IB tease: shift in A&R

ARTISANAL A&R: Several majors have quietly imposed a moratorium on artist signings as they reevaluate the traditional A&R formula of drilling 20 oil wells in hopes of getting one gusher, when so many of today’s hits are coming from niche companies like Glassnote, Cash Money, Lava, Macklemore, Nettwerk, Merge and SYCO. The preceding insight, brought to us by HITS’ undercover agent I.B. Bad, is just one gem from a treasure trove of useful scuttlebutt in his latest, freshly posted dispatch. (11/22a)