The Only Opinion That Matters — Pete Ganbarg on What Independent Artists (and A&R) Get Wrong
After nearly 16 years at Atlantic Records (the last six as President of A&R) Pete Ganbarg has a clearer view than almost anyone of what separates artists who break through from artists who don’t. In this conversation, he shares what that view looks like in 2026, when the barrier to entry for releasing music has collapsed and the bar for being heard has never been higher.
Pete unpacks the working principles behind a career that includes A&R credits on Santana’s Supernatural, the Hamilton cast album, and Twenty One Pilots, plus publishing credits on Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” and Alex Warren’s “Ordinary.” But the substance of this conversation isn’t the credit list — it’s what he’s learned to listen for, what he tells his students at Berklee and NYU, and what he wishes more independent artists understood about the work.
Topics covered in this conversation include: the “megaphone” mindset behind major-label promotion, the hard math of who makes it and who doesn’t, the only opinion that matters in music, A&R’ing yourself when no executive will, and more.
Pete Ganbarg is CEO of Pure Tone Music and host of Rock School Podcast.
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