Andre on Recognizing Talent:: Andre dropped out of college to be a songwriter and have been writing music since he was twelve. He says hes driven by great songs. How do you deal with talented people wanting to get discovered?
Andre Heard Mentor Session:: Watch Full Length Video
On Writing and Producers:: Are you still actively writing and producing? Almost every day. Today I dont cross that line, but I will say I give very creative feedback. Having written a lot of lyrics, it really helps me recognize when someone else is great. I think a great producer is a great A&R.
What Makes a Great A&R?: The Music Business:: What makes a great A&R? I think publishing is different than label. A great A&RT is somebody who can find a writer who lyrically says something differently. On the label side, to me, its about identifying authenticity within an artist.
What Do You Know About Social Media?:: Do you think TikTok and social media is a huge opportunity, or do you think its a challenge for a lot of people? I think being an artist is difficult. But I think the people who understand that are the ones who are winning.
What Do You Look For In Producers and Songwriters?:: How do you look for producers and songwriters that are behind the scenes? I always say theres three things that make a writer producer great. Work ethic, obviously, and then team. If you have the talent and the work ethic but not the right talent, that might be challenging.
The Importance of a Publishing Deal:: A publishing deal allows writers and producers to not have to worry about working 10 hours a day. Its also the start of building a team. What are your thoughts on the value? Well, team is everything.
Students Make First Pitch:: Students will have an opportunity to do their first pitches. At the end you will give some pitch prompts great. By the end of the week, youll deliver on Friday night and Im going to send you the playlist. And then we can get some cuts and some hits and change some lives around here.
In the Elevator With A&R:: When you try to pitch songs, I think just be open to feedback. Dont take the big thing is, dont take your craft so personally. The art to good A&R is finding the perfect match between the song and an artist.
1800 Broke My Heart:: Caleb got cheated on in February and wrote this song called 1800 Broke My Heart. Are these songs specifically for artist project, for pitch? Are there certain artists you guys wrote in mind for or if theyre just sort of open ended.
Trey:: The point of great songwriting is saying something thats been said but in an original way. My feedback is most oftentimes a chorus is what makes a song a hit. Fit your concept into the chorus.
17 Song:: tyreek damaris is a songwriter from london. Great voice. Great song called rockstar. Just really focus on making sure the lyrics are really concise and clear. Its always on my butt about melodies being either too repetitive or not.
Can't Get You Off My Mind:: Cammie: Im a sucker for very concise, clear lyrics. Grace: My feedback would just be try to expand the chorus lyrically because its very good melodically. Caitlin: I think its a very cool style for you.
Tell Me Something Red:: There we go. I really like it. I feel the emotion in it, which I think is the most important thing in music. I support your decision to come here, both of your decisions. Its really cool.
Why That I Used To Know:: This is a song I also did with Karan and Seawee two weeks ago. Its about an overdose. My only feedback would be change either the second to last or the last line so that theyre not the same.
The Singing Contest:: All right. Thank you, everyone. I know its hard to play one song. Like, pick one song and you pick the wrong one. It feels painful when someone skips your own music. But it forces you to get it right.
Writing Assignment for Week 3:: So now for this weeks writing assignment, this is usually what happens. You will give a prompt, something that youre working on. The groups will go in and theyll write for whatever you want. Do you have any ideas? Can I play some music, please?
3 Artists That Circuit Just Signed:: Blood Nymph is from the Okanagan in Canada. Her strength is her vocal performance. Shes coming to La. for a month starting next week and shes cutting records. Thats a real life opportunity, people.
How Close Should Demo Singer Sound To The Artist?:: Any A&R whos good can hear a good melody and good lyric. It depends on the artist for her and for me, I dont think you need to sound that close. The lyric and the melody and the total energy is the most important.
How to Learn the Scales:: Jason Durulo is trying to figure out what the next iteration is for him. Lexi Jade is a singer songwriter who I have developed for the last year and a half. Shes working on her debut album right now. Thats our North Star, Sonically for the project.
Write a Song For Blood Nips:: When you write your songs, just put in brackets after the song title, what its for. Youll receive a playlist at the end of the week or on Saturday. Ill listen to as many songs as you want to send. And Im down to go through 70 songs that arent good to find the one thats great.
Lamp Music Producers on Pitch:: Andre: If we have a song either from earlier in Lamp or from before Lamp that we felt was a really good fit, would we be able to run that by you or someone at Lamp? Andre: Only send songs that youre like. Use your best judgment if you think something is really competitive.

Andre Heard