Negotiation with Trevor Jerideau

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Trevor Jerideau Vice President of A&R at J Records. He oversees the careers of platinum selling artist Mario and Marsha Ambrosius among others. Mr. Jerideau has been in the music business for over a decade and had to negotiate many artist contracts over the course of his career. Some see an A&R position as a high-risk job. I can understand those opinions for it is rare to see an A&R maintain his/her position for several years at one label. I asked Trevor what does he require before going into a negotiation. He mainly insists that an entertainment attorney represents the artist(s) he has shown interest in. By proper representation, the negotiation will run smoothly without awkward conflict. Mr. Jerideau also insists that the artist(s) has the proper management. Most inexperienced managers make it hard for A&R’s to work efficiently. Managers may see the A&R as a threat. I understand their reasoning for some A&R’s manage high profile artist. As far as the contract is concerned, Trevor negotiates different contracts based on the artist(s) notoriety. For some artist(s) he considers a distribution deal while others get the now popular 360 deals. He stated that the 360 deals allows the label to recoup money though artist branding. The decline of music industry sells has required the music industry to improve the now defunct standard business module. All and all he says the discussion is quite simple and usually takes 30 minutes to an hour when inquiring about an unknown artist(s). However if the artist happens to be Beyonce the negotiation could take several days due to the clout in which she has. Mr. Jerideau insists that anyone interested in an A&R position should study the art of negotiation. Without that skill you would not hold down that position for long.