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Report: #619283

Complaint Review: A&R Select - hollywood California

  • Submitted:
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  • Reported By: Pissed_off_royal — BUFFALO New York United States of America
  • Author Not Confirmed What's this?
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  • A&R Select 8286 Santa Monica Boulevard hollywood, California United States of America

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A&R Select is the The New talent 2k, just ask Josh,  he clearly states it on his Voicemail if you call him at 320 230 7424. By the way ive never done business with josh  Joe was supposed be my A&R but his directline seem to have been taken over by his alter ego Josh. I began doing business with this company in Jan 2010. I first spoke with brittany if that her real name we discusssed thier premium package gold. the total cost was 500. If you want the detials on what they are supposed to  offer you should jut check out thier web page @ arselect.com, in anysense they do not deliver anything but a illegal debit to your bank account , because if you do any business with them what so every im sure Joe and Britnay and Josh and Mr Magoo are all having a tea party with your checking account cuz  9/ 10 they have your card number. After they overdrew my checking account i called because i received an email. Joe said i had to call billing, but they have no number for billing. He then said billing would call  me but they never did. that was 3/31/2010. it is now 7/1/10 and they will not return my calls or do anything that they illegally paid themselves to do. Before doing any busines with this company check the BBB because they dont have a buiness liscense. They are a phiising company. Talent 2ks main A&R name was Joe Black. I think he might have put is Cousin Joe X(no name Given) down on the Scam. But what they will do i make things ound good Like They Are legit BUt THEY ARE A SCAM COMPANY OUT FOR YOUR MONEY> REAL A&RS DONT ASK FOR YOUO MONEY. AND HAVE WRITTEN COONTRACTS . BEWARE TALENT 2k AKA A&R SELECT BY THE WAY THIER other Info

 

Joe@arselect.com

Josh@arselect.com

323 230 7426 joe(A.k.A.) Josh main line

323 988 5734 

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 07/01/2010 06:35 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ar-select/hollywood-california-90046/ar-select-joe-ar-select-scammers-beware-hollywood-california-619283. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
2Author
8Consumer
1Employee/Owner

#11 UPDATE EX-employee responds

a&r select: compose real music?, go eat rocks!!

AUTHOR: lars - (United States)

POSTED: Sunday, September 02, 2018

I was an artist who was employed by this alleged company a&r select who told me the most absurd and stupidest thing i have ever heard in my entire life "people only like music  with vocals in it" ...so"your music is worthless because its instrumentals" well i write music more complex than the techno records i have bought that are so boring i hate or the released double techno compilation cds with not a single good song vocals or not i only look for the instrumental technical proficiancy and since i like music gargling rocks over it is not attractive cool or something i even like typically in the music i have always made. i am still offended by this statement from them and always will be as it resulted in the culmination of a professional career that only resulted in not the generation of a single red cent but their theft and lying about the very nature of what music is why it sounds good why people like to listen to music or anything proving that the exclusionary klu klux klan that releases its music to infect the populace with its agenda is a private club with an agenda thatn goes against everything the human race was here to exist to even enjoy and purvey garbage to the masses filth with vocals indiscribable filth and s**t on anything beautiful harmonious and good they are the blue meanies from the beatles yellow submarine the sick trolls with antimusic missiles 

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#10 General Comment

bbb link

AUTHOR: nuzzi c. - (USA)

POSTED: Tuesday, May 03, 2016

www.bbb.org/losangelessiliconvalley/business-reviews/management-consultants/a-and-r-select=in=west-hollywood-ca-100029138/directions

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#9 Consumer Comment

I agree A&R Select is a total rip off

AUTHOR: CEOMMP - (USA)

POSTED: Saturday, May 09, 2015

 They found me on Reverb Nation and told me they had listen to my songs on that site. They told me that for $650 they would provide me with medium representation and push to get my music on movies or commercials. I spoke with Andy for over an hour the first night asking questions about satisfied customers and unsatisfied customers. The next night I called back and signed up with Andy and Joe by giving them the $650. Then I got emails regarding what I needed to do about downloading my songs to their websites and other affiliate sites. It took a lot of time to do actually. Once that was done I called and didn't get a call back. I wrote a nasty email sharing my frustration and I got one call back but 5 minutes into the conversation he had to go and he said he would call back. I never heard from them again.

Truly, A&R select are Reverb Nation scammers and basic low life creatures that make money by empty promises of customer service.

Fellow musicians BEWARE.. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH A&R Select!!! 

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#8 Consumer Comment

Stop Lying Josh

AUTHOR: Vandal - ()

POSTED: Tuesday, November 05, 2013

Dude you keep saying you are accredited by the BBB! NO YOU ARE NOT STOP LYING. I just went and checked and you are not accredited at all. Your company is a fraud. Glad I wasnt duped. And you guys accepted my music so I am not upset about not being selected. Just stop ripping people off.

 

 

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#7 General Comment

A&R is not BBB accredited

AUTHOR: Lynnette - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, October 09, 2012

To Josh:


"It is completely false that we aren't a member of the BBB.  You can go to BBB.org, and search for A&R Select to prove that's a lie.  We've been a member since '07."

I just went to check it. It's not accredited by BBB. 

Here's the link proving that statement:
http://www.la.bbb.org/business-reviews/Music-Management/A-and-R-Select-in-Hollywood-CA-100029138
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#6 Consumer Comment

My personal experience with A&R Select.

AUTHOR: The movie critic - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Well let me start by saying that I also have the same story as some people that have dealt with A&R Select, but, perhaps with a better ending. Unlike most who had been messaged by them through a myspace, fb, etc., I sought them out. They were on a list of companies that I had and were one of about 50 that I had reached out to. Within less than 2 days I received a call from Josh. Josh spent a couple of minutes asking what my goals were as a songwriter and he explained the $300 membership fee to me. I was simply just glad to get a response to my music and was maybe too eager to give up my credit card info and join. I admittedly had not done research before hand on A&R Select because they were on what I perceived to be a reputable list of companies. Instead, I did just the opposite and researched them almost immediately after I had already given my authorization for Josh to charge my card. To my dismay, once I googled reviews for A&R Select, I found nothing but negative claims. All claims seemed to be the same issue of A&R Select getting the $300 and not providing good service, as in no music success. This was an instant crisis for me. I had just given 300 of my last dollars to a company that I didn't know if I could trust. I could not do business under that type of stress. I immediately, in less than 24 hours, got in contact with Josh and told him that I wanted to cancel. He wasn't happy, to say the least, but he gave me their email for these situations billing@arselect. I followed this up with a conversation with the VP of the company, Joe, and he said he would make sure that the charge was reversed. I waited a few days and the charge still hadn't been reversed and I contacted Joe again by email. He called me by phone later that night to let me know he had reversed the charge and apologized for any inconvenience. Finally, within 4 business days the charge was reversed and no longer on my card. So what does this mean in regards to the artist or songwriter that wants to know does A&R Select get your music placed or can they excel your career? I don't know. I may never know. I can't say that they don't take your money and run but I can say they didn't take my money and run. Are they better than Taxi? Probably not because Taxi has been in business for so long with a LONG list of clientele. But maybe they're the young company striving to be the next Taxi. Maybe they're Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg, and just a few clients and placements away from being the next big thing. Their site does have testimonials on it but after all the different sites with negative feedback I let them dissuade me from using A&R Select. I may never know if they could've turned me into the next great songwriter but I do know that Joe did his best to make sure I was a satisfied customer and that the door was open if I ever did wish to do business with their company.

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#5 Author of original report

SCAMMING TILL YOU HEART DROPS

AUTHOR: Pissed_off_royal - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Here is a couple more emails from joe the Man Scammer. Avoid this comapany at all cost the only record deal they can give you is from a company called sonicwave records unfortunatly you can get a deal with them yourself because they are just an online music company. A&R SELECT IS ILLEGETIMATE Emails Dont LIe JOE Funny how you names all in the email. Oh look theres your number now why dont you work For the COmpany

> On Tue Feb 2nd, 2010 7:56 PM EST joe@arselect.com wrote:

Jerren, hey I wanted to take the next step here and schedule you up  for our consultation. I'm going to be putting together a detailed plan covering many things in terms of releasing and promoting your  material the right way. Im going o get familiar with the music and  suggest singles to work with for our radio campaigns. I have March  3rd around 4:00 pacific time. Please let me know if this will work  for you. Looking forward to it! Make sure you have set up your  PromoFM page. Thanks!

>>

>>

>> Joe

Conte

>> Artist Representative

>> 323-924-5897

>> joe@arselect.com

>

>

>



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#4 REBUTTAL Owner of company

Incorrect information

AUTHOR: Josh - (United States of America)

POSTED: Sunday, March 20, 2011

The information you've posted is from musicplacements.com.

Not only are we in no way affiliated with that site, but had never heard of it until today when I saw this post.  You can put some of our information after (most of which is incorrect), but that doesn't mean it came from us.


I'm not really why someone would go to all that trouble.  You must have a lot of time on your hands.

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#3 Author of original report

Game over Scammer. Lets Laugh

AUTHOR: Pissed_off_royal - (United States of America)

POSTED: Thursday, March 03, 2011

If im Not a memebr how do i have all your member Emails. The Game is up and everyone is gonaa know exactly what your doing Scammer/ A&R My A Double S you not Accredited by The BBB But you will have more complaints after i spread this to everyone on the planet hahah hope you dont have a facebook page. Behold Member only info........... Not much of a reject am I. You are exposed Josh or Joe or Drake bla bla
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations! Your application for membership to MusicPlacements.com has been approved by our A&R team. You are about the join one of the elite online music publishing companies. We have over 600,000 albums sold in the last 18 months including placements on a Billboard #6 and #9 albums.

Activate Your Account:

Producer Account Activation

Artists & Songwriter Account Activation


Only 20% of applicants are invited to join the agency, so we already recognize your talent.

We offer you one on one attention, with the experience and contacts to help you reach your career goals. We currently offer our members the following services: Label Placements, T.V / Film Licensing, Mixing, Copyrighting, Songwriting, Concierge Service, Mixtape exposure -- all at MusicPlacements.com



You can call us at 201 484 7500 / 201 484 0414 if you have any questions

Have your feedback reviewed by Tony G. Choose feedback type video, phone, or written. Click here:
http://www.musicplacements.com/service_contact.html

MIXING & MASTERED BY CERTIFIED PROFESSIONALS..LOW PRICES $150 instrumental / $200 full song Click here:
http://musicplacements.com/mixing.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
joe@arselect.com

Member Services Dept.
A&R Select
8286 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
323-924-5897 main
www.arselect.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bio Questionnaire- Please Fill This Out and Return Via Email!




From:


Member Services <members@arselect.com>Add to Contacts

To:

Press release/Bio info sheet (please fill out and return!)
Press Release/Bio Info Sheet

Dear artist,
Our publicity department will write you a professional press release based on your responses to the form provided below.

You can then use this bio for all of your promotional purposes.. ie. bio, website, MySpace, etc. We know that you will benefit from having a professionally written content and are happy to be an integral part of your future success!

What is a Press Release?

In the music business, the press release (or news release) is a common tool used to bring an artist or business "free" publicity. Basically, a press release is a simple, neat-looking sheet that provides news to reporters, editors, and other media people. Any publication you get from your press release will be free, so it's easy to see why writing a good press release is a valuable skill.

When To Use A Press Release?

You can use a release to notify the media about any sort of happening - such as a new single, EP or CD release, special gig, or label signing. The key thing to remember is, this is supposed to be "news", so your press release needs to be "newsworthy".


We will provide you with a press release with any gold or platinum membership. We only require that you fill out the form below so that we can write your press release accurately and effectively.


THEN:

FILL OUT AND SEND BACK TO US AT: bio@arselect.com once completed ?

NOTE: You can "tweek" this press release to taste. We understand you may want to change s few things and that's OK! We want you to love your press release and we are merely a laying the groundwork for you to finalize it however you please!

Press Release Questions:

1. Brief history of band?


2. What's the name of your new single?


3. Album title?


4. Significance of the single's name?


5. Particular theme of the song?


6. Album out yet? If not, when?


7. How does this single reflect the rest of the album?


8. Why was this the song you chose as the single to represent the album?


9. What in the song is typical of your music?


10. What is unique?


11. Digital or physical release?


12. What albums before?


13. How has this evolved your sound?


14. Awards or Acclaims so far.. IE. (big gigs,licenses, opened for such and such etc)


15. Upcoming gig plans ,…. Touring?


16. Outro message?


17. Anything you really want to add to your bio?


18. Website address -(band web site, MySpace, Pure Volume text to buy keyword etc.)


If you are working with A&R Select mainly for licensing purposes, Please feel free to mention that in your answers and our publicity dept will cater a Bio that is focused in that area.

Thanks!


The A&R Select
Publicity Department

Member Services Dept.
A&R Select
8286 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
323-924-5897 main
www.arselect.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FAQ for your PromoFM Page!


From:


Member Services <members@arselect.com>Add to Contacts

To:


SETTING UP YOU’RE A&R STORE PAGE

Here are directions on how to get your artist page up, as well as some updates, tips, and networking strategies for your Promo FM artist store front.

First off, your mp3 player and audio page holds up to 15 songs, enabling you to sell or stream more songs. There is also a “video” section you can upload your videos if you have any.

UPLOADING MP3’s FOR SALE

When you log in to your store, you have a menu on the left hand side of the page. To upload your tracks properly, go to "create song". On the upload page you have the option to upload your mp3 as a "hi-fi" file, which you want to do. When you upload as a "hi-fi" file, you can set it for "streaming and downloading", or "streaming only". If you are selling the mp3's, make sure you set the "hi-fi" file for "streaming only". Otherwise, people can download it without having to pay for it.

Next, you have to upload the mp3 again, as a "New Vault" file. This is where people actually purchase your mp3's from. When you upload as a "digital store" file, make sure you set the price for ".99" (no $ symbols). Make sure to also enter a description for the song. Usually, the name of the song, then "mp3" after it works fine. So to sell your songs, make sure your uploading each track twice. Once as a "hi-fi" file, and once as a "New Vault" file.

PAYPAL

If you don’t already have a paypal account set up, then you need to do that. This is how you get pad for your mp3 sales. Go to www.paypal.com and set up a micro or casual account. You just go in and “sign up”. When you click on “sign up”, you’ll see three options to choose from. You want to choose “premier”. This was you can buy and sell.

When you join paypal, you create what they call a “payout email”.

Once you have your paypal all set up and you have your pay out email ready, log into your artist store and go to the top of the menu on the left where it says “modify artist”. In that section you will see a slot to enter your pay out email address. Once you’ve entered that email address, you’ll be ready to sell your mp3’s.

SETTING UP YOUR STORE BANNER

You have the ability to create a banner that covers the top of you’re A&R artist page which makes it more of a professional website or electronic press kit for yourself. All you need to do is create a banner with any photo program (paint, photo shop, ect.). Make sure your banner is 770 pixels wide, and 130 pixels high. Then you upload it to any image hosting site (photobucket, image shack, ect.). Once you have it uploaded, copy the URL embed code. Then you simply log in to your store. Go to “modify artist” at the top of the menu on the left. Once you are in there, you’ll see where to paste that URL embed code for the banner. Then your set!

**Remember: Your Banner URL or <embed> code. Must be EXACTLY 770 pixels wide by 130 pixels high

GETTING YOUR PLAYER ON YOUR MYSPACE PAGE

Your player appears on your front page as soon as you upload your first mp3.
Now the player is designed with a code you can use to place the player itself on your myspace page and sell your tracks there! When you go to "view your site", you'll see your player on the right hand side of the page. The code on the left side of the page where it says “player code”. Copy the code, and paste it anywhere in your myspace page. Even as comments, or bulletins to network with.

UTILIZING YOUR PLAYER

The player can also be sent in instant messages, posted as bulletins, or commented on some ones page. Remember, where ever you post your player, people are able to simply click and buy, download, or listen to your tracks! The player is made to be a promotional tool used to push out virtually anywhere you want to. The next time you sit at the computer to do some networking, use your mp3 player to your networking with. Remember to just copy and paste that code!

SUBMITTING TO PROJECTS WITH YOUR STORE

You’re A&R store page is also a platform for you to make submissions from home. This is perfect for artists that have a larger library of music at home or in their studio. When you log in, on your menu at the top, you’ll see an “Extra” button. Once you click that, you’ll see some other options to choose from including a “deal sheet” button. Clicking on that will show you the updated deal sheet.

Now once you’re there, you’ll see the newest project listings. There are directions on how to submit for a project right there on that page. It’s very easy to do, and it’s good to be as active as possible, especially if you’re a song writer or producer.

Remember, these project listings are only a small portion of what we submit to on a normal basis.

Member Services Dept.
A&R Select
8286 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90046
323-924-5897 main
www.arselect.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AR Select


A message to all members of AR Select




Hey A&R friends!

What is going wrong with the music industry and what can you do to get your music heard? Find out at the A&R Select blog here: http://tinyurl.com/yfdf32x
Also, don't forget to follow us on Twitter! @ARselect


Visit AR Select at: http://arselect.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

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#2 Consumer Comment

Do your homework

AUTHOR: Andrea - (USA)

POSTED: Thursday, March 03, 2011

I was researching this company for my husband's band. I found this site looking for reviews. As a result I looked up A & R as suggested by the employee, Josh, on the Better Business Bureau site. Yes, they are a company listed. They are not, I repeat are not, an accredited business. They do have a list of complaints, I believe 14. All similar to the original complaints description. They are listed as a Disc Jockey business. Strange? Maybe. Anyway, do your homework before giving your credit card info to any business, in my opinion.

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#1 UPDATE Employee

laughable

AUTHOR: Josh - (United States of America)

POSTED: Tuesday, August 31, 2010

First off, let me start by saying that that is not my number.  Our mainline is correct, but that's listed on our website.  The fact that this anonymous individual didn't know my office number means that he most likely is an artist we rejected.  Brittany was actually one of our secretaries, who most likely would answer the main line if this individual called in.


It is completely false that we aren't a member of the BBB.  You can go to BBB.org, and search for A&R Select to prove that's a lie.  We've been a member since '07.  Also, feel free to contact the West Hollywood Camber of Commerce, who will confirm that we've had a business license for the past 5 years, during which time we've had no complaints with them.  A savvy consumer might also youtube us, and watch us interviewing A&Rs from various major labels.  They might also check out organizations we're partnered with: BMI, Comcast Cable, Jango, etc.  If you have Comcast Cable, you can also watch our free OnDemand network in the music catagory.

Furthermore, if this individual believed they had been charged fraudulently, all they would have to do is call their card company, and report it.  They would be immediately refunded, and pending investigation, we would no longer be able to accept Visa, MC, and Amex.  Further proof that this incident didn't happen.

We are not a record label.  We are a promotions company that charges for our services.  We only take music that we feel is marketable, which means that we reject most artists who submit music to us.  


Josh
VP of New Talent
A&R Select
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