Today, A&R people seem to concentrate less on developing artists, and often look for artists that have "developed" themselves. It's not unusual for the boards of directors to look more at the bottom line and less at talent development. Hence, A&R people are under pressure to find hits, rather than finding potential hits and nurturing them until they bear fruit.
Development typically includes finding the right material for the artist to perform if they don't write their *own* songs, hooking them up with the right producer, engineer, studio, etc., deciding which of their songs are the most viable, and shepherding the making of the record.
Songwriting in general has always been controversial since I can remember(you've probably heard the stories about The Beatles and what not)which is highly debatable in the case of many bands, especially when it comes to the "main song writer" giving credits to every band member, even if he writes all the material himself(consider that an act of good will, the pie is shared in other words, look at Coldplay sheet music, everyone gets credit even if Martin is the one that writes everything) | 
04-03-2004, 01:30 PM
