Possibly. A&R back in the day were considered creative
people who had some sense of power over pop culture. They knew the dos and
don’ts of commercial success, and they were responsible for scouting talent for
their record label. They would go spend their evenings in nightclubs to listen
and discover new artists or bands, and help them develop. Nowadays, however, the talent needs to have
some sort of momentum before A&R even consider getting involved. Once an
artist achieves this momentum, they go straight to the contract without the
need of an A&R.
