02MusicWeek 10.08.12 NEWS EDITORIAL
Daddy, what’s A&R?
WE ALL LOVE some scurrilous re-telling of industry lore – especially fromthe days when themusic business was gluttonously, gloriously fat. The dog-eat-dog screw overs. The woeful wastes of advance on
the next Prince/Madonna/Shed Seven. And yes, the white powderedmegalomania of the whole kaboodle. Gack, gumption and general grotesqueness. It used tomake
the world go round, you know. These days, sensible people point out that’s where it all went
wrong; when themusic industry was so jacked-up on its own stimulated self-importance, it failed to reach a peaceful consensus on the route of its future prosperity. The very straight-thinking, success-sniffing Steve Jobs did the rest. The king of the industry in those ‘good old days’, of course, was
the A&Rman. (Or, rarely – especially amongst the legendary alpha stench of the ‘70s – his XX-chromosomed equivalent.) A&R. Artists and Repertoire. The very words seemsoaked in an
egotistical era of chest rugs,medallions and polyester leisure suits. This ismy artist. This ismy repertoire. Hearme fucking roar.
“Whatdothemovie,videogamesandtech industrymakeofA&R? Itmustperplexthem- especiallyif it’sat thetopofajobapplicant’sCV”
But what does A&R evenmean these days? Don’tmisunderstandme – I’mnot questioning the job profile
or the validity of the art. Discovering and nurturing talent fromday dot is an amazing vocation. Whether killing unsociable hours in front of pugnaciousMCs
and their testosterone-inhaling crowd or dodging the fart-lager artillery at the (soon to be historic?) Bull & Gate, A&R in itself can be amighty, life-changing trade. (I suppose even beguiling easily stupefied nine-year-olds withmelody-averse fame-seekers takes some skill. Imean, it’s probably evil. But it’s not without its toil.) To be clear:my issue is how A&R appears to the outside world in
2012. Because I have a theory: in the cross-media, cross- entertainment, worldwide wriggle of themodern entertainment grind, ‘A&R’ perplexes people. Important people. Themovie industry, the video games industry and,most certainly, the tech industry. What are their A&R equivalents? Non-existent. Perhaps that
explains the one nasty hangover frommusic’s reputed golden age, especially amongst themid-upper echelons of some companies: the rife, intense paranoia. With an ever-decreasing pool of jobs to go round, itmust be at
an all time high.What does the A&R exec do when there’s no roomleft at the inn? Okay, so he often re-emerges with something unpronounceable involving the word ‘start-up’, but that’s by the by. Are his skills and achievements transferable to another
pursuit? Probably. Does his CV show that fact to a rapacious, unforgiving employmentmarketplace? Nope. Possibly, looking at the A&Rskillset – discovery, evolution of a
product,management responsibility – there is an argument for renaming the role to Artist Research and Development. Yeah, artist R&D. Kind ofmakes sense, no? And Google definitely knows what itmeans.
TimIngham, Editor Do you have views on this column? Feel free to comment by emailing
tim.ingham@
intentmedia.co.uk OUTGOING CEOWILLS LABELS TO “MARKET HARD” INQ4 Fox closes HMV’s ‘chapter of crisis’
RETAIL BY TIMINGHAM
S
imon Fox will leaveHMV after six years as CEO next month, and the exec
has predicted a long-term, profitable future for the retailer after a “chapter of crisis”. TrevorMoore will replace Fox
on September 3, bringing experience from camera retailer Jessops where he was CEO. “We’vemoved fromhurricane-
hit seas intomuch calmer waters,” Fox toldMusicWeek, forecasting that the retailer would announce an annual loss of around £16m this week – but then post a profit of approximately £10min is next fiscal year. Fox has formed a special
relationship with themusic and filmindustries in recentmonths, after companies such asDisney andUniversal agreed in January to cut product prices in exchange for a 2.5%stake in the company. That move gaveHMV breathing space fromits bank lenders – despite a net debt of around £180m. “The fact is we’ve got through
the turbulence, thanks in large part of the support of the music industry,” said Fox. “I’m very comfortable with the state of the business now. It seems to me the right time to hand over and give my successor the opportunity to drive the business forward.”
www.musicweek.com
Fox said that he was not
leavingHMV “due to anything negative or any disagreements”, but commented: “We’re going through our five-year planning stages.We’ve finished one chapter now – the chapter of crisis.We’re now entering a period of stability and growth again. I’m excited for the business’s future.” Fox acknowledged thatHMV
had to take advantage of retail opportunitites onmobile and tablet in future if it was to survive. When asked what he would
ask of themusic industry in future,he said: “Frankly,we need to get back to the old way ofmore
hits.The labels need to continue to invest in new talent and then market that talent very hard. “Certainly we’ve seen some
pulling back of the marketing of
new releases and that awareness is vitally
important.As I look ahead to the peak Christmas season, marketing those albums hard is really integral to success. I understand everyone’s got budgets under pressure.But that will certainly help create that short-term demand.” Fox talked fondly of the
“strong friendships”he’d built in the music industry. “I don’t know what I’m going
to do next,”he continued. “There are some irons in the fire and I’d love to continue my involvement with the music industry one way or another. “As forHMV,music’s in its
DNA.Music will always be at the heart ofHMV.We’ve got to find a way to play a role in music retailing in the future.”
Retailers respond to Universal/EMI M
usic retailers have questioned if extra costs surrounding Universal’s
£1.2bn buyout of EMI might not have been better spent on product marketing. The legal, due diligence and
lobbying costs associated with Universal’s bid has been estimated at around £100million. The deal is currently facing
FTC consideration in the US, whilst in the EC,UMG has offered to divest Parlophone (UK), the Pink Floyd catalogue and David Guetta’s contract. “We were staggered when we
realised the costs involved – not the cost of the actual acquisition, which is Universal’s business, but
“Our worry is if they are
prepared to spend that money but the result doesn’t result in an increase in album sales.We would have preferred them to invest it in the product or the marketing of the product.” He added: “Universal is not
the associated fees,” chairman of the Entertainment Retailers’ Association Paul Quirk told MusicWeek. “So far retail hasn’t had an opinion on this deal as we’re basically their customers.
unhappy to support retail – but they could support retail more. Retailers are struggling to make ends meet after a really slow first half.Will this deal sell a single extra album? From an industry perspective, is it worth it?” Universal UK chairman and
CEO David Joseph has told MusicWeek of his belief that the EMI buyout will mean “more record deals,more music and fundamentally more money for the industry”. Quirk said that ERA wants a
solid commitment from Universal to help retail – suggesting it could pledge to back the CD for five years, or help develop a new format.
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