Artists and repertoire (or A&R for short) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for scouting, financing and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists and songwriters . It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label or publishing company. Every activity involving artists to the point of album release is generally considered under the purview and responsibility of A&R.
24-441: Billy Davis may refer to: Billy Davis (songwriter) (1932–2004), American songwriter, record producer, and singer Billy Davis (guitarist) (born 1938), American guitarist, member of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters Billy Davis Jr. (born 1938), American singer, member of the group The 5th Dimension Billy Davis (American football coach) (born 1965), American football coach in
48-458: A perception of triteness, including teen pop (1998–2001), alternative rock (1993–1996), glam metal (1986–1991) and disco (1976–1978). Trend following can be counter-productive, since it has often led to over-promotion followed by backlash (as happened to the disco genre for example). Towards the end of the life of each wave or trend, record companies have found themselves faced with enormous losses as consumers' tastes changed. For example, at
72-540: A rarity, with Ron Fair and Martin Kierszenbaum being notable recent exceptions. The composer and arranger Richard Niles has said, What you've got now is huge multinational companies where most of their A&R staff are businessmen. They're people who look at music from the standpoint of marketing, not from the standpoint of music and talent. They will say, "Go out and get me anything that's popular now." Hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan referenced this stereotype of
96-533: Is authorized to offer a record contract , often in the form of a "deal memo" – a short, informal document that establishes a business relationship between the recording artist and the record company. The actual contract negotiations will typically be carried out by rival entertainment lawyers hired by the musician's manager and the record company. A&R executives rely mostly on the word of mouth of trusted associates, critics and business contacts, rather than on unsolicited demo tapes . They also tend to favor
120-552: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Billy Davis (songwriter) Roquel " Billy " Davis (July 11, 1932 – September 2, 2004), of Detroit, was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Davis was also known as a writer/producer of commercial jingles , mostly for Coca-Cola . He was also known as Tyran Carlo on writing credits. Early in his career in Detroit, Davis sang and wrote with an early version of
144-605: The Four Tops called "The Four Aims", which included his cousin Lawrence Payton . In the late-1950s, he collaborated with Berry Gordy , the Motown Records founder, to write a number of hit songs for Jackie Wilson . The most notable of these was " Lonely Teardrops ", written by Davis, Gordy, and Gordy's sister Gwen , who was Davis's girlfriend at the time. Davis and Gwen Gordy later founded Anna Records , which
168-457: The A&;R person will assist in finding songs, songwriters and arrangers. A&R staff will help find session musicians for the recording. A&R executives maintain contact with their counterparts at music publishing companies to get new songs and material from songwriters and producers. As the record nears completion, the A&R department works closely with the artist to determine whether
192-624: The NFL Billy Davis (wide receiver) (born 1972), former professional American football player Billy Davis (Mississippi politician) (born 1938), candidate for Vice President of the United States, 1984, with Lyndon LaRouche Billy Davis (Arizona politician) (born 1945), former Arizona State Senator See also [ edit ] Billy Davies (born 1964), Scottish football manager and former player William Davis (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
216-578: The World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony) ", used in a 1971 Coca-Cola television advertisement. He also produced other jingles such as "It's the Real Thing", "Things Go Better with Coke" and " Country Sunshine " for Coca-Cola (with country singer Dottie West , who recorded the song), and "If You've Got the Time" for Miller Beer . The Coca-Cola advertisement Hey Kid, Catch! , starring Mean Joe Greene, included
240-552: The artist and their management to choose one or more singles to help promote the record. The tastes of particular A&R executives have influenced the course of music history. A&R man John Hammond discovered Billie Holiday , Bob Dylan , Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen . Hammond's colleagues were initially skeptical of these artists because none of them appeared to be creating "commercial" music. Hammond's instincts proved to be correct, and these artists went on to sell hundreds of millions of records. Gary Gersh signed
264-422: The band Nirvana to David Geffen 's DGC Records at a time when alternative rock music was not considered commercial. Gersh was able to convince his co-workers to push the record in spite of their misgivings. In cases like these, A&R people have radically changed the direction of popular musical tastes and introduced large numbers of people to new sounds. This kind of prescience is the exception rather than
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#1732791142634288-471: The bands that play in the same city as the record label's offices. The A&R division of a record label oversees the music style and recording process. This includes helping the artist to find the right record producer, scheduling time in a recording studio and advising the artist on all aspects of making a high-quality recording. They work with the artist to choose the best songs (i.e., repertoire ) to record. For artists who do not write their own music,
312-558: The business-minded A&R executive in their single " Protect Ya Neck ", metaphorically likening them to "mountain climbers". According to Rhythm King Records and Lizard King Records founder Martin Heath, the A&R community in the UK is more integrated than it is in the US, being very London-centric and encompassing a relatively small number of people. "If scouts are chasing a band, you'll see
336-551: The end of 1968, some months before the record company was eventually sold, with his success at the label gaining him a position writing and producing jingles at the McCann Erickson advertising agency in New York City. He eventually rose to Senior Vice-President and Music Director. While at McCann-Erickson, Davis's primary client was The Coca-Cola Company , for which he produced the famous jingle " I'd Like to Teach
360-412: The end of the disco boom in 1978, millions of records were returned by record retailers, causing a deep recession in the music business that lasted until 1982, when Michael Jackson 's Thriller finally brought the public back into record stores in large numbers. The general move towards more conservative and business-minded signings from the 1980s onwards is seen to be symptomatic of an industry where
384-423: The most powerful figures are no longer music fans or people with musical backgrounds, but are business executives, a group largely composed of individuals with uniform backgrounds. Traditionally A&R executives were composers, arrangers and producers – Atlantic Records 's heads Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun were producers and composers respectively – but an A&R with musical ability and knowledge has become
408-414: The record is acceptable to the record company. This process may include suggesting that new songs need to be written, that existing songs need a new arrangement, or that some album tracks need to be re-recorded. A key issue is whether the album has a single – a particular track which can be used to market the record. Once the record is completed, the A&R department consults with marketing, promotion ,
432-470: The rule. Historically, A&R executives have tended to sign new artists who fit into recent trends and who resemble acts that are currently successful. For example, Columbia Records ' A&R man in the 1950s, Mitch Miller , favored traditional pop singers like Guy Mitchell and Patti Page , and rejected early rock-'n'-rollers Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly . This "trend following" mindset has generated several waves of narrowly defined genres, leading to
456-405: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billy_Davis&oldid=1184121143 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
480-457: The same thirty people in one room. You get a herd mentality in the UK, but also some very diverse signings as well," he said in an interview with HitQuarters . Heath believes that in the US it is more typical for A&R to wait until a band is established – having attracted other offers or achieved a level of sales – before taking action, a technique which often works out as being more expensive. New forms of digital distribution have changed
504-723: The song "Have a Coke and Smile" produced by Davis. Hey Kid, Catch! won the Clio and Cannes Gold Lion awards. It is also seen as one of the greatest Super Bowl ads of all time. Davis introduced both Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles to singing songs for advertising, and both artists sang songs produced by Davis for Coca-Cola commercials. In 2007, Davis was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. Davis died of natural causes in New Rochelle, New York, in September 2004. He
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#1732791142634528-710: The two continued to work together. In the early 1960s, Davis left Detroit and moved to Chess Records in Chicago, after being persuaded by label owner, Leonard Chess to take charge of the A&;R and creative departments, bringing in and supervising in-house songwriters, arrangers and producers, who were aiming now at the soul and crossover pop markets. During this period, he wrote and produced for many artists, including Etta James , The Dells , Billy Stewart , Little Milton , Jackie Ross , Mitty Collier , Fontella Bass , Chuck Berry , and Jackie Wilson . Davis quit Chess towards
552-593: Was 72 years old. Artists and repertoire The A&R division of a record label is responsible for finding new recording artists and bringing those artists to the record company. A&R staff may go to hear emerging bands play at nightclubs and festivals to scout for talent. Personnel in the A&R division are expected to understand the current tastes of the market and to be able to find artists who will be commercially successful. For this reason, A&R people are often young and many are musicians, music journalists or record producers . An A&R executive
576-461: Was the distributor of the early singles from Berry Gordy's newly formed Tamla label. The two also wrote " Reet Petite (The Finest Girl You Ever Want to Meet)" for Wilson, which was a top 10 hit for the singer in the UK and later topped the British charts in 1986 when re-released. Another success for the two was Marv Johnson 's major hit in 1959, " You Got What It Takes " (#2 R&B, No. 10 Pop), as
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