BENGALURU: A&R, or Artists and Repertoire, have long been thought to be the heart of a record label. A&R is the department responsible for sourcing the talent or artistes that a label will record.
Some of the great A&R executives like Clive Davis have discovered legends and shaped careers – he discovered Whitney Houston when she was 19 in a New York Nightclub and shaped her career, and was also responsible for signing artistes like Barry Manilow, Brad Paisley and Aretha Franklin.
Artistes have been discovered in basements, on sidewalks while busking, and at hole in the wall performance venues. A&R legends have had the ability to spot raw talent and visualise the superstar that they can become.
Though methods of discovering artistes have evolved, the most important part of the process still seems to be discovery. Artistes want to be discovered. Labels want to discover the next great acts. Fans are looking for ways to aid discovery of their next favourite artiste.
In the last decade, the discovery has gone from just in person, to online. Justin Bieber was a child busking on the street, when his homemade Youtube videos went viral, and he was discovered by Scooter Braun. Adele was discovered when class projects she uploaded gained 10,000 plays quickly.
Although social media becomes the vehicle for discovery, A&R still plays the role of taking underground favourites, signing them, and building the creative teams to create the music and machine, that can catapult them to superstardom.
As an artiste, building a direct following is critical, but, especially if you are making a mainstream style of music, A&R discovery can make all the difference.