BALANCING THE A&R EQUATION.

What a great time to be a buzzband -- or is it? BMG and Sony are both under the leadership of new chairmen who are open about their priority aim of building more domestic A&R strength. Meanwhile, Warner's WEA operation is still desperate to sign artists after an extended cull, and EMI and Universal -- who on the face of it have the healthiest domestic rosters -- are also being as competitive as ever. And then, of course, there are well-funded independent operators (however you define independence) such as Pias and Independiente who are also quite prepared to compete with the best of them when they want to sign an artist.

That so many large companies should be openly looking to build their rosters speaks volumes both about the volatility of the UK market -- and some of their recent A&R records. But quite how they do it could have a knock-on effect on other parts of the business.

For a manager (or band) looking to ramp up their advance, the conditions could not be better. ...