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MMUS71H.1 A&R Music Development

A&R development plan:

GIVENSSHYhttps://soundcloud.com/givensshy

(Dina Safina (2014), vk.com)

Daria EpishkovaID 156322581

University of Westminster

December 21, 2015

MMUS71H.1 A&R Music Development GIVENSSHY

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this research is to develop an A&R (Artist and Repertoire) plan

for the new act within a genre of indie-rock music. As a subject of the research the

young band named “Givensshy” was chosen. Based in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia,

“Givensshy” makes an interesting subject for research in terms of geography since the

market in question is considered an “emerging territory” (Andreton et al., 2013) within

the music industry.

The band “Givensshy” was chosen as a subject of development plan as they

meet the general criteria of musical act capable of achieving a success:

• Age. Their ages range from late teens to early twenties. Being relatively

young, time can be perceived as a positive instrument whilst working on this act’s

development.

• “Givensshy” has been absolutely organic and self-made act so far, giving

them the credit in the developing within their genre.

• Image. “Givensshy” is a foursome band, with good-looking members who

together form an entire constantly developing identity.

• Interesting music product. There cannot be a talk about “originality” of

the music as it is a big myth in the music industry (Reynolds, 2011), but “Givensshy”

surely have a good material to work with.

The importance of the selected criteria as well as peculiarities and challenges of

A&R development within the genre and geographical origin will be examined in the

following parts of the research.

WHAT IS A&R DEVELOPMENT AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT.

A&R development is an essential part of artist’s career. It is important to

understand that A&R development and marketing development are two absolutely

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different strategy plans, though complementary. In addition, there are differences

between Music development of band and Artist & Repertoire development:

– Music development is the process and practice of composing and

creating music. Whatever the genre of music, there is always a starting point for

every author/artist/producer/performer or music entrepreneur and this process

and practice of development may never stop just as it may never lead to a career

in the music industry.

– Artist & Repertoire on the other hand is the commercial practice of

preparing musical acts for exploitation (release); whether it be matching songs to

singers, record producers to bands, re-mixers to dance-floors and is centralized

within music production companies, record and music publishing companies.

Both, music development and A&R practices as we understand them now, exist

in a temporal and spatial dialectic that can be understood historically as part of the

music industry meta-narrative of power relationships. They revolve around a competing

narrative within a vertical supply chain with major music labels at the top1.

Albeit “Givensshy” prefer not to be identified with any particular genre, which is

a common practice for most young bands seeking for their own sound, they admit their

music refers to indie-rock or alternative rock genre with elements of pop music which

they call “garage pop” (Givensshy, 2015)2.

There are two ideologies of the artist’s development: “organic” and “synthetic”.

In case of organic ideology, an artist is supposed to be already formed act before

signing the contract and functions of label or management are mainly about “creative

control”. In case of synthetic approach, the record company or production company or

music managers act as creative catalysts bringing all elements together

1 Sally-Anne Gross (2015). Citated in lecture 2 on October 7, 2015 at the Unversity of Westminster

2 All the interview are listed in the Appendix below

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(Hesmondhalgh, Baker, 2011). According to the Negus (1992), the term “organic” was

originally referred to the rock music, of which dawn was in the early sixties. Unlike the

pop music being synthesized by the industry product, rock music developed in its own

natural way.

It can be argued that nowadays the situation has changed. Achieving great

popularity and commercial success by the deployment of organic approach only is not

enough across all genres. In his book “Producing Pop: culture and conflict in the popular

music industry” Keith Negus distinguishes six main characteristics of the rock act, which

A&R people pay attention to:

These characteristics are still relevant today, but in terms of priority and

importance their order can be disputed. The assumption of oversaturation of the market

generating a “selection problem” (Kretschmer et al., 1999), means that the originality

and quality of the songs material has arguably become more important than the live,

stage performance. Simultaneously, the appearance and image of the act play more

significant role than the recorded performance prior to signing contract nowadays as the

creative technologies allow for all types of voices to sound great.

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“GIVENSSHY” A&R DEVELOPMENT PLAN

The development of all acts happens gradually. Usually it demands long hard-

working period before a fast grow and success can be recorded. Occasionally, artists

manage to leap from the local music market to the international arena, but most acts will

be required to pass through three stages of music market:

The band “Givensshy” was formed in February 2014 and consists of four band

members: I.Ryabinin (lead singer, guitar), E.Bondarev (back vocal, drums), K.Alekseev

(bass) and V.Kirichenko (lead guitar). Initially, the band have emerged around the

creative works of Ilya Ryabinin, who remains the leader of the band and the main

songwriter. Bondarev, just as Ryabinin, also has a musical education, hence the fact he

also occasionally contributes to the creation of the songs and the development of

musical ideas. Alekseev and Kirichenko do not participate significantly in the music

creation but actively develop the band identity and image (Givensshy, 2015). The above

suggests that the band meets one of the criteria determined by Negus: they have a high

level of personal commitment and enthusiasm for their development (Negus, 1992).

The style of music that they mainly follow, is led by the personal preferences of

the leader of the band mainly influenced by the bands such as The 1975, Twin Peaks,

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Wolf Alice, Oberhofer, M83, Imagine Dragons, Daft Punk, Maroon 5, The

Neighbourhood from the modern stage and The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David

Bowie, Tears for Fears, Oasis, Prince, Michael Jackson, Brian Eno from the early years

(Ryabinin, 2015). This explains the fact that all the band’s lyrics are written in English.

“Givensshy” have already achieved some success on the local stage within their

home city as illustrated below:

Despite the current achievements on the local stage, it can be argued that the

band is still in the incubation period. “Incubation” can be termed as the process by

which an artist gets beyond album one and develops at the right way (Beese, 2015)3. At

the same time there is every reason to believe that they are ready for further

development. Next in this research, a phased development plan from the local to the

international scene will be presented.

“Givensshy” Road Map:

3 Darcus Beese (2015). Citated in lecture 8 on November 18, 2015 at the Unversity of Westminster

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After the recognition at the local level, gaining of the early fan base and

recording of the first singles and EPs, it's time to go to the National level.

Finding the essential team:

A suitable manager will suffice at this stage. Ideally, it would be a person

which has started the collaboration with the band from the very beginning and hence

gained great insight. Alternatively, a new person would also be suitable provided

he/she gained experience working with bands at the national level. Very often, bands

with no manager and no budget to pay one, tend to admit to their team a proactive

friend (Harrison, 2014), but even though this could be beneficial at the local level, not

at the national stage. In case of “Givensshy’, they already have a young manager

whom with they have been working from the very beginning. She has relevant

experience and extensive network within the music industry in Russia, so it is

appropriative to continue the collaboration with her. However, it would also be

beneficial finding a national-level manager, who would work with the band as an

adviser on the certain conditions.

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Goals to achieve:

National level – it is time to make the first highly professional records, find an

effective production and distributor companies. In Russia, it is pointless for the young

acts to work with major labels. Although there is Russian representations of giants

such as Universal Music, Warner Bros. Records and Sony Music, their process of

working with artists largely differs. A&R departments of these companies do not aim

to search for the new artists to sign, they work with already successful artists towards

their further development only (Myrcha, 2015). However, there are several

independent labels in Russia through which productive results can be achieved.

The most effective way of development for “Givensshy” is to get a contract

with independent label “Xuman Records”. There are several reasons why:

(Xumamrecords.com, 2015)

“Givensshy” already have enough material to release their first album

(Givensshy, 2015). Therefore, contract with “Xuman Records” and recording of the

album could be a huge step in their career. Such as “Xuman Records” do not provide

a distribution service, it could be reasonable to collaborate with different distributor

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who can help to deliver the product. It is a common practice for artists in Russia to

use the services of international distributors such as “DistroKid” or “Believe Digital”,

which also helps with the collection of royalties (Zhbanov, 2015).

How to achieve:

“Xuman Records” states that they are well-established company, satisfied

with and proud of their current roster of artists and rarely sign new acts. They set

themselves up as a family and assert that they would make an exception should the

act be extraordinarily impressive only (Xuman, 2015). With this in mind, it will be the

most effective for “Givensshy” to gain a certain level of national popularity first and

give the label the opportunity to find them. In the music industry as an artist you

better prefer to be hunted, not being the hunter (Gross, 2015)4.

It also essential for the band to find their audience first and after start to try to

monetize their music (Gatfield, 2015)5. For the commercial success as an artist, you

need the consumers to consume your music, you need to have a constant audience.

Bourdieu distinguishes four types of audience: innovators, adopters, majority and

laggards (Bourdieu, 1986). The crucial point is to reach the majority group and the

most effective way to do it is through the innovators and adopters who can act as the

taste makers and gatekeepers for your music (Kretschmer et al., 1999). Among

tastemakers, Gladwell separates connectors, who link between social groups,

mavens, who are respected and very knowledgeable about their subject, and

salesmen, who use their enthusiasm to connect with others and spread the word

(Gladwell, 2001). To reach all these groups, “Givensshy” should perform as much as

possible, provide themselves with a media presence and make a name for

themselves.

4 Sally-Anne Gross (2015). Citated in lecture 2 on October 7, 2015 at the Unversity of Westminster5 Nick Gatfield (2015). Citated in lecture 11 on December 9, 2015 at the Unversity of Westminster

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It can be achieved by participation in the different showcases (Moscow Music

Week, Colisium, V-Rox etc), playing gigs in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and trying

to go on the tour as a supportive act for more popular band of their genre. All of this

can be provided by a good work and networking of the manager.

International level is a huge step in the career, coming about either after a

long and complicated development or not coming ever. Even entering the foreign

musical market (which does not yet mean gaining an international popularity) is a

process that takes a lot of efforts. There is no described key to the success. But it is

possible to set certain goals and identify ways for them.

The ideal point where “Givensshy’ wants to find themselves is to be signed

by the Island Records and work with Mike Crossey as their producer (Givensshy,

2015). It is an incredibly high goal and nothing provides a guarantee that this will be

achieved.

Nevertheless, there are some steps that could assist them in reaching a

foreign or even international market, upon condition they would be able to provide a

good musical product and become a good performers and high professional

musicians:

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Of course, it is not enough to have just a manager if they wish to enter an

international arena. Russian music industry is different and the band would need to find

a good lawyer who would represent them and help negotiate international contracts.

Also it would be useful to have a team or a person responsible for protecting artists’

interests with respect to every territory they are going to perform or distribute their

products within (Harrison, 2014). Professionals who know local or national markets and

audience can help a lot to put forward the band’s career.

CONCLUSION

As described above, the band "Givensshy" has the potential for the

development, and it is possible to take some real steps that could lead to certain results.

The band have no unrealistic expectations about their career and they are ready for

hard work (Givensshy, 2015). Still it is important to understand that even the perfectly

prepared development plan for the high talented act can never guarantee any success:

“Music does not drop from the sky. It is a social product of countless antecedent

possibilities and failures, combinations of design, accident, situations both predicted and

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not, and uses both intended and unintended. Even the most seemingly efficient,

elegant, perfectly-engineered and seamlessly deployed technology conceals what is

really an unruly nest of contingencies” (Barney, 2007). It is especially complicated when

the initial point of artist development is such an underdeveloped and malformed music

industry as Russia has.

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REFERENCES

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Anderton, C.; Dubber, A.; James, M. (2012) Understanding of music industries.

London: SAGE Publications

Anderson, C. (2006) The long tail: how endless choice is creating unlimited

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New York ; London : Continuum

Flower, B. (1997) Pierre Bourdieu and cultural theory critical investigations,

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Gladwell, M. (2001) The tipping point: how little things can make a big

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Harrison, A. (2014) Music the business, 6th edition, London: Virgin Books

Hesmondhalgh D. (2011) Creative labour media work in three cultural

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Negus, K. (1999) Music genres and corporate cultures. London: Routledge

Negus, K. (1992) Producing pop: culture and conflict in the popular music

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http://www.musicexport.at/waves-music-conference-showcase-festivals/

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/4ztqVqsPP6Mgzt2yxLwHWNs/the-longlist


APPENDIX

List of interview:

1. Kate Myrcha,

Business Development manager Universal Music Russia

Artist Development Manager Rise Up Agency

2. Ivan Zhbanov,

Founder, CEO, A&R independent label UP!UP!UP! Music

3. Anton Maskeliade,

Musician

4. Aleksander Xuman,

Founder, CEO Xuman Records

5. «Givensshy»: Ilya Ryabinin, Kit Alekseev, Eugine Bondarev, Vlad Kirichenko,

Musicians

Interviewed by Daria Epishkova on Skype, December 15-19, 2015.

Givensshy:

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