Job Description
At Warner Music Group, we’re a global collective of music makers and music lovers, tech innovators and inspired entrepreneurs, game-changing creatives and passionate team members. Here, we know that each talent makes our collective bolder and brighter. We are guided by four core principles that underpin everything we do across all our diverse businesses:
- Music is Everything: Music is our passion, and we can never get enough. Tastes, trends, and tech will change, but great artists and songwriters will always be our driving force.
- Global Growth, Local Expertise: Music is a global language. Through communication and collaboration, our success can come from anywhere and translate everywhere.
- Innovation and Insight: Pushing the boundaries requires the best information and the boldest imagination. We use both to create the future.
- Empowered by People: Like the artists we serve and the music they make, our differences make us stronger. This is a place where every talent can belong and build a career.
We remain committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We know it fosters a culture where you can truly belong, contribute, and grow. We encourage applications from people of any age, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, disability, and any other protected characteristic or identity.
Consider a career at WMG and get the best of both worlds – an innovative global music company that retains the creative spirit of a nimble independent.
Job Title: Women in A&R Internship (6 month FTC)
The Opportunity
At WMG, we remain committed to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, across every aspect of the business. Our commitment to progress is core to supporting our community of music-makers and music-lovers at the heart of our business.
We’re in the seventh year of gender pay gap reporting and we are working hard to ensure we close this gap at senior levels, whilst investing in our future pipeline; an indicator of our future composition. That’s why we have created this six-month Women in A&R Internship programme….
Women are underrepresented in the music business as a whole and particularly in A&R. We recognize the value of having colleagues in A&R who are reflective of the talent we are signing: bringing different perspectives, opinions, tastes and styles of working with artists. Warner are keen to encourage more bright female talent into A&R roles and give access to a programme of proper ‘on the job’ skill learning.
At the end of this six month programme the interns will have detailed knowledge of record labels and the practical skills they need to become an A&R.
Applications close on Friday 8th November and the in-person assessment day will be held week commencing Dec 4th, 2024.
The salary for this internship is £25,650.
What is A&R?
A&R is the part of the record label that is responsible for scouting new talent, introducing them to the company and closing the deal. They then assist in making a project (album, mixtape, single) by suggesting producers, songwriters and getting the music sounding as strong as possible.
Next, the A&R helps to decide on the musical rollout: which song comes when, will they do remixes or features etc?
A&R’s also oversee the recording process and assist with the marketing and promotion of the artist. They nurture and help develop the artist inside and outside the label, building relationships with a wider network to help elevate the artist.
Click here to learn more about A&R from Warner Parlophone Label Group President, Joe Kentish.
A Little Bit About Our Participating Labels
Parlophone Records is home to some of the music industry’s most loved and exciting new artists including Coldplay, Gorillaz, Ashnikko, Rachel Chinouriri and many more. An ambitious close-knit team who are passionate about music, developing talent and breaking artists. When Parlophone was founded in the 1920s it was said to be ‘a home for alternative minds’ which is an ethos we try to live by today – signing the most exciting alternative talent of all genres and trying to break them into the mainstream.
Atlantic Records is home to some of the most celebrated artists in the world today including Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Charli XCX, Anne-Marie, Clean Bandit, Fred again, Mahalia and many more.
Atlantic’s rich history is distinguished by an array of legendary artists who broke new ground and set new musical standards. Today it remains recognised and revered around the world as being synonymous with artistry and quality, demonstrating unrelenting passion for discovering exciting emerging artists and developing long-term careers.
Warner Records is one of the UK’s most iconic record labels with a long history within dance culture. From Dua Lipa to Griff, Pink Pantheress to Leigh-Anne, the label has deep roots within the pop music space. Warner Records has a broad catalogue of pop artists and we pride ourselves on our level of expertise, spanning the hottest breaking talent to huge international pop stars.
Your Role
This internship programme will be like a month to month ‘school of A&R’. By the end of your six months, you have will learnt all the skills it takes to become an A&R person: from scouting new talent, making records in the studio, giving feedback on songs, helping choose singles, sitting in A&R meetings and delivering records. This is the opportunity to make your mark whilst working alongside some of the biggest artists in the world and developing the next wave of talent.
You will hone your own unique skillset along the way with the support of the label you will be working with. Your support network will include senior A&R people at the label including some of the most successful women in British A&R. You will also be assigned a Hiring Manager who will be responsible for your development and progress and a buddy who you can go to for candid chats and questions.
Here You’ll Get To
- Learn about A&R coordination, how to write label copy and deliver a record
- Introduction to and regular liaison with artist managers/publishers/agents/lawyers
- Attend gigs of the label’s active roster and new artists we are interested in signing
- Researching and finding music trends, up and coming producers, exciting new artists
- Attend and contribute to A&R meetings
- Meet and work with mixers and master engineers
- Meet and spend time with other departments in the label to understand what they do
- Learn about the legal side of the business: deals and what they mean
- Collaborate on a ‘writing camp’ for female producers and artists
About You
- Deep love for music and passion for new music discovery
- Ambitious
- Organized
- Self-starting
- Willing to learn
- Confident and willing to take risks
- Strong music instinct
- Finger on the cultural pulse, whatever culture / world that might be
We’d Love It If You Also Had
- An entrepreneurial spirit – running either student radio, club nights, blogs, playlists, management or promotion
- Sense of global knowledge, what’s going on musically worldwide, from broad to niche
About Us
As the home to Asylum, Atlantic, East West, Elektra, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Rhino, Roadrunner, Sire, Warner Records, Warner Classics, and several other of the world’s premier record labels, Warner Music Group champions emerging artists and global superstars alike. And our renowned publishing company, Warner Chappell Music, represents genre-spanning songwriters and producers through a catalogue of more than one million copyrights worldwide. Redefining what it means to be a music company in the 21st century, our consumer brands include trend-setters like UPROXX, Songkick, HipHopDX, and EMP. We’re the home to WMX – the next generation services division that connects artists with fans and amplifies brands in creative, immersive, and engaging ways – and Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) – the ground-breaking global distribution company for independent artists and labels.
Together, we are Warner Music Group: Music With Vision & Voice.
Love this job and want to apply?
Click the “Apply” link at the top of the page, or apply directly with your LinkedIn. Applying with LinkedIn will import all of the information you put in your profile, but will still allow you to upload a resume and cover letter.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear from us right away. We’re taking our time to review all resumes, and to find the best people for WMG.
Thanks for your interest in working for WMG. We love it here, and think you will, too.
WMG is committed to inclusion and diversity in all aspects of our business. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and will evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion or belief, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, disability, pregnancy, childbirth or any other characteristic protected by law.
