Here is a super compelling interview with one of the Music Business’s top a&r men, John Kalodner. He talks about everything from how he got his start (which I thought to be very interesting) to the fact that he hates artists (Tune in to hear why). His hit rate was something unreal like 90% so he says. You gotta check it out!

Crazed Hits says this about him: “…one of the most successful and influential a&rs in the history of the music business. He has worked with Madonna, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Cher, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Genesis, Journey, Boston, and many others.”

Today is the only day in 100 years where it will be 8.8.08. This is an interesting day though, in that one of the artists that I manage, Wes Sp8 (pronounced Speight), we market using that 8 in his name. So, we at Radical Notion are throwing a bit of a celebration of the day by releasing a live rehearsal version of Wes Sp8’s Please Ep song “Behind My Back.” There were only a couple of mics set up a record button pushed. I think it was that day too where our in-house recording studio was named The Attic Lab by Wes’s drummer Josh Hood.

Here is how you can get your Free Song Download!

Simply send an email to 888@wessp8.com before 8 pm tonight and you will get an auto-response email containing an easy link that will automatically download the song to your computer. All this just to say Happy 8.8.08!

I hope you let me know what you think of the recording by leaving a comment. Any and all thoughts are encouraged!

Yes…I did not post in the month of July. Problems with Wordpress. I am just not learning that sometimes things are not my fault. But, if a person really wants to get something done, and done correctly, whose fault it is has no weight. Who Cares. A very close friend (Casey Iorg, 24 and single in Washington D.C.) of mine says it this way. “No matter what happens, at the end of the day, YOU are still responsible for your production. So find a way to get it done!”

Thanks for your patience. See You Soon.

Let me start out today by saying, that outside of this blog, there are some very good resources available simply to help you in your quest for music success. Just to point out some of them, I have them listed to the right of this post. Within that list, I highly recommend Music Marketing [dot] Com, Producer’s Notes and Kings of A&R (just to keep up with what is happening in the music business.

So you are releasing a full length record right off the bat. Congratulations on having a large amount of solid material. Again, I would stress that you find the right songs for an album. Try to stay away from putting a collection of your best songs on it, as the record may end up being a run of 7 or 8 songs that are good together, then having 4 or 5 songs that don’t really fit. That will give the fan an excuse to buy only one or two songs from iTunes rather than buying the whole record.

Let me touch on something I had mentioned last week about categorizing the moods of your songs. Let’s just take for example that you want to put 12 songs on your album. There are 15 to choose from and you’ve got five “1’s,” five “2’s” and five “3’s.” If you were to simply say, “Hmm…I’ll just dispose of one from each category leaving an equal amount of songs to represent all the moods of the music.” I disagree. I am a fan of asymmetrical nuances in music, i.e., seven “3’s,” three “2’s” and two “1’s;” but that is my subjective opinion, aren’t they all though? What a business eh? Keep in mind that this is not science, it is based on emotively connecting yourself with your audience. That is what brings them back.

It all boils down to this. You’ve got a big pot of chili in front of you that you are about to enter into a cook-off (one of which I have won by the way…). There are certain amount ingredients/seasoning that you want to put in that pot to win the contest. The Pot of Chili is the record and the songs are the salt and pepper. Here it is though, let’s say you have your 13 songs picked. During pre-production you decide to take one song out and put another one in. Essentially, using the chili metaphor, you’re changing the entire seasoning. The bottom line is this; you want your pot of chili to win. So add the right seasonings.

Are there any records that you enjoy from first cut to the last? If so, tell me about it.

I just wanted to write a quick note to mention that I am having some trouble getting the next post up. My blogging software won’t let me post more than 37 words; it just cuts it off. Crazy I know. With that said, I am working to try and get it posted and will do so as soon as possible, ASAP!

Jonathan Harms

There are a few scenarios to think about when considering which songs to put on a release. If you are lucky, you will have more songs to consider than you need. Example; 20 songs for a 13-song release, 15 songs for a 9 to 11 song release and so on and so forth.

If you’ve made it to a third or fourth release, Congratulations! That is successful. First and Second releases are different than the next ones. On these, the most important thing is to pick the RIGHT songs. Getting further along in your career, you can start to think about having a personality within each album. Let’s chat about what strategies are involved with the number of tracks on your first release.

With this one, some of your possible motivations may be making a splash to gain attention from the press. Perhaps you just want to have some content available to people so that they know you’re up to something (also convenient to sell at shows [and for that matter, give them away like business cards]). Maybe gaining exposure within the music industry to add others to your team is your drive. Whatever it may be, you absolutely have to pick the right songs, and put them in the right order!

With three songs, go ahead and make them all aggressive, all slow, or mix it up. When you get into the four-song release; this is when you should consider having a diverse repertoire. Group your songs into three categories, 1, 2 and 3. Call the (1) “soft” (2) “medium” and (3) “hard.” That is the first filter. I mentioned it in the last post, but look at the Meese Ep, released by Atlantic Records. There is a demo listed, but the three tracks after that represent the order of the Ep sans track four (but the song missing on myspace is a 2). I would consider this Ep 3, 2, 3, 2. Let me say this though, don’t be afraid of tossing five or six quality tracks on your first release.

After that first filter of song personality, consider the lyrics. Pick songs that are strong in this category. Diversity is also an important aspect for this filter. Two songs about a girl and two neutral is great. Four, about a girl is great. But when it gets to 5 or 6 songs, diversify.

When you have the songs picked out go into pre-production. At this point you can and it off to the Jacquire King’s or the stinson’s to produce it into a hit!

First Release a Full Length? Well, let’s talk about that next week!

Any choice of Song order on a release stand out to you? Let me know what your thoughts are in the Comments section. Thanks for stopping by.

At the foundation, your basic job as an a&r guy is to find something cool and tell as many of the right people about it as possible. So, now you have a band to represent and you need a release.

There are a couple of different choices that can be made in this arena. Do you record a single and push it to radio? Record an Ep (extended play) and sell it at shows, meanwhile mailing it to CD Baby to get into iTunes for digital distribution? Or maybe even record a full length and take a shot at big time physical distribution…All of these choices are both good and bad. You’re job is to find the right one. (Oh yeah, and then there’s the record deal…that’s being a manager performing a&r duties—very common).

In my opinion, at the very least, you might as well record the Ep . Then you have numerous options with a moderate risk. One advantage for the Ep over the full length is having a digestible amount of content for the new listener. Think about a buffet line at a Chinese Restaurant. You see a new dish that looks pretty good; you grab a humble amount in case you don’t like the flavor. It is the same way with music. A new listener is much more likely to spend $3 to $5 on an Ep that they may or may not like than $10 or $12 on a full length. In addition, three to five songs will create a loyalty that will leave the fan wanting more. Remember, you are introducing yourself to new people, potential fans.

But, which songs do you pick for the release? And the lead single!? Stay tuned for next week’s edition of a&r Notes. Can’t wait to see you next Thursday!

There are two Ep’s that come to my mind as having a direct influence on my loyalty to purchase the follow-up full length. 1.) Mute Math, Reset EP and 2.) Meese, The Start of It Ep.

Are their any Ep’s off the top of your head that you remember making an impact on your buying of music?

I would like to point out that an a&r guy doesn’t always sit around on the couch in his office looking for brand new music to sign to a deal. In fact, I would even say that the majority of his time, is spent working with the artists that are already on his roster. Even deeper, the label guys whose only responsibility is a&r, is a very small community. Think about the fact that there are only four majors now. Often times the same a&r guy will perform his duties for several imprints under the same music company. Think about Geffen/A&M/Interscope. It’s all about branding. A hip/hop act won’t be branded as well on Interscope (traditionally rock & roll) as it would be on Geffen. Take Avery Lipman for example, he signed rock act Godsmack to Universal Republic and hip-hop artist Chamillionaire to Universal Motown.

Back to label guys doing only a&r though…that only works for the companies that can afford to have a guy or more, just doing that. Indie labels that are only working with 3 or 5 artists are rarely looking for new acts to sign, and when they do, it is a collective and calculated effort to get the band on board. Case in point. I know of a band that got an indie deal a certain amount of time back, they are now enjoying a nice buzz in L.A. Another band got a major deal. Both of the records had about the same recording schedule, but the one signed to the major hasn’t even gotten their record released yet!

So I’ll say it again. a&r is just an extension of what you are already doing—deciding why you like a certain project and figuring out what you might like to do differently in order to make it better.

Who have you discovered lately?

What in the World is a&r anyway? The two letters stand for “Artists and Repertoire.” What does that mean? The label representative searches out artists that he believes possess talent and have a potential to be successful under the guidance of a label. When the artist is then signed to a contract, the repertoire duties are satisfied by pairing with the artist a team of individuals who can help craft all of the ingredients it takes to make a hit act. Those team members may include songwriters, producers, a creative recording space, song order for the album, a radio single, a video (with director and concept), and more. The a&r guy oversees the creative process of a band or artists career.

Here is how Joel Mark (Creed, Sigur Ros) from MCA in Los Angeles describes it.

[An a&r guy] “Helps the band make their records. And they understand the music better than anyone else, hopefully they come from a musical background. Sometimes they’re just very intuitive people, but I prefer it if they are musicians themselves. An A&R should be able to explain to a band what their strong points are, and what they are lacking. Then either direct them to people who can help them with their weaknesses, or offer advice on how to overcome them.”

Are there any bands that you are curious about who their a&r guy is?