A&R Research Manager

Position Overview

Quality Control Music is seeking an A&R Research Manager to help identify emerging artists, cultural movements, music trends, and fan communities that will shape the future of Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop, and global music culture.

This role will serve as a strategic partner to the A&R team, providing actionable insights that drive artist discovery, signing decisions, creative development, release strategy, and long-term company growth. The ideal candidate is equally obsessed with music, internet culture, data, and fandom behavior, with a deep understanding of how artists build audiences in today's marketplace.

This position will work across Quality Control's frontline and developing artist roster while helping build a scalable talent discovery and artist development pipeline.

This is a full-time, hybrid role based in our Santa Monica, CA or Atlanta, GA office, with in-person collaboration 3 days per week and remote work 2 days per week. Candidates must be based in or willing to relocate to the greater Los Angeles or Atlanta area at their own expense prior to their start date — we are not offering relocation assistance for this role, though it may be considered on a case-by-case basis for select candidates.

• Identify emerging artists, songwriters, producers, creators, and cultural influencers across Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop, Afrobeats, Latin, and adjacent genres.
• Monitor DSPs, social platforms, live performance activity, independent releases, and grassroots movements to surface early opportunities.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive pipeline of developing talent across the U.S. and key international markets.
• Track artist momentum and audience growth before traditional industry awareness.

• Produce recurring reports on marketplace trends, genre shifts, audience behavior, and emerging cultural movements.
• Monitor streaming activity, social engagement, fan communities, touring trends, and content performance.
• Analyze competitive label activity, artist signings, partnerships, and release strategies.
• Identify white-space opportunities for QC artists and future signings.

• Study fandom behavior across music, gaming, sports, fashion, and entertainment.
• Analyze how audiences engage with artists across platforms including Tik Tok, You Tube, Instagram, Discord, Reddit, Twitch, and emerging communities.
• Provide insights that help deepen artist-to-fan relationships and support long-term audience development.
• Support QC's efforts to build sustainable artist brands and cultural movements rather than short-term viral moments.

• Partner with A&R, Marketing, Digital, Commerce, and Management teams to support artist development initiatives.
• Provide audience insights that inform creative direction, collaborations, release planning, content strategy, and brand partnerships.
• Help identify songwriter, producer, and collaborator opportunities based on cultural and audience alignment.

• Track emerging music trends and talent across key international markets including the UK, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
• Support HYBE America's global music strategy by identifying opportunities for cultural exchange, collaborations, and international growth.
• Monitor global fan communities and music consumption patterns.

• Build executive-ready presentations and research reports for senior leadership.
• Translate large amounts of information into concise, actionable recommendations.
• Present findings to A&R leadership and artist teams.

• 3–7 years of experience in music, entertainment, media, research, analytics, strategy, consulting, or a related field.
• Deep passion for Hip-Hop, R&B, and contemporary culture.
• Strong understanding of artist development and today's music ecosystem.
• Experience using music and audience intelligence tools including:
• Luminate
• Chartmetric
• Spotify for Artists
• You Tube Analytics
• Tik Tok Analytics
• Sound charts
• Google Trends
• Social listening platforms
• Excellent presentation and storytelling skills.
• Highly organized with the ability to synthesize large amounts of information.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment.