A&R

by Bill Flanagan

The business of A&R (artists and repertoire) people at a record company is to sign new acts and nurture their careers, and lately no one in the industry has been hotter than Jim Cantone. Now the big time calls, and Jim accepts an offer to become head of A&R at industry giant WorldWide Records, founded and still run by the legendary maverick Wild Bill DeGaul. Little by little, though, it dawns on Jim that he has walked into a vipers' nest, and he must choose between picking up a dagger in a bloody palace coup against DeGaul or standing by him and losing everything.
        
Never before in fiction has the music business been so thoroughly nailed, but A&R is as much Julius Caesar as it is The for all its great wit and dead-on insider texture, it's as wise about human nature as it is about one very dysfunctional industry.

Genres: Music, Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Al · Rating 2 out of 5]

The problem with Tom Wolfe is that he makes it looks so easy. Every aspiring writer thinks they have a Bonfire of the Vanities in them, and that their life and chosen profession is the most important, and has enough sex, money, fame, and power involved in it, that they can write like Wolfe too.

Flanagan's profession does have all that- the music industry circa-late 90s- pre-Napster, pre- American Idol, and Flanagan has some bona fides having been an exec at the MTV family of channels and writing a U2 biography that people adore (it's good, but..)

I picked up this book used not only because of the rock star quotes, but that it was some of the most literate rock stars of our time - Adam Durwitz, Lou Reed, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Peter Buck.

A&R does have some laugh out loud moments and Flanagan pulls it off better than many would. His take on the rock industry reads true. That said, none of the characters starting with what appears to be the leading protagonist are particularly sympathetic. The action is often exaggerated (though no doubt, real-ish), but the dilemmas that come up with what happens when bands sign with major labels, when artists stop having hits, and when band members decide to go solo all ring true. A fun enough read if any of this sounds interesting to you.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about the music industry written circa 1999... I found it so interesting, there are only a few mentions of 'on-line' and 0 mentions of file-sharing. Published in 2000, the author may have actually written it much earlier, or have written based on experiences from earlier, but it seems pretty typical of how slow the music industry giants were to pick up on the digital trends.

I really enjoyed reading this, and there were even a few really poignant character insights and relationship insights hidden in there every now and then.

[Meera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book-- but I got a galley copy while I was working at a bookstore and had absolutely no expectations about it, so I don't know if that's why I was so impressed. It's a fun read on the satire of the music industry and corporate ladder-climbing in general. Maybe not high literature, but it definitely made me laugh.

[Richard Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction, a great story about an A&R guy and what he goes through nursing bands along and the BS he has to put up with from his "fictional" label. Fun look into how labels work, at least big record labels.

[Marty Rosen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. Some interesting insights into music industry. Story line and plot turns felt a li
ttle forced. Writing quality acceptabl
e…not great.

[Cole Mcdonough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun easy read. Learned a ton about the music industry and rekindled passion for recreational reading

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting as a novel and somewhat depressing philosophically. It is the story of a rising star in the music production biz and its main strength is its depiction of what goes on inside the record labels.

I say it is depressing because, basically, it shatters every artist's dream that somehow, if you work hard enough, some kind of switch will flip and you will suddenly have "made it." I don't think anyone who wants to get into the movie business really thinks this anymore, but plenty of people in the music and publishing businesses still labor under this kind of hope.

It is not that art is dead. It is just that the production of art is not what you think it is. Further, with the advent of control by large international companies or, worse yet, stockholders who only want to see their stock go up in the short term, things are only getting worse, not better. The book spells this out in plain English for all to see. What we will do with this information, the future only knows.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun look at the record business in the last days of its traditional (pre-internet) model, as seen through the eyes of a rising executive. Good pacing, interesting storyline. It's not highbrow literature, but it respects the reader, and I had no complaints about the writing style. The characters may seem somewhat cartoonish, but in reality the top echelon of industry bigwigs is actually not too far removed from the book's characterizations. The only drawback is the business side of the story is of course dated at this point, since the book was written in 2000. I liked it enough to look for some of the author's other output.

[Mick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good, but at times it seemed to get off base. As a music fan, I was expecting a little more about the music industry and the whole A&R scene. But maybe that's the point - the whole thing is about business, not music. Anyhow, the book had it's moments, sometimes funny, sometimes boring, and some downright satirical. In the end, I think the characters left a little on the table. I wasn't sure who to root for, or who to root against. And, again, maybe that was part of the point.

[Saellys · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a total guilty pleasure. Flanagan doesn't know much about writing fiction (his U2 biography is brilliant), but he does know the music industry. The archetypes he selects for his characters are wholly enjoyable despite their mundane origins, and it's refreshing to read a book about the collapse of record labels with almost no mention of illegal downloads.

[Michael]

This was an insider's story about the music industry. As is the case with most of these, the story is forced but made up for by the explanation of how things really work. I always wonder... For some reason this is bringing to mind another book that was EXACTLY the same, but about the country music business in Nashville. Same guy? I remember the story in detail.

[T.tara Turk-Haynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pace is great. Some of this is a bit fantastical but that's not a bad thing. Not sure I loved Cantone's development. And some of the events did feel a bit rushed. But it's a juicy fun ride in the older age of music. Before online just smashed it like an Idaho potato.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun comedic novel and an insiders look at the music industry. A fun, quick read. (First Edition)

[susanb79 Busch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is silly and it's actually not at all like what I do but it's a fun read.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

GREAT read. Better than I expected. Good book for anyone interested in the music industry. It's a novel with plenty of twists and plenty of humor.

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rock stories, funny phrases... excellent book.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. It's kinda funny and interesting, but the writing is hack and it's like watching balding men with pony tails trying to pick up chicks at bad rock shows.

[Louvaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Music insiders (or wannabees) this is the book for you! Very insightful, sad but funny depiction of what it takes to make it in the music world. Ha!

[Dylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very solid novel. Almost reads like an oral history of how the Biz used to be. Cause man, it ain't like this no more.

[Joe Faust · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bitter, biting and hilarious commentary on the current state of the music industry.

[Mary Newcomb]

An interesting novel about business behind the music business.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a clever, well-paced and funny book that will ring true for people who love music.

[Andrea Arrue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall good read, didn't change my life but I enjoyed it.

[Richard Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

lively, interesting, with lots of inside baseball ...