 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
November, 2006
 
The Foundation of A&R
Sculpting the Song by David Wilkes As a continuation of my last column, "How to Find Your Point Of Entry," I really should stress the importance of A&R. That is basically the foundation of my job and the first item in the entire music business. The artist and his or her repertoire lead the way. After this process is finished, all the other ingredients that I mentioned before come into play under the marketing department. So it's A&R first and then the process really takes over, but following the lead of the artist and their repertoire. Some great sculptor, possibly DaVinci or Michelangelo, said, when asked how they decided what to sculpt, that the piece of marble told them. I really dig this answer! Rather than manufacture or force a song into being, something should come from the artist that is genuine and heartfelt and have an idiosyncratic direction. The sculptor answered that when he looked at the piece of marble (I say he because I know that in this instance the sculptor I am referring to was male) there was a form or a subject hidden within that marble wanting to get out. The sculptor's job was to release that figure from the marble. It’s the same with a song. There are feelings within us all. The true artist knows how to release those feelings and at the same time understand that those feelings are universal. Or maybe not even understand that. On second thought, it really doesn't even matter if the writer has an understanding of that universal common denominator. What is important is that the song somehow relates to a large part of humanity, lyrically and melodically. Those kinds of artists knowingly or unconsciously create something totally unique and yet still common to all of us that shows the way to the market. I mention this because it is an example of point of entry, but not only for the artist to get a deal or to get exposure once they have a deal. It is also point of entry for the record company to expose this artist, or in the case of a publishing company, this song to the public. As a further example: Suppose the person reading the article is a songwriter and not a performing artist. The same challenges exist. How does the song or the writer find their point of entry? For every artist that records, a good percentage of them are also writers. Some write all their own material, some write a large percentage of the songs. If a writer or a publisher wants to get their song covered, then that song has to be so strong and have a special perspective on a subject that is dear to the artist’s feelings to make it onto an album. Most recording artists naturally feel that their songs are the best, and to nudge one of their songs off an album (and take a piece of the forthcoming royalty away from that artist), the outside song has to be so much stronger than the "controlled' compositions. So again, whether you are an artist looking for a deal or a songwriter looking to get your songs recorded, figuring out the point of entry is the key. David Wilkes is currently the VP of A&R at Koch Records in New York City |