Music Biz: My Take On Paying To Meet With Record Label A&R Reps
First I must start out by stating that I’m the founder of the renowned A&R Power Summit Seminar Series. The 10 year old A&R Power Summit is one of the most vital music conferences in America. The summit’s comprehensive program schedule of panels, workshops, and music listening sessions address the important issues affecting the music industry today. The A&R Power Summit offers lively and incisive moderators, diverse participants, meaty discussions, fantastic performances and spirited debates. Additionally, quite a few artists and producers have landed song placements, single deals, etc., due to the connections they’ve made at the A&R Power Summit.
In recent years, there has emerged a few A&R consultant companies that charge a fee to connect artists, producers and songwriters with major label A&R’s. Most are legit but a couple are scams. If a company states that it is acting as an “Agent” to shop your music, then it should be compensated on the back end. However, if the company is acting as a “Consultant” and providing you with music industry advice and information in addition to setting up A&R meetings, then the consulting company can ask for an upfront fee but not receive a “finder’s fee” if a deal is constructed as a result of the meetings.
Paying to meet with major A&R’s is an avenue which gives talented songwriters, artists and producers, who have few connections or resources, the chance to get their music heard and the chance to receive valuable business information in reference to the music industry. Sometimes songwriters, artists and producers need music business education and professional feedback regarding their music even if they have to pay for it, because most of the unsigned artists and producers out there have no idea what they are doing. Often times you need somebody who can analyze your project from the outside looking in and help you to improve on what you’re lacking or missing. Top companies pay for consultation. Apple Computer has paid consultants. Facebook has paid consultants. Sometimes paying to meet with a top level A&R through a middle man can be a way of obtaining high level consultation from a major A&R who can tell you what you may be doing right or what you may be doing wrong.
Paying a fee to meet with top level business executives occurs in every industry.
I once paid $1200 to meet with a bunch of HIGH LEVEL venture capitalists, bankers and loan specialists. They gave me information that I did not know. They critiqued my business plan and told me there were a few things that I was doing wrong. I built a business relationship with one of the bankers. She showed me how to tweak my business plan to get funding. As a result of the relationship I built with her, it led to me receiving a $50,000 business loan from her 8 months later. Business is all about relationships. And sometimes you have to pay to gain access to key players with whom you can learn from and possibly develop a business relationship with to further your career.
RECORD LABEL DEMO SHOPPING SERVICE
Equally important, a company by the name of Taxi is the world’s # 1 independent A&R Company. (www.Taxi.com) For over 20 years Rock & Roll, Pop, Country, Hip Hop and Gospel artists have paid Taxi a fee to connect them with major label A&R’s, music publishers, music supervisors, etc. Taxi has secured record deals and placements for thousands of independent artists, producers and songwriters over the years. Artists testimonials give Taxi nothing but praise. Click the link to view some of their success stories: http://www.taxi.com/abouts/successdeals.html. I co-sign the Taxi model.
Moreover, Urban Threshold does not personally sell meetings with A&R’s only. We have conferences, workshops and symposiums where artists can learn the business and meet with the Major labels. And we sell marketing and promo packages that include A&R meetings, whereby artists and producers are able to do the following: 1) They can pitch their music to a major label for deal or placement consideration. 2) They can get on the radar with the major labels. 3) They get valuable feedback regarding their music and insight about music publishing, 360 deals, etc. 4) They get the opportunity to possibly develop a business relationship with the A&R to further their career. The truth of the matter is that No A&R has the power to sign an artist on the spot. Only the president of the major label has that power. But, countless artists and producers have landed placements and deals directly as a result of meeting with A&R’s.
In fact some A&R’s have taken on the role of grooming under developed independent artists whom they like via their own personal Artist Development programs. Sometimes an A&R may get beats from a platinum producer for an independent artist he likes or get the artist to write songs for one of the major artists on the label or open up for a major act. The A&R will do this until he builds leverage and feels comfortable enough to present the artist to the President of the label for a major deal.
Nevertheless, some so called publicists, and industry advisors say that producers, songwriters and artists should not pay to meet with A&R’s or Music Publishers. People who advocate against paying to meet with A&R’s say that if you are a star, then the A&R’s will find you. That is not true in most cases. It is especially not true if you are from a small town and don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on radio promo and marketing to get on the radar of the labels. Music executives will not find you if you don’t show up on their radar. The music business is all about business relationships and strategic alliances. And sometimes you have to pay to get to key individuals. The fact is there are many disgruntled publicists and industry advisors out there who just have a negative disposition and will seek to point fingers at anything regarding the industry that does not fit their disgruntled mindset. I think people should really examine the full picture instead of just jumping to conclusions.
Have you ever wondered how did some new songwriters from small towns land major publishing deals?
Have you ever wondered how did certain unknown producers get major placements? Have you ever wondered how did some unknown artists with small buzzes sign major label deals? Sometimes It is all about building key business relationships and gaining access to individuals who can help forward your career. The truth is that many disgruntled artists, producers, managers and publicists try to bash A&R’s and use them as a scapegoat for why their music career is not popping.
Notwithstanding, many A&R’s are honest, direct, informative and genuine, while others are not. My advice to independent artists and producers is: Study Your Craft, Develop A Plan, Get A Budget, Invest In Your Brand and Learn The Business. Don’t Freestyle Your Music Career! Create leverage, eliminate risk and build a buzz. SUCCESS ATTRACTS SUCCESS! And if you are going to pay a middle man to meet with an A&R to shop your music, then analyze what the pros and cons are and what the Potential Return On Investment might be. It’s all about WORKING SMARTER AND CREATING KEY BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS.
Additionally, as it relates to the group NWA, the true story is that in the beginning Eazy E paid to have a meeting with Jerry Heller. Even though Jerry Heller turned out to be an unscrupulous manager, he did have a long history of working with top acts in the music business and he had many industry connections. Heller helped Ruthless records get its first major distribution deal.. In addition, Dr Dre paid a fee to meet with Jimmy Iovine in the beginning. This led to his label deal with Interscope.
There is no one way to make it in the music game. You have some so called industry consultants and publicists telling artists and producers not to do showcases or don’t pay to meet with A&R’s or don’t put out mixtapes, etc. And if you ask these so called industry consultants and publicists how many major success stories have they created, then you will hear nothing but crickets. Some individuals will tell you not to pay for certain services but then they will turn around and try to sell you their services. Sadly, too many folks in the music industry are so negative. They only talk about the bad instead of the good. As an aspiring songwriter, artist or producer, you must consider the advice of others, but ultimately you have to do what works best for you. Study the business and pay attention to your gut instincts. Also always do your due diligence and weigh the return on investment. Additionally, observe the timing of proposed opportunities. Often times success depends upon the right timing.
