Our Spring 2022 Incubator Seed Grant Winner: The A&R Agency

For our next client spotlight, we’re highlighting Austin Breckenridge and Robert S. Austin, founders of The A&R Agency! They joined the Mocking Incubator to create sustainable impact in their communities. 

The A&R Agency's objective is to elevate musical artists to the level of commercial success, through an array of independent artist development services offered a la carte. Each artist will receive an individualized success strategy, breaking down an artists’ most significant obstacles. Through this process, agency clients achieve specific goals such as an increase in listenership, fuller concert attendance, and creating a self-sustaining, lucrative career.

Mockingbird: How did you find out about – and decide – to join the Mockingbird Incubator?

Austin: We found the Incubator in researching and trying to understand the amount of time and dedication that goes into running and starting a nonprofit. For us, it’s truly about the mission rather than returning capital to the shareholder, and the more we’re into it, the more we’re interested in scaling. We want to remove what has traditionally been a steep paywall to do what folks like to do, without signing your rights away. 

Robert: You know, we both live in Austin, support our local music community, and wanted to help provide resources for what it really takes to succeed artistically. We’re willing to provide musicians with more tools to be successful. 

Mockingbird: How did you get started in nonprofit work? 

Austin: Robert and I have both been involved in live music, artist management, and promoter space in for-profit ventures for over twenty years. Something consistent that we’ve seen is that access to knowledge around entrepreneurship with musicians is really limited, and filled by design. I think a lot of people forget that for multi-platinum artists, their revenue gets split off into shares. On a local level, most musicians don’t think of themselves as business owners when they really are. 

Robert: Absolutely. Like Austin mentioned, I had always worked in the for-profit world, like running records and promoting artists. There was a huge gap to access knowledge, and it was usually behind a paywall. The issue is that – number one – artists don’t typically have a budget and – number two – want to spend money on fun things, like design and recordings. But without the knowledge and skill to put that out there, it falls flat.

For example, a musician spends fifty thousand dollars on recording and with a producer that has notoriety. Now, they have no money for PR and marketing, and so that recording sits on Spotify with millions of other artists releasing music. It makes it hard to make a living doing what they do. 

So this was all the catalyst for our coaching idea – a way to provide an at-low or no cost advice on how to show and break down the barrier of distrust between the performance and business sides of the industry. 

And then we thought, are we out of our minds? Does this service not exist for a reason? So we consulted a nonprofit attorney, and found that this wasn’t a space that people have tried to tackle in that way. So we did more research. 

Austin: The nonprofit world, especially in the music industry, is very different. Its purpose is very different. My day job is now in the nonprofit industry. 

Mockingbird: How would you describe your nonprofit?

Austin: It’s all about service to the individual artist. We provide true one-on-one coaching and technical assistance with each artist, and recognize that there isn’t a “one size fits all” approach to teaching. A lot of musicians who come to us think “business first” is kind of like a dirty word, immediately think “suit and tie.” 

But really, this helps the economy. They can employ tour managers, booking agents, and it’s just about educating about this process. 

Mockingbird: What’s next for your nonprofit?

Austin: Right now, we’re building our pillars around finance. I don’t think any of us love numbers, but they’re required to make our business move forward. 

We started with our flagship coaching program, and now we’re developing an accelerated program for artists who are further along. Both programs start with the foundation that – as the artist – you have to understand that you are the business. And that requires administrative and operational functions. So we tackle that entrepreneurship for their business. 

Robert: We really do want to shift the paradigm. These musicians are more capable and more empowered than they think to live off of their passions and craft. And they understand the means to do more with their craft. You know, by design, that’s why people feel the way they do, and how they feel about their careers.

So we help folks build their team. It really does take a village to get the ecosystem as a band and brand functioning properly and be growth-minded. We provide artists with what they need to have a good job, have healthcare, living situations, to focus and help them realize that they can do this and have support. For their mental health! Here’s all of it in one place for you. 

Mockingbird: What are your favorite nonprofit resources?

Austin: Honestly, I wasn’t really pumped about wanting to have a nonprofit, and was pretty naive at first. So I started working for a nonprofit, was able to understand the operations some more, and had validation from a legal standpoint, a government standpoint, and understood that they can get the clearance. 

Robert: Turns out you need a coach for a coach! Lots of researching and finding tools. Others have incubators for their entrepreneurs. Going through the process was helpful. Templates were super helpful. I had wanted someone who had done it before to provide advice. 

Being a president of a for-profit organization is about the return. Here, we’re shifting to a mission-driven cause. Which is less about the profitability and more about using the money to further the mission you’re trying to serve. So going through a strategic plan was quite a process. 

Mockingbird: Any advice you’d give to nonprofit readers?

Austin: Take the time to research what you are getting into. I’m glad I paused to take the class and read books. Seek out guidance and mentorship. There’s a lot more intricacy in the nonprofit world with government and compliance. 

Robert: Yeah, coming from a nonprofit, there’s different compensation and I couldn’t be on the same board. Certain nuances don’t translate the same way. 

Austin: My favorite thing is networking. I wanted to hear, and appreciated hearing, other people’s practices. Even with a different focus and mission, there’s still congruence. There are so many questions. Want to help communities? What are the methods used to make these impacts in the local community? How are they trying to accomplish their goal, what resources can they leverage? What support do they have in legal and finance? How are you getting the mission rolled out on the ground level? 

Mockingbird: Do either of you play music?

Robert: My background was as a vocalist fifteen years ago, on stage with a band. There’s a complexity behind the idea of “making it.” It’s challenging enough to make music, and I’ve been there. Then, I became a booker, a promoting agent, and so on. I don’t perform as much as I used to, but I do enjoy singing my favorite songs onstage with my favorite people. 

Austin: I had a brief run with guitar, but my entire family is filled with performing musicians – my mom’s is a pianist, my uncles play guitar and drums. I just fell into the business side of it, over fifteen years ago. It was kind of accidental. 

I don’t partake too much in live performance – I know what it’s like to sleep in a van parking lot for thirty days. But I’ve been immersed in sound engineering and tuning. 

Robert: Yeah, I’m definitely more performance-based. Austin is more numbers-based. So we grew to understand each other. My perspective is that I am driven, and I enjoy getting my art out in different ways. But being able to help people has become the new passion for me. Like, I’m booking this cool event – want to be a part of it? We just keep offering, and everyone helps each other. There’s a different community aspect.

Austin: And that you don’t have to do everything on your own. 

Thank you to the A&R Agency for sharing their time and experiences with us! Interested in joining our Incubator? Find out more information here!