A&R Meets Music Supervision: Artist Discovery with Christian Morrissey of Amber Music

It used to be the dream music biz gig was A&R for a major label. Those jobs are certainly becoming scarcer, but the coveted paid occupation of finding new music talent, and helping it to be heard, is alive and well – if you know where to locate it.

Chrstian Morrissey, A&R Rep and Licensor for Amber Music, in his element.

One of the best places to get an A&R-style position – whether or not it carries that exact wording – is at music houses that service the advertising, TV and film sectors. At Amber Music, the sound concern led by the colorful industry veteran Michelle Curran, the title of “A&R Rep and Music Licensor” is held by one Christian Morrissey.

Amber recently moved its studios from TriBeCa to the newly dapper DUMBO district, all the better to service an original music, sound design, and music supervision client list that includes Budweiser, Motorola, Kraft, Porsche, Ford, and Tropicana. With his fresh perspective of the Manhattan skyline, Morrissey gave us an inside view of his talent-hunting occupation – find out how artists get on his radar, and why the live show really does matter on the way to a successful synch license.

What’s the 2013 elevator pitch on Amber Music?

Amber Music is a music production company, offering custom commercial and long form composition, sound design, and full music supervision services including licensing from third party publishing houses and record labels, as well as from our own back catalogue. We work with award-winning composers and sound designers who have helped us to produce award-winning work.

What were you doing before you joined Amber that was good preparation for becoming their A&R person?

Most recently I worked as an assistant to the VP of Licensing at Beggars Music which first introduced me to the licensing world.

But prior to that I held a wide variety of positions and internships within the music industry – from the music PR firm Press Here to the editorial department of Rolling Stone – constantly surrounding myself in the business. Also, for what it’s worth, I was music director at my college radio station which kept me continuously up-to-date with new music.

All these experiences have helped build an ever-growing network of like-minded friends and colleagues who live and breathe music, and this industry – well, every industry really – revolves around whom you know and your reputation. People would rather work with their friends over strangers, so why not try to keep making friends?

Also, all that exposure helped me widen my palette. For the longest time I was adamantly against electronic music, mostly because I was just so familiar and comfortable with indie rock. Then in 2006 my friend, whose taste I trust wholeheartedly, suggested I check out The Knife. Silent Shout remains one of my all-time favorite albums ever — she was referring to Deep Cuts at the time though, also a great record.

But that suggestion more importantly changed my perception of discovery. There was so much to explore. It’s the same way I feel about eating in foreign countries – you have to try it to know if you like it. Similarly, you have to listen to everything; you never know what new sound you’ll fall in love with.

Words of wisdom! So tell us more detail about you do for Amber Music.

I am mostly in charge of keeping my ear to the ground, so to speak, to find new and emerging talent to potentially work with.

I’m constantly scouring the Internet for the latest sounds, whether that be from a brand new band in Sweden to a new direction from an established Brooklyn band. This keeps me constantly in touch with artists, record labels, promoters, publishers, managers, and other A&R reps. Furthermore, coming from a background in music licensing, I help in all aspects of that process – from performing music searches to tracking down rights and clearing songs.

Easier said than done, though: There are a billion bands on the Web – how does an artist leap out of the Internet and get your attention?

Personally, I get interested in artists that are at the forefront of the sonic interpretation, people who are exploring new sounds or revisiting and perfecting old ones. So obviously, what’s most important is a musician’s sound. From there, it’s a matter of getting noticed.

Spotify: an indispensable tool for the music supervision set.

Just as there are a billion bands on the Web, there are a million ways of finding new music – countless blogs, Spotify recommendations, email lists, suggestions from friends – it can be exhausting just staying up to date. But it’s kinda you’re job to do that. If you want to stay current, you need to know everything that’s going on –the slant of certain critics, formations of new groups, the popularity of specific genres and the birth of new ones — which gets laughable at a certain point… “witch house?” Really? I guess so!

After a while, there are certain blogs you trust due to their curation or breadth of music news. Becoming affiliated with one of those blogs is the best chance an artist has of getting noticed. And there are so many niche blogs – every emerging artist/band should know which specifics ones to align themselves to or pitch to. There’s one for every genre and subgenre.

Those are great insights about the virtual aspect of A&R. But I know you also make it a point to see artists live when you can – why is that an important part of your job?

First and foremost, concerts are fun. Losing yourself in such a collective experience is a joy I will never, ever tire of.

But of course, there are many technical reasons a live show is important from an A&R perspective – you have the ability to see a band at their most vulnerable and see how they stack up to their recorded material. Nine times out of ten you’ll be able to tell if the musicians are truly talented by judging their live show.

So what would you say is your personal A&R philosophy – in other words, what artists get your attention to bring to Amber?

Good ones. Honestly, it really stems from being a true creative professional who understands his or her own sound. You can always tell who cares about the music versus those just trying to sell. And ironically, that latter set never produce sellable material.

We’re really proud of our latest Smirnoff ad which features the fabulous voice of Angela McCluskey, written by Mark Tewarson and Rob DiPietro. They really emphasized a cohesive dynamism between the two different yet corrolated styles the company was going for. Also, all three are talents on the rise to watch out for. So grateful to be able to work with them!

Do you recruit artists to work with Amber in general, or are you on the lookout for them for a specific project?

I don’t really see fostering relationships with artists as recruitment. I try to treat all business from the standpoint of a fan rather than someone in the industry. I see and hear as much as possible, building a mental library, as well as digital library, so that when we get a request for a certain style or genre, I know who to go to.

What is the business relationship that results when you bring an artist into the Amber fold? Is there a standard arrangement, or is it different every time?

There are a lot of facets to that part of the business relationship – how long we’ve worked with an artist or composer, the quality of the work, how much the budget is for a specific job, how popular an artist or composer is, etc…

It’s a weird, instinctual balancing act between those factors – ultimately, it ends up being a different arrangement each time, really, but relies on the same set of qualifications.

Along those lines, how does your background in licensing help you in your job, day-to-day?

Learning about licensing has helped me most in understanding and dealing with budgeting issues. It’s expensive to license music; everyone may want a Beatles song in their car commercial but an agency’s music budget won’t allow it. Having some knowledge about pricing brings fantasies and expectations down to earth – what can we do to produce something cheaper but with those same qualities?

Also, just generally, knowing the differences between the many licenses out there and, more importantly, which ones you’ll need to use a certain song, just makes everything run much quicker.

Once you’ve found an artist that Amber wants to work with, do you develop them to make them more “music-for-picture-friendly”? Or do you just encourage them to keep working in their own particular style?

We let artists be artists, we wouldn’t work with them if we wanted to change their sound. Sometimes we need to edit a song for time purposes or, when producing original material, we’ll get notes back from the agency on what was working and what wasn’t, but ultimately it’s in the artists hands to create.

Take a spin with Christian through the Hype Machine!

For artists who read this, what’s the right way to get your attention. And what’s the WRONG way?

I try to stay as open-minded as possible regarding new music. Granted, having an online presence and/or some sort of notoriety definitely works in a band’s favor. If I get a blind email from a musician, I immediately Google and/or Hype Machine them, see which blogs are posting their music.

What works is having some personality, but remembering that it is a professional relationship you’re trying to build. Don’t be an asshole. Do be appreciative. Don’t flood an Inbox — seriously. Do offer to guest list – that may sound assuming and arrogant, but honestly it works if you’re trying to get someone to come to a random show.

More good tips – I hope everyone’s listening! Shifting gears, what would you say is the most challenging thing about what you do?

Finding time to balance the nights out with exercise. That and having to turn down working with an artist. There’s some shitty music out there, no question. Some people dedicate their lives to being musicians and they still sound mediocre. You have to respect that integrity and passion… it just sucks when you just don’t agree with their artistic choices or general sound.

That would make for a tough day. On the flipside, what’s the most rewarding thing about what you do?

I cherish the ability to expose a new, talented artist to the world at large. I remember a few years back when one of Grizzly Bear’s songs appeared in a car commercial. As a fan, I was rather appreciative of the advertisement for using a cool song, something I liked and related to – music I’d listen to on my own. It made me even respect the car company, being an elitist music fan at the time. Let’s face it, still am!

But furthermore, it’s a way of broadening an artist’s audience. I’m utterly astounded by some of the music that’s being created today, but so much of it is left unnoticed by the mainstream. If I can help bring good, interesting, engaging music to a broader variety of listeners, I’m happy with myself and my job.

Finally, how do you see music for picture evolving – why is it more and more important for the right song/sound to get matched to the right brand?

I was at a conference recently where the hosts screened a commercial first without sound, then with. The associations one makes with the muted track are completely freeform, no sense of cohesion whatsoever.

A good song will not only give a picture unity but will also develop an image for the brand. Are you a company whose target demographic is 18-30 year olds? Are you trying to brand yourself as young, edgy, cool? Then it would behoove you to use a modern song as opposed to say, something classical.

Even though I made a big point about music speaking for itself earlier, there’s no denying band and genre associations. Knowing what those associations are and how they align – or rather, how to make them align – is the key to building something memorable.

— David Weiss

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