Inside the A&R Playbook: How Hits Get Made in 2024
A legendary label executive breaks down what it actually takes to develop artists and write songs that stick in 2024.
The way records get signed and songs get built has shifted hard over the last decade. What used to be a slow burn—artist development, months in the lab, careful rollouts—now lives in a world of TikTok moments, streaming metrics, and AI tools that didn't exist five years ago.
Ari sat down with Pete Ganbarg, one of the heaviest A&R minds in the game, to untangle how the machine actually works now. They dug into artist development—how labels spot talent and nurture it. They talked hit-making from the songwriter's angle: what separates a song that pops from one that disappears. And they got real about publishing, the money side that most fans never think about but every artist should.
The AI conversation is the one hitting different right now. Tools are changing how songs get written, how production happens, how labels scout talent. It's not replacing the work, but it's changing what the work looks like.
If you're making music, thinking about the industry, or just curious how the sausage gets made, this is the breakdown you need.
Read the full story at Ari's Take → https://aristake.com/pete-ganbarg/
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