I'm creating this thread because there are a lot of producers I see here on the boards wondering, "How do I get my tracks released? Who should I send them to? What can I do to increase my chances of getting a big label to sign my material?" I've taken some time to outline some important points, as well as bring in quotes from a lot of articles and interviews with label owners. You'll find in the end, they tend to follow the same basic trends when evaluating producers demos.
Disclaimer: No, I'm not a huge big shot producer, signed with Anjunabeats, touring the globe. And admittedly, I have broken some of these rules along the way. But, I've done my fair share of researching this over the past couple years, and asking questions to guys I've come to know in the industry. And what follows below is very true in my experience thus far, and I think any other guys on here running labels and having tracks released can attest to the validity of what I'm about to say.
****BEFORE YOU START MARKETING*****
Solid, Quality Track(s)
Before even thinking of your marketing/signing plan, you need to have a solid product. Many threads have been started here and elsewhere with new producers asking, "What 'image' do I need to portray? How many listens on soundcloud do I need to have?" Forget all that. I'm putting this as #1, because you need to have a solid track down before all else; good production quality, creative writing/arranging, and concrete understanding of what sound you are trying to achieve with your track. Chances are, if you've been producing for a while (by while, I don't mean a couple months) you probably have a fairly good idea whether your track is quality or not to send to a label. If you aren't sure, utilize the track submission sub-forum and ask for feedback on it. (Do NOT use this forum to continuously spam for listens and comments with no interest in taking feedback.)
All in all, don't send a turd out to a label; if you do that enough times they'll start to ignore you. Also, there's enough crap on the charts right now, the world doesn't need more, so make sure it's well-done
****NOW LET'S TALK DEMOS****
Assuming you have done the above, now some notes from 'Attack Magazine': Kristan J Caryl interviews industry figures [sparsed throughout, thank you to @MacarizeLive for the link] -->
http://www.attackmagazine.com/featur...rack-released/
KNOW THE LABEL!!!!
Some notes from Macarize's Kristoffer Ljungerg --> http://www.twitlonger.com/show/lbnltm“I’m aware some people’s understanding of music is not really chin stroker-y, but some of the stuff I get sent is outrageous,” laughs Jamie Russell of*Hypercolour, Glass Table, Losing Suki and Space Hardware association. “It’s as if they haven’t even checked what we do. Or they heard*Huxley’s ‘Let It Go’, think it’s a big electro track like Afrojack or some shit and send us something that’s so far off the mark it’s unbelievable. I can tell when someone really likes the label and listens to all we do versus someone who’s just checked one or two tracks.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by most label bosses as the number one rule of submitting demos: only send to labels which will be interested in your style of music.
Notes from Raz Nitzan, of Adrian Raz Recordings (worked with Armin, Sander Van Doorn, Ferry Corsten, and more) --> http://trancehub.com/music/product/1...ls-raz-nitzan/I got the question from someone today if I had any advice for him as an aspiring producer who wants to be signed on Macarize. I thought about it and one thing came to mind. No matter what label you want to release your music on, you should make sure that the music you plan on submitting is equal to the stuff on the label or preferably even better. Try to be as honest as possible to yourself and don't rush things. If you on the other hand don't feel that your music is as good as the stuff already released on your favourite label, maybe you should go back to the drawing table and make the necessary adjustments in order to give your track that extra edge.
To achieve this you need to be very self-critical, patient and have honest and skilled people around you who constantly help you with feedback. If you time after time send material that aren't on par with the rest of the stuff, you will slowly become less interesting for the A&R's and if you're really unlucky, they won't even listen to your next submission. I know this may sound harsh, but it's the truth.
So, to sum up, be prepared and give it all you got and a little bit more before you approach ANY label.
1.*Don’t send me demos with all labels on CC.*If you won’t bother sending me a personal mail, I won’t bother checking it!
2. Don’t send “An almost finished track”, “A two minutes preview” or “Unmastered track”,*send The Best track – you’ve EVER sent! You have a one time momentum!
3.*Don’t send more than one track at a time,*we’re not looking for an album deal! Nail a single deal and the Album might follow! One step at a time please!
4.*Please Don’t send wav files…!*A private streaming link such as soundcloud is perfect… streaming while driving (where we do our most listening) is easier!
5.*Don’t send tracks with samples of somebody else’s copyright!*If you are not sure – check it first or mention it on your demo pitch!
6. Your email should be in English! Not a joke! And it should include*CLEAR Track Name, Artist name and your Contact details…
7.*Don’t send a copy of track already released*on one of our labels… If we’ve already released the original why would I need a copy?
8.*Send music that’s relevant to the Label you are sending it to… or please don’t send me Rap, R&B, Country, Metal, Minimal, Techno, etc. Nothing against any of these… I just wouldn’t know what to do with them during office hours!
9. Please*don’t*send Reminders or*ask on Twitter – “did you listen to my demo?”*It’s our job to find new music and the next big thing.
10. Please don’t send us a*“new track” that you have already posted on forums and shares with 999 people*on soundcloud with a free DL link…
The ten Don’ts kinda make the “Ten things to do” when sending your demo rather easy:
1.*Study your music scene*and send your demo to the perfect Label with the perfect relevant sound to fit and compliment your work, style and sound!
2 . When sending the label your demo – write in English and clearly all the relevant information:*Artist Name, Track name, Contact details, Style, BPM etc… Some additional information about previous releases can be helpful and make a difference!
3. Send a*personal message to one A&R / Label at a time.
4. Send your Best track EVER! Almost finished is not good enough.
5.*Send ONE track at a time! Land the deal for this one track and you pave the way to the next one and the next one and the next one!
6.*Send a streaming link (Dropbox or Soundcloud for example) so Labels won’t need to download your track before hearing it! First I wanna hear it and then decide if I wanna download it!
7.*Send original music.*We might all share the same heart but we kinda look a bit different from the outside! Bring what makes you a bit different into your music!
8.*Send only unreleased work. Unreleased meaning – no forums, no soundcloud, no youtube, no DJs friends playing it before a Label gets to sign it. This is a tough one… I know… Labels are much more likely to wanna sign an unshared unexposed track!
9.*Say your prayer or whatever ritual you wanna have*then send the track and immediately start producing your next track! Hassling A&Rs rarely works so don’t waste time on “did you listen to my demo?”. It’s our job to do it! Your job it to show up and deliver your next record! Quantity often bring quality. Quality often brings success.
10. Get signed!
Best of success to all you amazingly talented musicians out there! We’ve been waiting for you!
Quality over Quantity
Delivery Format - Know what the labels wants/expectsHypercolour, Tsuba and Defected all agree that three or four tracks is the most you should be sending. Turbo go one further. “Send as few as possible to get the point across,” says Von Party. “Send your best. Never advertise that things are unfinished; it’s insulting. There’s no need to say things are unmixed or unmastered either… In a way, the less said the better.”
What Not To DoThe second biggest rule also crops up across the board, pertaining to method of delivery.*”The biggest no-no for me is MP3s attached to emails,” says Andy Daniell, A&R Manager at*Defected. “They clog up your inbox and crash your email program. A SoundCloud stream is far preferable as you can check quickly and download if it feels relevant. Also, private links are nicer… Something that puts you off a record is seeing that you’re one of 50 people the track’s been emailed to, or that it’s been available publicly on SoundCloud for nine months and it’s only had 100 plays. That doesn’t inspire confidence!”
Jamie Russell is even more explicit: “Labels like to feel special. If we see something we like it’s easy to go off it if you see it’s been sent to ten other labels as well, because no one really wants to get into a bidding war at this independent level. That’s just a massive fucking turn off, to be honest.”
Having a Profile“Stuff has to be sent to the demo email address!” exclaims the sole force behind every part of the*Tsuba*operation, Kevin Griffiths. “Don’t talk to me on Facebook chat either! Some days you just get randoms firing links at you. ‘Hey bro, here’s my new demo!’*Sigh. I allocate time to listening to demos and I don’t want to get interrupted in the middle of it.”
You must also remember at this stage that this isn’t a personal process. Label staff don’t have time to reply to every single demo they get. Rather than take umbrage, suck up a lack of response and try again next time. It’s brutally simple: if you didn’t hear back, you didn’t make the cut.
“Do not*pester for feedback,” states Thomas Von Party, ‘A&R Slash Vibe Master’ at Canadian imprint*Turbo Recordings. Nobody wants to look like a loser begging for advice on how to improve their rejected track. Which leads directly onto the next issue.
Narrow Your Focus; Choose Your Target(s) WiselyUnlike Joy, not everyone can be lucky enough to land on a big label with their first release, but there are ways you can manufacture your own profile even without the help of an established outlet. Building up a bit of a reputation before you approach labels is a sure way to make them pay attention, especially in the modern age, where just about anyone can release a track digitally off their own back. Even pressing up your own wax can be a good idea, as it proved for the now Defected-aligned Flashmob who self-released 300 vinyl copies of their early tracks like*‘Brick House’, distributed them themselves and generated a buzz in the process.
“It does help to have some level of profile, even if it’s a remix or two or just one release,” says Griffiths. “Being set up with Facebook artist pages, Twitter and SoundCloud – having that end of things covered makes you a more attractive proposition. Even some bigger people don’t have profiles. In this day and age, when you’re trying to promote the stuff, you can’t even tag them, and that’s important.”
"No Magic Formula; Keep The Faith"Dean Muhsin, one half of Bearweasel and co-boss of*Never Learnt, is typically candid in his views: “One thing that worries me is signing something from someone who’s up for getting his music out almost*anywhere, not just places that fit his sound. It makes you think, ‘Hang on, if I put this out and he appears on some naff little label that isn’t promoting stuff properly in the meantime, his reputation’s basically ruined already’. Focus on the labels you care about. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Muhsin continues on that note: “Looking focussed and dedicated is important. One person we signed had just a select few tracks on SoundCloud; he hadn’t put every demo up, which can be a bit of a turn-off because it means it isn’t special. Anyone and everyone could have heard it. It’s good to know people are serious, that they aren’t just chancers. Our latest signing also had a live set in the works, which shows he isn’t just sat there chancing it, he’s obviously committed. For a small label like us, that’s important.”
More notes from Macarize's Kristoffer Ljungerg on doing remixes for labels -->At times, it’s easy to believe that there are hurdles in your path at every step of the demo submission process. But you shouldn’t be disheartened. As long as the music’s good, there are plenty of opportunities out there for artists with no profile whatsoever.
Remember that labels are as keen to unearth the next big thing as you are hell-bent on*being*that next big thing. Consider Turbo, who reckon that most of their roster has been championed from a standing start. Artists like Popof, Proxy, Gesaffelstein, Duke Dumont, JoeFarr and Clouds all came to the label from nowhere. Or look at Hypercolour, which uses its digital offshoot as a breeding and testing ground for new talents.
Sadly, there’s no magic formula for persuading labels to release your music, but a methodical, carefully researched approach with a professional attitude and – of course – great music to back it up will give you the best chance of making a good first impression.
I often wonder what some A&R's/label managers think about when they want remixes for the music they sign. Let's say you sign a summery progressive tune, why on earth would you want a summery progressive remix? I've seen singles being released with 3 remixes and every one of them sounds the same. What's the point of that? When I look for remixers I always think: What style/shape would be cool on this track? How can I make this release even more interesting and appealing to different people and tastes? And when I figure that out, I almost always know where to go. For example, when Atlantis Ocean brought me "Ancient Breed", my first instinct was: Ok, let's release this in an EP and later on try to get Terry Da Libra to remix it. Terry was the first name that popped into my head because I know his style and what he can do, and surely, his remix turned out great. Maybe you don't agree with me and that's fine, but that's a model I try to follow on every release.
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