Urban Grandstand Digital Special Edition Faith Evans | Page 14

A&R

A

&R, as many in the music industry knows, can be one of the most

difficult jobs to complete for an artist. Harve Pierre was responsible for handling A&R duties for "Faith". In a nutshell, his position was to oversee the entire recording process from start to finish, handling anything that comes up in between to be sure that all is done right, and by deadline. Everything, including selecting producers, organizing the studio time, and selecting final songs with the artist at the end, is handled by the A&R rep. Songs are also selected to be represented as promotional singles for the LP. Obviously, there's a lot more in between, but you get the idea. Now imagine doing this for 2, 3, 4, or 5 people simultaneously! As with anything, things can get a little hairy when you have so much going on. Let's not forget that the A&R rep is continuously scouting new talent. It's definitely a never-ending job. Harve Pierre couldn't be touch in this aspect, because not only did he know what he was doing, he did it well. That is evidenced by the album that was ultimately released for Faith Evans. The album has been uber-successful throughout the past two decades, and that is due very much in part to the work that Harve Pierre did along with Evans. The work that the A&R rep does can definitely make or break a release. It's a testament to why Pierre has been so successful in the business. He remains with Bad Boy Records til' this very day, and is now President of the company.

HARVE PIERRE

HARVE PIERRE