice my music?

Focus on building genuine momentum around your music. Release consistently, grow your audience, promote your tracks, perform live where possible and make your contact information easy to find.

Do I need a record label to release music?

No. Independent artists can distribute music directly to major streaming platforms through music distributors without signing to a traditional record label.

Is A&R a good career?

A&R can be an exciting career for people who love discovering new music, working with artists and identifying emerging trends. It is also highly competitive and requires strong musical judgement, communication skills and industry relationships.

The bottom line

A&R still plays a major role in the music industry.

But artists shouldn’t sit around waiting to be discovered.

The tools that A&R representatives use to discover musicians are increasingly the same tools available to artists themselves.

Release music.

Build an audience.

Learn what listeners respond to.

Develop your sound.

Create momentum.

And keep going.

Because one of the best ways to attract an A&R representative is to build enough momentum that eventually they have to notice you.