The first tangible lesson that I learned about a&r was that a fantastic live show doesn’t necessarily translate into a hit act. You’ve got to remember that it is the hit song that drives the sale of a recording, otherwise known as good content selling records.

But these days, it isn’t all about the sale of a recording. Arguably starting with the Grateful Dead, the live show became the income stream of a band or artist making their living. (It was a pretty fantastic deal for Celine Dion to sign on in Las Vegas to perform live and slow down on her recorded music, am I right?). And now Radiohead giving “In Rainbows” away for free and thus manufacturing an army of people who know the record coming out to the live show.

But back to the hit song. If you find a collection of them, great! You might as well have just found a Nashville songwriter, which is a good thing. But the special thing to find is a hit act, the band/artist who writes hit songs and performs them in an unforgettable manner, both recorded and live. Then and there is when you move. Within the relationship, everything has to be a win-win situation. The band/artist make winning music and you as the a&r guy have to mesh with the work ethic that fosters their hits—meanwhile delivering the ingredients translating into more fans jumping on board everyday. Sounds a lot like management, right? Welcome to the new a&r.

Three hit acts from the top of my head are Mute Math, Switchfoot and Edison Glass. Who do you know of that makes hit songs and backs them up by being a hit act?

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Hello. Welcome to a&r Notes.com. It is all of my pleasure to be here with you. I do indeed hope that the conversations we will have can add to a quality of life for each who is involved. I believe in working together, not keeping your knowledge and ideas secret in order to keep the next guy out. I’ve been that next guy kept out; and I have come to find that it is certainly an advantage to work together, it’s always been that way, and it will continue to be that way.  So let’s kick it.

What are some of the things you want to learn about a&r?

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