Who has Gabz Landman worked with, and what does she do?

Gabz Landman was the Vice President of A&R at Warner Records, now she is currently the Vice President of A&R at Warner Chappell Music. She was Dua Lipa's A&R and Day to Day Manager before Dua was signed to Warner Records.

To start off the podcast, at 4:14, she stated that her dream was to be a booking agent, and that she did not see A&R as a career path for her. And at 12:45 she stated that she was grateful that she has had the experience of working in both the management side and the publishing side. At 13:18 she stated that she can pretty much predict how a session will go and if two artists, or an artist and producer, will work together well since she came in with working with writers and producers, she said it may not have been the same if she did not work with them first. She established a trusting relationship with the other artists, producers, etc.

During Covid, her A&R job started rough, but as the time went on, it was easier. She signed an artist that she only ever met on zoom because of covid. She wanted to meet her in person, but could not due to her mother being a doctor and it would have been dangerous for her to go there. The artist's name was Madeleine the Person. At 16:47 it was stated that they signed her on the last day of the office being open in December and she was blown away by Madeline because she was so good.

Landman found Madeline on TikTok, she claimed at 20:58 that her tone was unique and that if she heard her somewhere she would recognize her in an instant. And that is important for a singer, because a well recognized voice is important. No singer wants to sound the same as another. TikTok is an important platform for artists, it is where artists are found. At 22:25 Landman stated that Madeleine was contacted by multiple labels. When she listened to her on zoom, she was blown away. She called her boss right after the meeting to figure out a time for him to meet her, and he made time almost immediately. She (Madeleine) loved her and then same for Erin (the boss). Landman called her manager and got her with some conditions. And those conditions were reasonable to be met. They later shot her first ever music video and Madeleine had this genuine feel to her on camera where she portrayed loss very well. And her first EP is about loss and grief. 

Landman also signed her friend, Adam Melcher, during the pandemic due to seeing his live performance. She claimed at 32:20 that he was so incredible live and his music was so special and unique. As well as that, it was stated that he goes live on social media almost every single night, and he talks with all of his fans and knows all of them, and that is not something you see with many artist now adays. Adams concert was also the last concert Landman went to before the pandemic, it was at the Troubadour. 

As well as Adam, Landman signed Amy Allen, who is a proven hit writer who wrote many songs. She wrote for Harry Styles, Halsey, Selena Gomez, Tate McRae, Justin Timberlake, and Olivia Rodrigo. In 2022, she became one of the first songwriters to be nominated for the Grammys’ Songwriter of the Year award. 36:45, Amy's album was made and worked on during Covid, she really wanted to perform live, but that was not possible. Landman and Warner asked her what her dream show would look like and they made it possible, they filmed it and put it on YouTube. 

Now, being signed with a label can be very beneficial. Any label an artist signs with has benefits, and one that is important are the resources and help they provide for the artist. As well as that, labels hold this powerful weight and meaning they carry, not just in one area, internationally. Every artist at some point has thought “I want to be signed by a label one day” even if in the future they do not. It is just something most artists see and hear, so it becomes a natural step for them. Now according to Landman, the individuals in charge of Warner think about music business in a different way since the heads of the label all came from different types of jobs. And as she said, it helps them think outside of the box, and that is where Warner is unique. As well as that, Warner is ranked among the top three labels, with Sony and Universal Music Group. So being a part of Warner, on the top three, would seem and feel huge to an artist.

Isabella Basile is a Popular Music Major Student at William Paterson University. She is currently in her second semester! She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of the music industry and becoming a better musician herself!