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Music vocabulary · The Music Industry

A&R

Meaning in music, with examples

abbreviationCommon term

In music, A&R means: Short for artists and repertoire: the record-company function of finding artists and helping develop their recordings and musical direction.

In Turkish: sanatçı keşfi ve repertuvar geliştirme, A&R

How it is used

Used for a department, role or team, as in A&R manager. The work can involve hearing demos, discussing songs and connecting artists with suitable collaborators.

Example sentences

  1. The A&R manager heard the demo and suggested a producer who understood the band's sound.

    The manager connects the artist with a collaborator suited to the recording project.

  2. The label's A&R team discussed which unfinished songs deserved more studio time.

    The team helps shape the repertoire by identifying material worth developing.

Common collocations

  • A&R manager
  • A&R department
  • A&R team
  • record labelA company that finances, releases, distributes and promotes recordings, usually in exchange for ownership of the recordings or a share of their income.
  • demoA simple, early recording of a song made to show the idea to bandmates, producers, labels or other artists before the final version is recorded.
  • producerThe person who guides a recording project creatively and practically, shaping the sound, the arrangement and the performances, and often programming or engineering too.

More terms: The Music Industry

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