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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


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Median Salary

$73,914

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Employment Prospects

Poor

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Minimum Education Level

Bachelor's Degree


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Experience

A part-time job or internship


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Skills

Business Management
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Personality Traits

Creative
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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...