How to get signed?

[picato]

Not because I'm planning to become signed by my self for the moment, but I'm just interested in how peolple do it. Especially these days when most music sounds pretty the same and there are more than enough people with their own home studios. Do they just send their demos to record companies or what? Also interesting is that most peolpe making pro dance music and gets signed seemes to be DJs, how come?

[Juho L]

As it goes for electronic music demos I think that at least on trance scene where 99% producers sound alike (they do, no arguments on this one) the key is to attract attention or make friends with people who have contacts on "higher levels". For example giving your tracks to DJ's who then might give those tracks to other DJ's and eventually it attracts attention of the record companies.

But if you think that your music is different than the other lot (or your music is not DJ oriented), send demos. I think that if you have personal sound and have something special in your music, you're very likely going to get a record contract through demos.

I bet that all bigger companies get loads of demos that sound alike. As the rule of any kind of demo recording is that if it doesn't attract listener's interest less than in minute, it's thrown away and forgotten. If you get about twenty demo CD's a day you really don't have time to listen to them all completely. Other thing is that most of the demos aren't listened at all. Why's that? Because of the cover. If your demo looks like it's made in two minutes (burning included) it's not very attracting. Make good covers. Spend time on your demo. Show that you have taken trouble to make the demo.

Another effective way is to show the record company fellows that you want a record contract. If you have a live act or you're DJ'ing your own stuff send them a letter (not e-mail, a real letter) and ask them to see your live performance. This of course requires that the event is near the record company people. For example calling people from UK to see your live set in Bulgaria isn't a good idea.

In a nutshell that's what I'd do.

[Panopticon]

I really would have no idea about how to go about it in electronic music; I'm in industrial/alt-rock in the US, and it's pretty easy to pick up an idie label deal and get endorsements, etc, if you know the right formula to follow. But they don't pay the big bucks; you still have to get a major label deal for that; and a major label deal is still difficult to attain. Like Juho said, it works a lot better if you're able to meet someone who's connected (versus all the people who 'say' they have connections).

[Juho L]

I really would have no idea about how to go about it in electronic music; I'm in industrial/alt-rock in the US, and it's pretty easy to pick up an idie label deal and get endorsements, etc, if you know the right formula to follow. But they don't pay the big bucks; you still have to get a major label deal for that; and a major label deal is still difficult to attain. Like Juho said, it works a lot better if you're able to meet someone who's connected (versus all the people who 'say' they have connections).

Yes. It's fairly easy to get signed on a very small labels, but that way your releases will be very limited like in author's editions. Hardly no marketing or advertising and very narrow distribution network. If you plan to make a living with your music, tiny labels are useless and more like "releasing for fun" companies.

But tiny labels can be a good place to start from. If you build name on the small labels and for example sell few hundred records (which is very good on a tiny label in mariginal music), it's very likely that a bigger label will contact you (good sales on tiny label is usualy a sign of a talent).

Edit: And as you mentioned about a rock band, in that case the importance of live performance is very high. I've heard many times about cases where a band has got a contract just by a live performance. No demos, just word of mouth. A record company bloke heard about a good band, went to see the live performance and then contacted the band and signed a contract. That's very usual case in basic band section.

[jasedee]

Only one way.......make amazing music!

(or churn out some kylie minogue flavoured pop!)

[3o3]

Alot of my friends has been signed to small record-companies and from there they'll get bigger recordcompanies signing them instead.

Or as all other say: get yourself contacts with in recordcompanies..

Like me, my two "releases" are based in a small record company and i still i had to use my contacts for it, well - maybe i could send out demos but i dont want to do that.

Or write Britney Spears pop with influences from the 80ies

[Hollowcell]

Only one way.......make amazing music!

(or churn out some kylie minogue flavoured pop!)

Hehe, what are you saying? Kylie minogue's music isn't any good! 8O

And you 303....slamming Britney's formular based, over marketed music. Shame on you!

Hey, where is Machinegun Joe with this thread? If he were here, I'm sure he would say "start making general midi tunes for mas-marketed mobile phones from Korea first".. That's a joke by the way machine gun... :D

[Juho L]

Only one way.......make amazing music!

But what about trance people?

[Tomer=Trance]

stfu juho :lol:

[3o3]

Hollow: now now - britney has a unbelivable musical talent..

..


..


..


..


errrr

.. hahah

[Juho L]

stfu juho :lol:

But really: How a trance producer can get signed by his/her music, when everyone on trance scene just copies old and sound the same?

[Tomer=Trance]

well i can say the same thing about rock but you dont see alot of people complain about that do you?
yeah good vocalicts\singers can change everything im sure you can agree with that.

trance is not in his days of originality but i still enjoy it and so do alot of other people
same with every other style of electric\non electrinic ganer of music.

[Juho L]

well i can say the same thing about rock but you dont see alot of people complain about that do you?
yeah good vocalicts\singers can change everything im sure you can agree with that.

There are lot's of personal productions on rock scene. Of course there are always the rubbish heard-before productions, but from time to time there comes really innovative stuff. Especially on lyrics section the grains are sepperated from husks and a singer with personal sound and style is nice.

trance is not in his days of originality but i still enjoy it and so do alot of other people
same with every other style of electric\non electrinic ganer of music.

I didin't say no-one enjoys trance. I just meant that with plain music there's no way to get a contract in trance scene (except if you make something persona, which is rarely heard event). Big trance contracts are got with good contacts, not with music.

[Hollowcell]

Oh oh, I see another fight thread looming!

And I'm glad you have seen the light about Britney there 303 :lol: .

[Tomer=Trance]

hehe maybe hollow.. maybe... :lol:
your right about the contacts alright :lol:
i like to think it terms of sounds electronic music is endless
maybe people imitate others but some dont (a rear view i know but it exists :) )

[Juho L]

i like to think it terms of sounds electronic music is endless

Electronic music is indeed endless in possibilities, but still trance marks time and artists instead of developing the genre copy the old stuff. Very innovative... not. Imitating is a good thing - every musician imitates others - but when the imitating developes to plain copying, we have a problem. There's a strange trend in that scene that artists think "I want my tracks to sound like that" instead of "I want my tracks to sound me".

maybe people imitate others but some dont (a rear view i know but it exists :) )

Once in a while someone thinks up something new and all of a sudden everybody is copying that style. I just think it's plain stupid. Why is it so? Why?!

[Tomer=Trance]

i agree on that