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- Q&A: What is the best way to get heard by an A&R department ?
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- Q&A: What is the best way to get heard by an A&R department ?
Q&A: What is the best way to get heard by an A&R department ?
- By Richard Jay
- Published 8th May, 2008
- Record Industry , Music Publishing
- Unrated
Richard Jay
Richard Jay is a songwriter, producer, author of bestselling book How To Get Your Music in Film & TV, and president of The Music Broker Network
There are many things that you can do which will almost certainly NOT lead to being heard by an A&R department !! Yet, many people do them.
For example:
1) Sending in CD's/tapes without permission
2) Sending in CD's/tapes addressed to "A&R Dept." rather than a named person
3) Sending an email to every record company you can think of announcing your music can be downloaded from a specific website
The only way to get heard by A&R is to know them personally or know someone who does. If you're relying on somebody else to get your material heard by A&R then you must ensure that they have the right contacts. The turnover of staff at an A&R department is incredible and it's almost a fulltime job in itself, just keeping up with changes
For example:
1) Sending in CD's/tapes without permission
2) Sending in CD's/tapes addressed to "A&R Dept." rather than a named person
3) Sending an email to every record company you can think of announcing your music can be downloaded from a specific website
The only way to get heard by A&R is to know them personally or know someone who does. If you're relying on somebody else to get your material heard by A&R then you must ensure that they have the right contacts. The turnover of staff at an A&R department is incredible and it's almost a fulltime job in itself, just keeping up with changes