Music Business Lessons (Courtesy
Berklee Press)
How A&R People Listen to Demos
By George Howard
When A&R people listen to an unsolicited demo--one
that does not arrive by personal acquaintance, as in a manager, lawyer, or
other artist--the listening circumstances are far less than ideal. A&R
people rarely sit in vacuum-sealed rooms with no distractions. Instead, our
pones are ringing, people are walking into our offices asking us questions,
and we're trying to eat some kind of lunch.
We certainly wouldn't be just listening to demo tapes. A&R people seem to
always have to be doing more than one thing. Eating lunch is so far down on
the list of priorities that if we have enough time to eat, then we're
probably already feeling guilty, and when we're feeling guilty, we are more
likely to try to make progress on some of the other things that are making
us feel guilty--like those huge stacks of unlistened-to-demos. Most likely,
we are grumpy, because at this point, with the way the record business is,
everyone in it is grumpy. And certainly, we are focusing on something else,
like writing e-mail.
So your demo better be pretty amazing, if it's going to pull as away from
all of these distractions and make us go, "Hold on a second, what is that?"
If there is something so potent that it knocks through all the distraction,
we really will shut everything else out and listen.
Additionally, the process that most A&R people use to listen to demos isn't
as asinine as it seems, at first. In fact, this process gives the demo a
fair and realistic chance, and it allows us to be forthright and honest with
its creator. And while this may not be as "nice" as if I said that we give
our undivided attention to every demo, it actually is a much more
compassionate and kind way of assessing what we're listening to, in the long
run.
Hear me out. If you think that listening to demos in the manner described
above is disrespectful to the music's creator, or that it doesn't give the
songs a fair chance, try thinking of it this way. A&R people actually care
about the people that make demos. Artists are our lifeblood. Without you,
there would be no music to sell. For that reason alone, we are far more
predisposed to listen--even if it's only with half an ear--than the person
who is in the car with the radio on and the kids screaming. We are also more
predisposed to listen than are the people who program the radio stations.
Radio programmers don't want to (or are not allowed to) play anything that
would scare off potential listeners (and hence advertisers), and therefore,
they can never program anything that isn't familiar to the average
listener--that is, anything new. And A&R people are more likely to listen
than are the poor reviewers for Rolling Stone, who have to choose one
of the 700 albums they receive each week to review. Because they have to
sell magazines, they are almost definitely going to write about someone that
people have heard about. Do you see what I'm saying? There's so much music
out there. People aren't going to listen unless it's something they already
know or unless it absolutely cuts through.
Of course, it is not just A&R people that listen in this manner. Do you
really think that the guy who books the local club is going to turn off the
lights, lock the doors, unplug the phone, light some incense, recline in a
supine position, place the headphones on his head, and then press play and
eagerly await the dulcet tones of your demo? Come on. This just isn't going
to happen. Therefore, the same rules apply to virtually everyone (except
your mom) who will be listening to your demo.
The way most A&R people listen to demos is reflective of the way the real
world listens (or doesn't listen). If it's able to cut through and get an
A&R person's attention while we're in the middle of dozens of other things,
that means it may be able to get the attention of a radio programmer or a
reviewer, and ultimately, the public.
Excerpt from Getting Signed! An Insider's Guide to the Record Industry
©2004
Berklee Press Used by Permission
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