How To Get In Contact With An A&R

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bluenoon

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Ok so first off I should say that I'm actually not a producer (I'm sorry my dudes I know this forum is literally called future producers) but I'm an artist trying to get signed to a major record label which I know is very difficult but I've talked to a lot of recently signed artists to major labels like Atlantic and Columbia and most of them had connections, went to showcases, or got lucky so maybe it isn't as crazy or difficult as I thought. So I saw this article from 2007 from this forum that I can't link right now because I'm a new user but I was wondering if anyone who knows enough about the music industry could give an updated version of how to get A&R attention and to contact A&Rs with the current way that the music industry has changed.

Main things I want to ask, if I do have an A&Rs email how do I send them music in a professional way that will actually get them to listen to it. It's definitely not 2007 anymore so is simply calling them up and asking for a meeting enough to get it in 2018? How to actually reach them and ask to schedule a meeting and what should I have / be prepared for for that meeting. Just generally information on how to get attention from an A&R and how to get signed.

Thank you!!!
 
they will come to you if they want you.

they get thousands of requests and usually don't even open them. A&R guys are like sports scouts. They go out and find talent. Then if the talent passes the management, they'll get in contact with you. Make a name for yourself. Build your portfolio. ...idk what yours is. It may be decent or not, ..but that's the way. Spamming your songs out doesn't work.

Good networking can help a lot too yes, but you gotta have the music portfolio, streams, stats, and sales to back it up.


those are my thoughts. cheers homie
 
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I understand that but after talking with some people who got signed seemingly out of nowhere there are some tricks to bypass that if you already have the talent as a developed artist; connections, doing artist showcases, etc. so obviously most artists are trying to build their portfolios but people in the industry also know that part of it is working smarter not harder and so I'm looking in this thread to hopefully talk about different ways to get in contact with an A&R, especially if you're like me and you're from a small town where you can't just meet up with an A&R or go to industry showcases.
 
How far are you in your self development as an artist and how old are you? Like I told you this isn't the 00s regarding changes in music business functions. What attracts you to majors in this era and why? Do you have a non musical career to support yourself financially (the biz is one and done when it comes to artists)?
 
i already answered that. there are many ways, but none of them work. email them, dm them on soundcloud, on instagram, call them, mail them. There are many ways, but unless they scout you, odds are low (for the big labels - little labels will talk most likely). Catching their eye at a show is always big. The sound guys/speaker guys are well plugged in the industry, and are watching every performance. They can pass your name to label people. The VJ may be plugged as well. Most times, these guys are hiding in the audience looking like fans, collecting info on your performance. You catch their eye, they may hit you up. Maybe if you network into their lives really well you'll have a higher chance, but the bigger labels get too many requests to honestly accept people thru the spam methods.

if you're making enough noise in a particular style or genre, they'll find you. not the other way around
 
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A&Rs are the same people within the label who listen to demos sent in. Also they will come after you if you're making a splash in the music scene, because you are dollar signs to them sometimes.
 
A lot of people state that A&R's come to you and its a possibility that they do however I've found most of the time - most of my success came from reaching out to those individuals that I thought would benefit from my expertise. Take that food for thought.
 
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