The Orange A&R guide to endorsements

We’re regularly asked about our endorsements and what we look for in qualifying artists. Although there’s no right answer to this question, we’re going to run through a few key points that are taken into account when looking at applications, as this can be a confusing concept. In a perfect world, being an awesome guitarist/bassist would be enough, but it’s unfortunately more complicated than that when you take the business perspective into consideration. So, before you spend hours crafting your ambassador application, please give the following a read for some Orange A&R inside info:

1. Are you an established band or artist?
   As much as we’d love to support aspiring musicians on their road to stardom, that is unfortunately not something we can do via endorsements. While we don’t expect you to have a long year career behind you, we need to see evidence that you/your band are serious about what you do and have built something that exists outside your rehearsal space. Ambitions are great, but we can’t consider a band based on their ambitions and plans if there’s little happening in the present.

2. Have you released any music?
   You have to have released some actual music. If your reaction to that is “hell yeah I just released my debut single last month” or “not a problem I released an entire album in 2013”, the chances are that that’s not enough. We need to see that you’re actively working, writing and creating, and one song or an old album followed by silence isn’t going to cut it.

3. Are you touring and playing shows?
   Playing to a full house at your local pub on the third Friday of every month is great, but have you ever tried non-local shows, touring overseas and expanding your audience beyond your family and friends? No? Then we recommend you do that for a bit and re-visit this idea at a later date.

4. Are you signed, working with a manager, PR rep or agent?
   We have so much respect for DIY artists, so kudos to all bands and artists doing everything themselves—and don’t let this one put you off. It’s not a must, but evidence that a label has shown interest and is willing to spend time (and maybe even money) on you, or that you’ve got someone onboard to help out with the admin side of things might also be an indication that this is something you’re serious about taking to the next level, and not just a hobby.

5. Are you promoting yourself?
   Being an artist in the digital age is hard: you’re expected to master your instrument, kill it at marketing, social media, photography, copy-writing and content creation, and create something of an image or social approach. We totally understand that this isn’t for everyone. Hell, social media can be the devil at times, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s something we unfortunately have to take into account as it plays a vital role in the modern industry. If you’re not a touring/gigging artist but have a huge social media following or online presence, we still might be able to work together, as at the end of the day, our goal is to have our amps be played in front of as many people as possible. That might be on a festival stage, but it could also be in a viral TikTok video. The industry is changing, along with its requirements.

6. Can you actually play?
   This one brings us back to point 1—as much as we’d love to offer our support to every Orange-playing artist out there (and would actively encourage aspiring ones to pick up an instrument via Orange Learn), being able to actually play is a must. If you’ve just picked up the bass or guitar and have been playing for a couple of weeks, you’re still a while away from industry endorsement. But, if you keep at it, you might be the pride and joy of our roster in the future. We’d be so lucky! That being said, although technical abilities and virtuoso vibes are definitely our cup of tea, they’re not a necessity. If you can’t play along to Rush’s La Villa Strangiato, we won’t hold that against you; different types of music require different abilities, and you need to play well enough to master your music.

7. Are you here with a genuine wish to work together and a hope to be a part of our global artist roster, or just hoping for freebies or discounted gear?
   Artist pricing is one of the awesome perks of being an Orange ambassador, even more so in this current financial climate with the ever-increasing cost of living. But if the main selling point in your application is wanting a free Rockerverb, which you “promise to promote the hell out of” to your social following of 112 people, that’s not gonna work—we are looking for artists with whom to build mutually beneficial relationships. So, instead of focusing on all the amps you want to add to your collection and trying to convince us these should be yours for free, focus on working hard, and getting yourself or your band to a place where we’d be proud and honoured to have you representing Orange.

Now that we’ve laid this all out here, you should hopefully have a clearer image of what we’re after, and if you or your band might qualify. If you think you do, then awesome. To send in your application, please visit our ambassador page here.

You might feel tempted to resubmit your application three times a week for the foreseeable future and follow up by phone to make sure we’ve seen it, and as much as we love the excitement, we can assure you that’s not necessary. Ambassador applications are reviewed regularly, and successful applicants are contacted. Due to a high number of applications, we are unfortunately unable to respond to them all, but we sincerely appreciate each and every one, and want to thank you for your support.