A&R Executive

Working Schedule

• A&R Executives may work part- or full-time. Their duties involve overtime for travel, visiting nightlife establishments where bands play, and holding after-hours meetings with potential clients. Some report attending gigs “four to five nights every week!”

Typical Duties

• Stay up to date on current music trends
• Develop and maintain and good “ear” for music 
• Monitor music streaming platforms and follow influential artists 
• Pay attention to which artists may be underrecognized
• Be familiar with their employer’s (i.e., the record label’s) preferred genres and their best-selling talent
• Listen to demos submitted to their label
• Reach out to artists that could be a good fit for the label
• Attend live events such as concerts and open mics to watch acts in-person and see how they perform on stage (and how the audiences respond)
• Schedule meetings with potential talent and their managers
• Offer deal memos to establish initial business relationships prior to formalizing deals
• Discuss details of record deals (i.e. binding legal contracts)
• Help set up dates and locations for signed artists to get into recording studios
• Offer creative input and critiques of artists’ songs and album concepts 
• Plan out album release schedules
• Track record sales
• Assist with developing artists’ careers 
• Suggest and setup collaborations between artists to boost sales and exposure

Additional Responsibilities

• Attend music industry events 
• Stay engaged with the careers of artists you signed
• Read popular industry magazines like Mojo, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Quietus, Under the Radar, SPIN, The FADER, Consequence of Sound, etc. 
• Maintain receipts and do general bookkeeping 
• Stay up to date on musician grant opportunities

Soft Skills

• Creativity
• Desire to help artists succeed
• Diligence
• Enthusiasm
• Goal setting
• Initiative
• Monitoring
• Multitasking
• Networking
• Patience
• Persuasive 
• Quality assurance
• Resourcefulness 
• Strong communication skills 
• Time management

Technical Skills

• Business, marketing, and promotion skills 
• Deep familiarity with the music industry, concerts and tours, merchandising, and other revenue-generating activities 
• Familiarity with legal contracts
• Knowledge of music trends
• Understanding of music and musical performances
• Basic understanding of music recording studios and equipment
• Knowledge of digital marketing, social media, and YouTube monetization

• Record labels and other music producers

Record labels can’t exist without artists to record and perform music that’s going to sell albums and concert tickets. And it takes the hard work and ongoing efforts of A&R Executives to find, sign, and nurture such acts. The tasks require a lot of research and listening to bands, trying to find a sound that matches the label’s genre(s) and has the potential to connect with listeners. 

With record sales down due to the advent of streaming platforms and the escalation of digital music pirating, many A&R departments have scaled back on staff due to budgetary cuts. Those left with jobs have to work that much harder and with less of a safety cushion when it comes to finding talent that’ll bring in the bucks. Expectations run high, and execs may have to sacrifice some sleep—because they’ve got to get out there and hustle! 

Record sales may be down, but the U.S. music industry is still raking in major dollars. Per Zippia, the “annual revenue of the global recorded music industry” was $25.9 billion in 2021. But the most successful acts are pulling in vastly more income from concert touring than anything else. 

For example, Business Insider noted that the popular rock band U2 made 95% of their earnings from touring, with less than 4% from streaming and album sales. That’s another reason why A&R Executives need to snag performers with charisma and dedication. They need talent they can rely on to get on stage consistently (and on-time), perform live night after night, and sell tickets and merchandise.

A&R Executives were probably music buffs and audiophiles growing up. They may have also sung, played an instrument, or had musical ambitions, as well. Like other industry insiders, they likely stayed well-informed about the behind-the-scenes happenings, perhaps through reading music-related magazines or scrolling endlessly through blogs.