How do A&R people look for talent?

The internet is becoming a great way for record label A&R people to find new talent because artists are becoming savvy enough to get sites up with MP3 samples of their music. Technology is making the job of finding new talent easier and easier. As I have said before I like it when a successful music manager or producer recommends an act because I trust their judgment but I would never rely on this alone. There are a lot of magazines out there that offer demo reviews for artists, my favorite would have to be music connection magazine. I like to associate with people who program college radio stations because they usually know exactly what is new and hot. Just like it’s a stock broker’s job to research potentially profitable stock, it’s an A&R person’s job to research potentially profitable artists. I tend to like artists that are already selling albums locally and are having those records counted by sound scan. The first and most important thing that an A&R person is looking for is hit songs. The second thing record label A&R people are looking for is a star quality front person that looks good, has style and charisma. The third thing record companies are looking for is an artist or band that has a great powerful stage presence and performance. One of the main reasons why Brittany Spears sells so many records is because she is sexy and shows off her body. Let’s face it sex sells and will sell until the end of humanity.