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26-500: Signed to Lyric Street Records in 2003, Rushlow released two singles and one album ( Right Now ) on the label that year. Rushlow and Harris later recorded as the duo Rushlow Harris for the Show Dog Nashville label in 2006. After disbanding, Kennedy, Allison, and Redmond became members of Jason Aldean 's road band; they, along with David Fanning , also founded the record producer team New Voice Entertainment . Before

52-483: A bar, and eventually Billy Welch was added to the lineup as well. The group was signed to Lyric Street Records , on the condition that they assume the name Rushlow and perform as a self-contained band, with no additional studio musicians. The lead-off single, "I Can't Be Your Friend", was a Top 20 country hit in 2003, and the group also entertained U.S. troops in Bahrain , Germany , Italy and Spain . The song served as

78-408: 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

104-460: 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. 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

130-458: 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

156-540: 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

182-464: 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 is authorized to offer a record contract , often in the form of a "deal memo" – a short, informal document that establishes

208-405: 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

234-552: 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

260-422: 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

286-471: 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,

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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

338-434: The closure of Lyric. By August, Rascal Flatts had signed with Big Machine Records . In 2011, Love and Theft signed with RCA Nashville . Artists and repertoire 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

364-749: The closure of his label in 2001. He formed the group Rushlow after deciding that he was not made for a solo career, saying: "I did some shows and I had a band and a bus, but I never felt real comfortable as the Tim Rushlow solo guy with this band that was not named, that was just sort of 'Tim's backup band.' It just never really felt right." One of the group's first members was Rushlow's cousin Doni Harris, who had previously sung backing vocals on his solo album. Later, Rushlow and Harris had spotted Kurt Allison, as well as Allison's roommates Rich Redmond and Tully Kennedy, all of whom were backing another singer at

390-412: 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

416-540: The foundation of Rushlow, lead vocalist Tim Rushlow was lead singer of the band Little Texas . In 1997, when they disbanded, Tim Rushlow left for a solo career. His first cut was the musical track "Totally Committed" on comedian Jeff Foxworthy 's 1998 album of the same name . Tim Rushlow signed to Atlantic Records in 2000, charting the Top Ten single "She Misses Him" that year. Other singles from his self-titled debut album , however, failed to make Top 40, due in part to

442-523: The label in 1999 followed by Rascal Flatts . Rascal Flatts debuted with Lyric Street in 2000 with the single " Prayin' for Daylight " and soon replaced SheDAISY as the company's flagship act. In December 2006, Lyric Street signed Bucky Covington , an American Idol finalist. The label launched a subsidiary label, Carolwood Records, in October 2008. Jessica Andrews was the first artist signed to this subsidiary label, followed by Trent Tomlinson (who

468-534: The label included SHeDAISY and the label's most successful act, Rascal Flatts . A subsidiary label, Carolwood Records, existed between 2008 and 2009. Lyric Street Records was closed in 2010, with most of the former acts moving to other labels or exiting music entirely. President Randy Goodman, formerly a general manager for RCA Records , founded the original unnamed label in June 1997 as a division of Hollywood Records and started operations on August 1. Its first act

494-531: The lead-off to Rushlow's debut album Right Now , which produced only one more chart single on the country charts. In 2006, Rushlow and Harris recorded as Rushlow Harris . The duo signed to Show Dog Nashville , a label owned by country singer Toby Keith . Working with producer Christy DiNapoli and Derek Bason, the duo released two singles but no album. Kennedy, Allison, and Redmond now play in Jason Aldean 's road band and produce with David Fanning as

520-423: 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

546-528: The production team New Voice Entertainment . Welch is the keyboardist in Jake Owen 's road band. Lyric Street Records Lyric Street Records was the Disney Music Group 's country music record label , founded in 1997 by Randy Goodman. The label had its first successes in 1998 with singles by Lari White and Aaron Tippin , both formerly of RCA Records . Other artists who recorded for

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572-414: 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 ,

598-470: 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

624-457: 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

650-485: Was Lari White , who was formerly signed with RCA. Aaron Tippin , also then with RCA, and Violets, originally performing as the Osborne Sisters, were also in discussions about signing with the label as of December 1997. Goodman's plan for the company includes having no in-house producers and rely on Artists and repertoire division. Lyric Street Records was incorporated on May 19, 1998 . SHeDAISY signed with

676-749: Was formerly signed to Lyric Street proper) and Love and Theft . Carolwood was shuttered in November 2009, with most of its staff being transferred back to Lyric Street. Love and Theft, Ruby Summer, Trent Tomlinson, and The Parks were moved to Lyric Street. On April 14, 2010, Disney Music Group announced the closure of the Lyric Street label. This announcement also stated that Bucky Covington, Kevin Fowler, Tyler Dickerson, and Rascal Flatts would be transferred to other branches of Disney Music Group. Buxton, Love and Theft, and The Parks were dropped altogether with

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