When you think about music industry jobs, you probably think of A&R. But what does an A&R rep actually do? We were joined by Ashlyn Bruni of Hopeless Records to find out just what goes into doing A&R, what a typical day looks like, and what skills you can start developing today for a career in the field.
MSM: Would you mind starting off with a brief introduction to what an A&R rep actually does?
ASHLYN: So, my job has a lot of different aspects. I break it down into three categories. I have one category that's obviously looking for new bands for the label, acting as a talent scout and searching for new bands, as well as bands for features and touring and stuff like that. And then the second aspect of what I do is with the bands currently on the roster, I will help oversee the general development. I give mixed notes on songs when they come in. I help pick singles, and then I will help our artists connect with producers, writers, and feature artists. If they need a manager or agent, I'll help connect them with some prospects for that and then let them make their own decision. And then the third aspect of what I do is networking, going to a lot of different events, music festivals, all kinds of different music industry things, and representing Hopeless; meet new writers, producers, artists, managers, and agents so that way I can connect them with my artists later on.
Are there any misconceptions that you think people have about what you actually do?
Actually, a lot of people don't even know what my job is at all, which is totally fair because I think many different companies use their A&Rs in different ways. So, since I'm not at a major (label), it's less about looking for an artist that I can shape and more about finding an artist that already knows who they are. So I'm not out looking for an artist that doesn't write their own music but has an incredible voice that I can turn into something. That's more what they do at the majors level. But since we're more independent, we really look for artists that have their own branding figured out, know who they are, know what they want to be, and help elevate them.
What does an average day look like for you?
It really depends. My days can vary so much. There are a lot of days where I'm just at the office getting emails from multiple people I know throughout the industry with pitches, so I'll go through those pitches. And then we also get submissions through our info email, which normally I'll just have our interns screen for the first layer, and then they'll send me the ones that actually look like something we should consider. I monitor bands' growth a lot on chart metrics. So there's a lot of admin that goes into it that I don't think people realize because we have to make sure bands are growing. And if they've got a big social media presence, they're converting those social media followers into active listening fans for the music side of things. So a lot more analytics stuff than I think people would think. And then I have a lot of calls with prospective bands that we're signing or our current bands.
And then a lot of times there are just random events. I go to a lot of shows probably at least two to three shows a week on average and a lot of industry events as well, just showing face for the label.
How did you get your foot in the door in the music industry in general, and with A&R specifically?
So I've kind of been wanting to do A&R for a really long time, but early on whenever I was getting my first internships and stuff, a lot of people were telling me that's not a job anymore. You could never do that. You need to pick a front goal. So I still kept that as my main goal but kind of took any opportunity I could get in the early days. So my first real in-person internship was with Sumerian Records, and I interned there for a while, and they ended up hiring me on to PA a bunch of video shoots. I was working on set with a bunch of artists doing music videos and stuff, which was super fun. I loved that. And then I ended up getting my first paid position through 5B Artist Management company, and I was doing marketing over there for a while.
I did merch at first, actually. I first got hired on to do merch over there, and then they transitioned me into marketing. And then this job became available, and it had always been my goal. And I've been a massive fan of Hopeless since I was in high school, and it had always been one of my dream places to work. So whenever this job got posted, I applied, and luckily I was really qualified by that point because I had done so many different things in the industry. And also because I had been taking so many different opportunities and meeting so many different people in the industry that whenever this opportunity arose, I was able to contact many people that I had met throughout my time in the industry and just say, "Hey, I need everyone to reach out and recommend me for this role." And I actually had everyone from artists to managers and event coordinators all reaching out on my behalf, which I didn't know at the time was kind of perfect because it proved that I already had contact in multiple different aspects of the industry, which is what I needed for this job.
So it worked out very well. And also I think what really helped me get this specific job was just how well I know the scene. I've grown up with it and just followed all of the bands very closely for a really long time, being a fan. And so I was well versed in the label's history and the history of the scene that we tend to work in.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I love watching my bands grow. I think of my bands as my children, even though some of them are my age or older, but it's really cool to see them when we sign them and then watch as they get so many new opportunities and their dreams grow and they're getting bigger and bigger tours and bigger shows, opportunities, and festivals. And it's just really cool to see them develop as a band and as people and watch their fandoms grow and then to see what these bands mean to their fans because I remember what it was like to be that fan and how I felt like these bands were kind of the only things that would get me through. So to be able to help the new generation of kids find their new favorite bands, that's the whole reason I do this.
Yeah, that's amazing. It's still like that for me. Music is still how I'm getting through the day sometimes.
I think once you really start leaning on that music during those hard times, it starts meaning something more than just the music. And I know that that's what our artists are hoping the fans will get from it. And so when I really start to see that connect, it feels good because I know I'm helping the fans and helping the bands, and everyone's happy, and it just feels really good to see a thriving community.
So, when you come across a new artist online or in person, what is something that catches your eye first? What do you look for?
So, always, the music has to be good. It doesn't necessarily have to be great because there are some pointers that we can give to help with that. It's really just, for one thing, getting a feel that the band knows who they are, what they want to sound like, and who their audience is. So if there's really strong branding that people can latch onto, or you can look at the band and say that they know who they are, that's a great sign to see how people are reacting to it because a lot of bands are good, and they might like the music, but they might not be buying into the brand as a whole. So that's really important when you see those kinds of super fans latch on really early and they know all the words and they're drawing the fan art. That level of fandom doesn't have to wait until the band is a certain size.
You can see small bands that have that level of fandom already. So once you see those people really attaching themselves to the community, that's super important as well, especially working at Hopeless when our whole thing is building super fans. So seeing that early on is important as well.
How do you balance the demands and needs of a label with protecting an artist’s creative vision?
It's not super often that it becomes an issue. At Hopeless, we'll always pick the artist's side as much as we can. So if it really comes down to something like we want this single to come out, but the band wants a different song to be the first single ... If it really comes down to an argument, we'll usually pick the artist's side. We'll let them do what they want because it is their career at the end of the day. But I think that the biggest part of it is making sure the bands know that if I do have criticism or I'm disagreeing with them in any way, I'm doing it for a reason. If I didn't care, I wouldn't bring up these thoughts. I would just kind of let them do what they want. But if a band has a specific goal in mind and they're not delivering the songs or the content or the tours that would need to happen to achieve those goals, I'm here to help them achieve those goals. So if they're not doing the right things, I need to make sure that they're aware of that and try to help them understand that I'm giving you this advice to help you because I want to see you succeed. And I genuinely think that it's the wrong move if I'm voicing my opinion.
Yeah, that makes sense. And then, lastly, and maybe most importantly — if someone wants to get into A&R, what skills and tools should they be working on developing?
Definitely learning how to differentiate between someone having a big following and those fans connecting with that following or connecting with the music. You can see any band that might have a bunch of monthly listeners or a bunch of followers or something, and that doesn't always mean that the fans are diehard fans. It could just be a trend; it could be some playlisting. So knowing to look at the big picture is really important and then being able to find how each little step contributed to that bigger picture, if that makes sense. It could be that there was a viral moment, a tour, a show, a single, or something that really took off — always ask why. And then being very social and not being afraid to reach out to anyone first because most of the bands that I reach out to, if I find them online, I'll just DM them on Instagram, and that actually works for me pretty well. I've found a lot of success with that. And so I think just having the confidence to put yourself out there and shoot your shot with anyone is very important because I've gotten some incredible opportunities that I never would've gotten if I hadn't just said, like, "Hey, I'm Ashlyn from Hopeless. Let's talk."
And then also I would say knowing how to use the things that you might not think are skills because I didn't realize how much they would help me to be such a fan of this scene. I didn't realize that that was a unique skill set that I had just by being a fan, but it was because I had watched these bands develop for so long, and I remembered all the marketing and the way that things work fan-side. And so now I'm able to offer that fan perspective to my artists who might get too much in their head with technicalities of mixes or just small things like that that fans might not necessarily get or understand. I think just knowing what you've got and how to use it, learning how to be resourceful, is really big.
Are there any other tips that I didn't ask that you think would be helpful for someone wanting to get into the field?
I would just say a lot of the jobs in the music industry have kind of similar skills, and no matter what side of the industry you're in, it's never a bad thing to know the other sides of it. So because I've worked on the management side and I've done merch and I've done marketing, I know how to communicate with all of those different teams in the best way because I know what their jobs are like. So it's not necessarily a bad thing, as I feel like a lot of people would lead you to believe, like, "Oh, if you want to do marketing, then you should only take marketing jobs." Or if you want to do management, you should only be a manager. But because all of the different departments in the industry are so connected and the lines get blurred a lot, a lot of these skills are interchangeable. So I would just always tell people, "Take any opportunity you have, even if you feel like it might not necessarily be aligned with your goal." Or you might gain a new skill that comes in handy years down the road; you truly never know where it's going to take you.
And I guess you might even dive into something else and be like, wow, this is my passion.
Exactly. I really thought that I would be happy in marketing, and I liked it, but I didn't love it. And so whenever this job became available and it was what I wanted, I will say I think this job is right up my alley, and I feel like I was right the whole time in knowing that I wanted to do this, but a lot of people don't know what they like and don't like about certain roles until they take them. For example, one of my coworkers said she always wanted to do A&R, and then now that I'm here and doing this job and she sees how I'm doing it and how often I have to go out at night and how social I have to be at events, she's like, "I could never do that." But there's truly a job for every kind of personality in this industry.
