
We sit down with our good friend and A&R Hef who shares some hilarious stories on his previous 7 years in the industry. He touches on how the role as an A&R is changing today, his favorite discovery of a breakout artist, and winning fans over from TikTok vs. the real world.
Hef:
https://www.instagram.com/hefstradamus/
(0:00) Intro
(1:20) Lightning Round!
(1:45) How do A&Rs get compensated?
(2:43) Typical day in the life of an A&R?
(3:59) How have record deals changed?
(6:07) Favorite discovery moment?
(6:58) How Hef discovered Lil Nas X (9:03) What would it take to sign to a label?
(10:40) Biggest misconception about the industry?
(11:57) What would you change about the industry?
(14:20) Is TikTok a necessary evil?
(18:02) How McClain does laundry
(20:45) Can A&Rs exist without labels?
(23:37) Artist success stories with labels?
(23:42) Hef plays Fortnite with NLE Choppa
(28:22) How do you start as an A&R?
(31:40) Growing your audience thru live shows or TikTok?
(34:35) Will AI take over the music industry?
(36:54) How much do labels help with touring?
(40:13) McClain get geeked about Junior Varsity
(41:03) Spotify vs Apple Music
(45:25) Rap blogs are powerless now
(46:15) Game: Texting Tunes!
(50:06) Outro
We are a grassroots movement. If you'd like to support and interact with us more please consider joining our Patreon where you can access private discord channels with key members of Live2 and even be invited to zoom calls to chat with us further! patreon.com/livetwocreate We add 7 songs from undiscovered artists EVERY WEEK to this playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7GMd1iZwfZdYxnUgdrEvB2?si=c906388534224ac1 To request a Live2 production for yourself please fill out this form: https://www.livetwocreate.com/request-a-production Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/livetwocreate/?hl=en