There is a huge misconception of what an A&R actually is. Ask any artist or music connoisseur what is an A&R, and you are guaranteed to get many different answers. For many people an A&R, is that person that discovers talent in the dirtiest, ugliest and most obscure place. The media and of course the media and the twisting of actual occurrences have taken this position, and turned it into manufacturing many falsies. As an A&R for Indie Music Factory, Ingrooves and Universal I learned that finding talent is more about the character of the artist. Most artists these days won’t invest in themselves, not necessarily monetarily but the purest daily sacrifices. Most A&R want artists who are high in character and will not waste and manipulate budget money and are in touch with the fans and the business side of this lifetime environment. Even as an A&R for Nation Noise, I encountered many artists who had a misconception about what their brand really means. Most would blame society, or the lack of music education for this trend in musicians. The real disconcerting issue is as new, different innovative artists are born, the truth behind the A&R position is being buried more and more every day, and among other things the paperwork and business side is non-existent.