Artist and Repertoire Workers
Overview
Introduction
In the artist and repertoire (A&R) department of a record company, A&R coordinators, executives, and other workers locate new talent and convince the company to sign them to contracts. A&R workers are also involved in producing their artists' music, promoting them, arranging concert tours, and other details of management.
Quick Facts
Median Salary
Employment Prospects
Minimum Education Level
Experience
Skills
Personality Traits
Earnings
Salaries for artist and repertoire workers vary depending on work experience and the size of the record company. A&R workers in entry-level positions usually make around $25,000 a year. More senior positions can pay upwards of $85,000. Experienced executives with major record companies can earn more than $200,000 a year. In 2019, CareersinMusic.com indicated that A&R directors earned av...
Work Environment
Work with a record company can be very exciting—A&R workers have the opportunity to make decisions about what music people will be listening to and which artists will get a shot at success. But the work can be very stressful and intense. A&R professionals work long hours, making phone calls, devising schedules, reviewing contracts, and handling many other details of management. They hav...
Outlook
The A&R worker will always be important to record companies, and positions within an A&R department will always be difficult to get. The work itself will be affected greatly by the Internet in the years to come. Already, A&R workers are surfing the Web for artists marketing themselves with their own Web sites. Technological advances have allowed for quick and easy downloading of mus...