Over the last two years, I’ve been doing a series of “check-in” threads on social media, asking questions to folks in different roles within the music industry to get their perspective on things.

I ask the same question to a group of people and share their response as a thread - I’m thankful for their time and generosity in answering these questions and value their perspective.

While I’ve done A&R check-in threads in the past, I wanted to get a fresh perspective in 2024.

This newsletter highlights:

• 5 A&Rs share their perspective on artist development

Let’s dive in ⬇️ 

I checked in with 5 music professionals working in A&R and asked them all the same question:

"How do you think about the balance between artist development and not compromising artistry while competing with the current landscape which favors volume?"

Here are their answers:

1) Riley Newkirk - Former Creative A&R Manager, 10K Projects

“Managing the balance between artist development + artistry with a landscape that favors volume is always a tricky one, but the struggle varies by genre. I work primarily on the rap and r&b side, and a majority of the hip-hop/rap artists I work with are already operating in volume. Being able to record multiple songs in one night is a skill set that many of these artists take pride in, so putting out a large amount of product isn't typically an issue.

You'll hear the word "flood" a lot. However, on the r&b side, it often takes up to 2-3+ sessions to finish a song. To balance that out with the amount of music we are looking to put out, we try to explore different renditions of the release, like exploring remixes, or putting together an acoustic version of the project.

Overall, the easiest way to find a balance is through strategy and planning. If we foresee an artist putting out a project in the middle of the summer, but the project singles only stretch out to 2 months prior, we'll reserve the first 1-2 months of the year to work on any and everything that speaks to them.

With this strategy, we'll typically end up with 4-5 standalone singles that we can put out ahead of the project, thus maintaining the 2-3 week release cadence. Another interesting way to combat this is through content.

If an artist is unable to create enough product to maintain the release cadence, we try to go hard on content in between releases. In some instances, a good cover can do more for keeping an artist in conversation in between releases (and provide additional context to the artist) than a standalone single can.

The biggest takeaway for anyone in A&R is to guide, but not force; to encourage consistency through planning without increasing speed. Meeting an artist at the middle of their creative process and finding creative ways to explore volume is key to not only being a great A&R, but to maintain the creative sanctity of the artists you work with as well.”

2) Chibu - Owner, PlayMakrs Entertainment

“In the process of development of an artists their creativity and their main objective isn’t going to decrease. It’s easy to balance the determination of self growth through development while not compromising the artistry. I know in today day volume “seems” to be the way to capture the attention of today’s society that has a short attention span.

I don’t believe in succumbing to today’s norm by sacrificing development. Development is essential to creating roots within yourself to understand more of what you want in your artistry and taking the time to perfect yourself. I also believe in the meantime to stay up to date with today’s society is to drop music that might not be your favorite but can tell a story of who you are in the music.

By continuously dropping music but with strategy can be part of the development process as well. This answer can be more long winded but it’s essential to know that music business is an opinionated business. As long as you strive to improve yourself and have a strategy on how to present yourself to the world you don’t have to go by the society’s norms.

As an artist you create your world around you. Your utopia. If 3 people like your song, that means 3 million people like it, and you have to strategize to be able to get 300 million people a chance to hear and listen to it. Numbers and ratio game, but as long as you are focused on making good music is how you keep fans and create a legacy. Food from the oven taste better than it being microwaved.”

3) Helen Abi - A&R & Manager, Deplus

“Artist development and artistic integrity need to be balanced with the right strategic approach. Essential to this is thorough groundwork—developing a unique sound and collaborating with the right people who can realize the artist's vision from day one to releasing enough music for visibility and growth.

To stand out as an artist and not just for individual songs, the focus must be on comprehensive development. This ensures a sustainable career and a strong personal brand, rather than fleeting success.”

4) Jonathan Hicks - A&R, Internet Money & Co-Founder, Undeniable Management

“I think compromising artistry doesn’t come into effect when developing an artist in real time, while still trying to drop consistently in volume, because it is a part of the process.

I feel as if fans should want to see artists grow & develop before their eyes with each release the artist should gradually get better & better. Thats honestly the best way to build a core fanbase in todays music industry, fans will feel involved throughout the whole process of witnessing the growth of an artist, they live for that type of stuff.”

5) Olivia Taylar - Head A&R, GRADUATION*

“In the world of distribution, it’s not our role to compromise either as the artist has full creative control however as a lover of music I always offer insights and plans to ensure artists get their full maximum from us and can utilize their full potential”.

Thanks for reading, until next time.