PREREQUISITES
To be successful, you must have an ear for great
songs and the ability to match the
song to the right artist. Strong personal
contacts are necessary with A&R people,
artists, managers, producers, and anyone who
selects material to be recorded. You
should be friendly, outgoing; self-confident,
self-motivated, and driven to succeed. It
is helpful to have a love for songs and a
working knowledge of diverse styles and of
the history of recordings. An understanding of
publishing contracts and main deal
points is important as is the ability to
negotiate.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Morgan begins his day by checking his incoming
mail, which may include a CD
requested from a band he is interested in
signing, or artist material that an attorney
has sent him. He prioritizes the music and then
listens and responds to it. "I try to get
through five or six tapes in the first hour and
a half of the morning, and then I spend
quite a bit of time working with the roster
[staff writers]." Morgan listens again to
new songs from his writers and goes through
older catalog, while analyzing a pitch
sheet of artists and record labels who are
looking for particular types of songs. When
he hears a song that inspires him, that he
feels would be great for the artist, he fills
out a pitch form and sends it to the tape
library so that a tape or CD can be made
and sent out as soon as possible.
POINTERS FOR THE
JOB SEARCH
Competition for a job in the music
industry can be fierce, so you have to
be
determined and resilient to
disappoint-
ment. "A lot of people begin as
interns
and don't get a salary. I would
recom-
mend even that as a way in. In
essence
that is what I did for a year. In
the
evenings I went out and scouted
talent
for no money. I was only given
expenses, but for me it was great
because I was doing something I
really
wanted to do and somebody else was
taking care of the bills."
If you are a non-musician,
learn about the fundamentals
of music so that you have a
better understanding of compo-
sition and song structures. The
more you know about music,
the easier it will be to talk with
artists and writers about their
songs.
Study Billboard and other
music trade magazines to learn
who is who, what songs are
being recorded, who wrote
them, and who produced them.
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