There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. Among the most notable changes include the return of Rob Cavallo as Chief Creative Officer for Warner Music in California, Ed Johnson joining Warner Bros. from EMI Music Publishing, and Darby Bowen joining Epic.  Over in the UK, there was a lot of activity as Zack Strubel joined Columbia, Jos Watkin joins Parlophone, Scott Jason joins Polydor, and Steve Proud joined Warner Bros. Ollie Hodge returns to Columbia-UK from his short stay at Columbia–NY, Angus Blair exits Island, Marc Jones exits Columbia, and Gary Harris exits Warner Bros. In New York, Steve Ralbovsky’s label Canvasback Music joins Atlantic from Sony while Pete Giberga exits Epic, Daniel Davis exits Atlantic while Jamaal Meeks exits SRC. And the big label news (as in not so quietly kept secret) is that Universal Music Group’s CEO Doug Morris is making plans to have Universal’s international chief Lucien Grainge take over as CEO sometime this summer (Morris is expected to remain as Chairman).

There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. Among the most notable changes were former RCA A&R Executive Matt Marshall and EMI Music Publishing Executive Ed Jefferson who both join Tom Whalley’s A&R team over at Warner Bros in Burbank. In New York, A&R Veteran Steve Ralbovsky has brought his Canvasback Music label to Atlantic from Sony. Georgina McAvenna joins Rob Stevenson’s team over at Virgin, while Julius Garcia joins Jove and Daniel Mitchell joins Bad Boy. Meanwhile, Ben Adelson exits Universal Republic. Across the pond in London, Columbia’s Nick Huggett joins Island while Philipe Ascoli and Zack Strubel both join Columbia’s A&R team. Former Sony International A&R Executive Ricardo Fernandez joins Geffen. Phil Christie exits Virgin, former Sony Urban A&R Veteran Kawn Prather joins Def Jam South in Atlanta. Also joining Def Jam South is DJ Khaled. In a massive reorganization, Bill Bennett is exiting Warner Bros. Nashville and is being replaced by John Esposito (WEA’s current Ex VP Distribution).

This is coming from another source in the industry but email if you fit the bill and I will forward on…

1. I am seeking songs about death or dead, or about a murderer or killer. Songs that aren’t so obvious would be best. Stuff you might hear in Kill Bill. No Punk, Metal or Heavy Rock. You, the artist must control 100% of the song.
Submission details: Please send myspace links to hear track for consideration. If tracks are not up on myspace, send file via YouSendIt.com. DO NOT send any MP3 files via email. Those emails will be deleted. Nothing of course will be licensed and placed without your permission and license agreement. Deadline: this Monday September 7th. I will submit all appropriate tracks as they come in. 
Email Subject: Song for TV: Killer Song

2. Seeking songs about working hard for money, being broke, easy money, etc. See above for submission details. Deadline: Friday Sept 11th.
Email Subject: Song for TV: hard earned pay song

3. Seeking original Holiday songs. Originals only. Will consider all genre’s. You, the artist must control 100% of the song. Do not send MP3 attachments. Send via YouSendIt.com or similar.
Email Subject: Holiday songs

4. Seeking young female musicians in LA area, or who are willing to come to LA for Audition. High level Producer / A&R vet is still seeking young talented female musicians for major Network TV show. Ages 17-24 Real Age. Must have advanced musical skills. They only need singer and keyboard player. 
Auditions will be held in Los Angeles on Tuesday Sept 8th. 
Please do not email me about this. I do not have any further details. 
Do Not send MP3s, but you can attach a photo. Feel free to forward this to anyone you feel might fit this request. 
Email Barry and send him Myspace link or web site where he can hear and see the artist.

To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to sit down with the Major Lable A&R executives, and with good reason – those guys are replaced every few months as the labels downsize!  On the contrary, this panel had some top guys ( Max Gousse-Sr. VP A&R Island/Def Jam, Raj Jadeja-Director A&R Atlantic, Jeff Blue-A&R Consultant/Producer Jive and Michael Howe-VP A&R Downtown Records) who have weathered the storm for many years, so I took the time to head down to the Musicians Institute and listen.  If I were to sum of up the experience, it’s that NOTHING HAS TRULY CHANGED WITH THE MAJOR LABELS.  It’s the same broken record…same broken business model…same everything but now with even less time to develop a band, less money to put into marketing, less people on the team to support you, etc.  There is no doubt that these guys jobs are tough but they work super hard 24/7 to find that next breaking band with very limited time and resources.  Yet, so many people would still rather take their chances on a major label than get creative and find a way to do it themselves.  It’s a catch-22 and I know it is a very tough situation; easier said than done for sure!  So I’m sure you all have many questions so I will do my best to answer some of the key questions:

1) What is the best way to reach the MAJOR label executives?

Major label executives are not out going to see bands period!  They literally only trust high profiled lawyers, producers, agents and other key folks in the industry; that’s the same business philosophy they have had for 50+ years and look at where they are at now!!  A friend recently told me – If i was a label – I would fire everyone of these A&R guys and hire me some 15-16 year old kids who are much more in tune with what’s popular!!  I’m not in their shoes to say anything, but i would imagine its a very tough job to be true to that artist while also making money for your company – ie. the label.

2)  How do I find these top lawyers, agents and other key people?

There are numerous sources out there including the A&R registry, pollstar online, etc.  Granted, these things cost money – but business is all about investing!  Here at Out of Step, we do our best to know who is on top of their game to best help you… but with technology ever-changing the music landscape, the opportunity is now for each and everyone of you to do your own thing!

3) What are major labels looking for these days?

They are looking for “believe-ability” – that you aren’t faking this and would die for this opportunity.  They are looking for hard working people.  Like most things in life, it’s those that work smarter and harder than the next guy; it’s not about talent necessarily.  They don’t care if you write your own songs – plenty of top songwriters will write your songs for you and top producers who will produce it.  Again, these top guys cost about $50-100,000 per song minimum.  So, the question that comes from these answers then is – how the hell do stay creative and not become a puppet?  Only you can answer that…  Labels are also doing some 360 deals these days, 1 song signings and making a lot of their money in the publishing.  Towards that end, it’s the publishing that seems to save a lot of bands.  Positive news is that bands seem to be getting a 2nd chance if the 1st record doesn’t flop…but the days of 3 or 4 or 5 tries is in the past.  SAD!

If submitting to Out of Step for management, it is likely, we will have to develop you to get you “right” for that one shot with the majors, if that’s the route you want to go.

thanks,
Geoff Koboldt

Photo with Raj from Atlantic Records

There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. At Sony in New York, Scott Graves exits Epic while Steve Ralbovsky exits Canvasback. Over at Atlantic, Shani Gonzales and Steve Owens exit while Joe Augustine exists Hybrid. Eddie Weathers and Eric Spec both exit Island leaving no Creative A&R Staff at Island Records in New York. Over at EMI, Mike Bailey exits Manhattan while Gabriella Cudjoe exits Music World. Over in the UK, both Valerie Gross and Oliver Warzola exit Decca, John Leahy exits Domino and Ricardo Fernandez exits Sony. Josh Sarubin joins Virgin and Kevin Carvell joins A&M/Octone as West Coast A&R. Lorne Behrman joins Razor & Tie, Jeff Sledge joins Battery, Lisa Ramsey joins Sony Music in Nashville and Samantha Rosenman joins Music World. We also want to make sure that you are aware that several companies have moved to new locations including Astralwerks, Lizard King-NY, Nashville Underground, Breaking, Great Society and Robbins-NY. Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation (Sony) has opened their doors in New York and Lil Wayne’s new label Young Money (Universal) is open as well.

There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. Jeff Levin joins Atlantic while Sunny Lee joins Motown and Tom Lee joins Mercury. Max Gousse, David Wright and Angelo Sanders all join Island’s West Coast office. We’re always sad to report exits from the A&R World. Kenny ‘Tic’ Salcido and Joseph Weinberger exit Warner Bros., Lorne Behrman exits Blue Note, Susan Riley exits Word in Nashville and Steve Buckingham exits Vanguard. – A&R registry