Don Van Cleave (President of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores) and veteran A&R rep Peter Lubin (The Pixies, The Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel) share stories and opinions gleaned from their long careers in the music business – what separates hits from flops, what separates excellent A&R from bad A&R, why music is only one component of what makes a band worth signing or working with, why major labels are no place for a musician to work or be signed, and much more – and share some tips for artists who need to grow their audience beyond their family and friends.

In this interview with Loyola University, New Orleans Professor George Howard, industry veteran Peter Lubin draws on his own career in music journalism, publicity, and A&R, to illustrate some key points that young people who want a career in the music industry need to know. In particular, he discusses the challenge of staying flexible and maintaining portable skills in an industry that rewards specialization, the importance of integrity, honesty and networking in leading to those pivotal moments when you can leap into something exciting and great, and how the profession of A&R has changed over the past twenty years and what those changes imply for the health and outlook of the major-label system.

In this interview with Loyola University, New Orleans Professor George Howard, former rock journalist, longtime A&R man, and music industry consultant Peter Lubin discusses the challenges that one faces when switching careers - especially from a field so specialized as A&R – and how to successfully build a skill set that will allow you to move gracefully into new positions or industries without requiring a great deal of training. He also speaks in specifics about how the industry has changed the way the jobs he has held are done – how blogs have changed music journalism, and how the demise of major labels means that A&R reps are no longer the gatekeepers of recording studios, and what these changes mean for people getting their start in any area of the music business today.

In part two of his conversation with Loyola University, New Orleans Professor George Howard, former rock journalist, longtime A&R man, and music industry consultant Peter Lubin continues his discussion of his career and the decisions he made with a recounting of how he moved from running his own rock newsletter to doing A&R for a major label and signing Peter Gabriel and the Moody Blues. Along the way, Lubin and Howard underscore some important lessons about how to get your first industry job, how to remain agile in your career, and in particular the strange paths that a career in music can take.

In part three of his conversation with Loyola University, New Orleans Professor George Howard, former rock journalist, longtime A&R man, and music industry consultant Peter Lubin underlines the lessons that anyone can take away from the strange path that his career has taken – especially the importance of integrity, honesty and building strong relationships with a network of trusted contacts.

In this final segment of his conversation with Loyola University, New Orleans Professor George Howard, former rock journalist, longtime A&R man, and music industry consultant Peter Lubin discusses his signing of the Pixies to Electra records. His story underlines the need for an A&R person to remember that their taste is only part of the equation when considering whether to sign an artist, and helps aspiring A&R reps understand what qualities internal to an artist they should look for when weighing this critical decision.