4. Artist & Repertoire: One of the most interesting topics to Eddie was the discussion of A&R. This was of particular interest to Eddie, of course, because these were the talent scouts of the music business. "What were they looking for?", "How do you reach them?", "How good do my recordings have to be?", and "How did other bands get signed?" were all very common questions presented by several students of the class and were perfect representations of the questions Eddie had, as well. It was also interesting to know that approximately 80% of an established record label's artists will lose them money. It is the other 20% that pick up the slack and turn a profit for the company. The newly signed artists are looked upon as prospects to some day fall into the 20% category of money makers. The money makers, primarily 'super groups', are relied upon for generating the revenue to sign as many promising artists as possible. That is why 'super groups' have an obligation to make as much money as possible, not for themselves or the executives, but to expand the budget for new talented artists that need a record deal. A budget will only allow a certain number of new artists.

5. Band Management: A guest speaker of the class included the late great Ed Leffler (Van Halen's manager for many years). He covered the broad scope of responsibilities that his job entailed, including what he looked for in a new act to represent. Eddie enjoyed the infamous 'petition story'. In 1986 when the Van Halen tour dates were announced, they excluded San Diego. Phoenix, which was not on the previous tour, was included. Van Halen had always been one of San Diego's most popular bands. When word was received that they were excluded, the San Diego media contacted Mr. Leffler and inquired about a San Diego date. Mr. Leffler told the San Diego media that he was sorry, but due to scheduling only one date could be scheduled for the region, and it was Phoenix. A local rock station in San Diego (KGB FM) began gathering petitions to send to Ed Leffler attempting to convince him to move the Phoenix show to San Diego. After collecting tens of thousands of signatures, Ed Leffler was convinced. He canceled the show in Phoenix and moved it to San Diego.