Happy Friday!

After 35 years of evaluating artists at the highest levels of the major-label system, what does an A&R executive actually believe matters?

Pete Ganbarg served as President of A&R at Atlantic Records from 2018 to 2024, capping nearly 16 years at the label. He now runs Pure Tone Music, sits on the Songwriters Hall of Fame board, and teaches at Berklee, NYU, Wesleyan, and the University of New Haven. He's seen what works, what doesn't, and what artists keep getting wrong.

Insights from our conversation

The audience is the only judge​
Pete is blunt with his students. Nine out of ten won’t make it, and the only opinion that ultimately matters is the audience’s. He’s watched older A&R executives who believed their own taste was the deciding vote run into trouble because of this. He stands firm that the audience is always right.

The bar is quality​
Asked for the one principle he’d give an independent artist to act on this week, Pete didn’t talk about marketing or strategy. He said elevate the bar of quality. In a world with no barrier to entry and distribution, quality is the edge that matters most.

Relationships are 50% (and so is showing up)
For artist-songwriters wondering where to focus, Pete pointed to sync and to craft. But the through-line was something more basic. Relationships are half of everything, and showing up is the other half.

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