May 2
Changes happening at Sony Music as Max Lousada moves from WMG. A possible successor for Rob Stringer?
x
seen from Brazil
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Australia
seen from Argentina
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from Russia
seen from Kosovo
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Denmark
seen from Iceland
seen from South Korea
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Indonesia
seen from Indonesia
seen from Guatemala
seen from United States
seen from United States
Changes happening at Sony Music as Max Lousada moves from WMG. A possible successor for Rob Stringer?
x
Tobias Forge Reveals A&R Rep Encouraged Ghost’s Narrative Story
https://music.mxdwn.com/2025/12/23/news/tobias-forge-reveals-ar-rep-encouraged-ghosts-narrative-story/
“Once you do have a LOT of songs under your belt, you (or your manager buddy) need to start sliding in the DMs. Go on Linkedin, follow a label, click around and you'll find employees who work in this label. Start following/connecting with those employees.
Remember, these labels are large/small corporations. To the people working in there, it's their CORPORATE JOB, their 9-to-5. What do 9-to-5 people do? They hang around LinkedIn, they after-work beers, they attend industry live events. Your job is to befriend one of these people. Find em on linkedin, connect, talk to them about yourself, ask them questions about their jobs, their lives, be very interested in their lives, tell them how much you learned from one of their linkedin posts.
Then say something like "omg, you know so much about _______ and _________. Wow, you're like a genius", stroke their ego. And then, ask them if they would be okay to meet up for coffee so that you can ask "informational questions". "I just want to pick your brain, you're so smart". (trust me, works every time) Those little meetups will get you connected with said person. At the end of the coffee "meeting", say "man I learned SO MUCH from you in this short time. You actually gave me advice I've NEVER gotten from anybody else in the music industry. Thank you for that. Can we meet again sometime when I have more questions?" He or she will have to agree to this, if you're a halfway decent person. And there's your in.
After some time, invite them to your shows, they will come. Let me tell you a big secret about record label employees. They LOVE being around artists. Most people work in the music industry cuz they are passionate about the music. Most of their employees were once artists themselves. When they have a 'relationship' with a talented musician, they love brag to their coworkers, they love to be "the one who found this talent".
Take advantage of that, let them see what an awesome talent you are. They will become your friends, & when their bosses need something new, they will pitch your music for you. Other ways to connect with label professionals is to attend industry events, conferences, meetups (meetup.com is a great resource), concert VIP sections, etc.”
—An A&R guy on a reddit AMA two years ago. I genuinely think this is one of the best pieces of advice for artists— it doesn't necessarily have to be LinkedIn in the early stages of your career, that's way too high to aim early doors. This person worked for the majors so that's what they were being asked about of course.
But if you're a smaller artist, it is still about getting to know the people in your industry: that's your scene, your community. Don't think of the music industry as this big, opaque, unreachable thing. It's basically your music community, but of people who operate on a much higher scale, and work with way more money and people.
But a lot of them are still in the game because they love music first. If someone was in the music and entertainment industries for the admin of it all, they'd be happier working in a bank with fewer egos. People in the music industry are there despite the drama often, not because of it. The dramatists worked for the magazines in the 90s (hello, NME).
So get used to talking to people. Get used to not dismissing people who could be really helpful to your career!! (Personally, I've seen a huge body language shift in musicians before and after they've assumed I was a fangirl to when I've offered them their radio debuts, so.) The music industry is made up of music nerds, and if they feel you are engaging their knowledge and love for music, rather than feeling like you're trying to use them purely as a stepping stone for your career, you'll see a noticeable difference in how you're received and the doors that will be opened for you.
At the end of the day, there are many great shredding guitarists in bedrooms and on YouTube. A music rep will happily pass over someone technically gifted who is being a cunt, for a less insufferable, still good musician.
I will move heaven and earth for musicians who stick out in my mind for being interesting personalities, or have been kind to me, and I have done that before.
Like musicians, those of us on the 'industry' side of music (I'm a music journalist and radio DJ) also start out underground, and we make our friends and networks not just with musicians but aspirationally, with these magazine heads and radio directors, with bookers and promoters and label people too. And I have it in the back of my mind that I could slip, eg. the CBC the name of an artist I think deserves mainstream attention. And when they inevitably get to the point in the conversation where they ask me what I'm listening to, I will make my recommendations. So yeah, you aren't wasting time with us I promise. Don't look down on your music community.
PS: they're right, we absolutely do love to boast about giving people their first breakthroughs. Use that knowledge how you will.
Go back - Edison Remix
I know all the pop culture heads are in Oscar mode today and I’m happy for y’all, but I just want to squee a second about why SXSW is my favorite event of the year:
*UNSIGNED ARTIST SHOWCASES*
They get overshadowed by princesses and presidents and movie premieres, but it's origin of the festival and a rare opportunity for me to participate in A&R (artists and repertoire) for our handful of indie label clients (and the firm.) It's the very best part of my job, even though these late nights get harder the older I get! 😭🌞
Evannah V and baroline founder and chief, a good day records, as well as the old VP an A&R of a and inerscope records