Which record labels accept unsolicited demos

Just to tell you people there are people who are becoming famous without the record labels and their fans are knocking on the radio station doors asking to play their songs.

So who is going to be laughing when the record labels go out of business because the only thing people need to be famous is the agencies. Who get the tour buses and send the singers to sing on stage. There are many paths to success. Most of you are completely ignorant to the business. No one should bother listening to you. You probably should just stay under the rock you have been living under.

If anyone with half a brain can understand this and put what I have said to use you can be very successful. Or go indie! MOST of them are used to being broke. I found out people have brain transplants so you can have no brain and still be living. Music is more about heart then your brain. And I already have people who like my music. I believe its not a record label people need its the agencies that people need. No I put my videos on YouTube and on Facebook and people like my music.

If I become famous it will be without the record labels I still owe money for selling one of my song to a record place and I dont get why its called selling a song if your paying. You forgot broken bow records. I called them and they say they listen. Broken bow records is jason aldeans record label. And I called them im still waiting for them to get back to me. Just be yourself as an artist, network with orher artists and find communities to be part pf both online and in the real world.

If you ever got a deal you would need very gopd communicational skills. At the end of the day if one is willing to search hard enough and start off with a smaller lesser known record label they would in fact ind several that will accept not only unsolicited music but also mp3s and even simple links to a website, YouTube, MySpace etc.

But understandably they look for the next big thing but still! Sad Truth! Very interesting read. The comparison of courting labels the same way you would a soul mate is illuminating to me. It cost me close to two grand to make the record a third what it costs at the bigger studios around here and I make about 50 cents for every disk I sell.

This little he-cup is why I still do these searches and try to learn as much as I can. Any advice on how to start small and constructively build, so I can get out of my hometown someday and maybe not have to work on anything other than my craft would be greatly appreciated.

I was able to get some local press for the release, which did seem to help, but not to the extent that I would have liked. Should I expect about the same type of response in places outside my home town? The reality is that starting a business in any industry is challenging.

Whether you want to open a restaurant, create a software company, or flip real estate, it requires capital investments and a good strategy.

Touring should be treated the same way: is it always about profiting for tour? Well, it depends on what your goal is. If it is to expand your market, sometimes it requires an investment loss lead.

But there are ways around it to cover costs through finding lucrative opportunities such as colleges or finding investors through sponsorships and partnerships. It just depends on your business strategy. In terms of press response, it depends on your pitch and what you have to offer them. Getting press helps get more press, but usually relationships count for a lot more, which is why hiring a publicist is a very good idea for that.

Honestly, if you have any original material, just go to a local recording studio, there are lots around. Spend a little money and put a CD out there. If you are legitimately talented then you will be found. When I first started out writing my own music and teaching myself how to record and mix my own music, I started sending my demos to countless record labels all around the states. I never got the consideration. I know this from experience.

My advice to you is this; create a YouTube channel or a Soundcloud, or any kind of social media outlet that allows you to put out your material, create an email address to use for inquiries in case people are interested in possibly working with you and never brag about your talent. It takes time, effort and patience. This will never come to you overnight. This is my newwest song, only the unmastered version but i beleive that you guys will find it interesting!

Trying to take my career to the next level, if any one has any information, help, advice for me, here is my email : kolkajay gmail. Unfortunately, there are far too many musicians than labels…and far too many people stuck in the old paradigm of making music for a living. The majority of musicians making a living with music now are independent ones. I agree with not seeming desperate, but you have to start somewhere. If that means a demo submission, so be it. You can just play music and expect somebody to just magically find you.

Nobody is going to ignore a fire set right at their feet and potential money. Labels want to make money. This has consistently been the case for nearly five years. It shows that artists are still […]. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account.

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September 20, at pm. Andy Jones says:. September 24, at pm. September 25, at am. G ready says:. May 15, at pm. For this pitch to be effective, the manager has to demonstrate to the label the audience exists for the band to thrive on and the label to profit from. A good manager will make sure the band is ready before pitching them to the label. Other industry people can represent the artist to the label.

Producers and booking agents are two great examples of other industry folk who pitch artists to labels semi-routinely. It is not uncommon for a label to pitch a signed artist to a manager almost as often as vice versa. It is the web-based version of the press kit artists and publicists would send to the media to get reviews and articles written about them.

An EPK contains a bio, images, audio and video recordings, press clippings, and sometimes more, like tour histories, merchandise galleries, and lyrics. For more info, check out our detailed walkthroughs of a great EPK here and here. Here is an article on three things your bio must have. And another article on three things your bio must not have.

When approached by a label, you will need to have an excellent EPK to send them. Make sure your bio tells a compelling story of growth for the band. Be sure your recordings get to the hooks quickly with your best songs available to click first. Lastly, make sure your images and press clippings support the story and recordings well. YouTube and Spotify are the two big platforms in music today. With all due respect to bandcamp and soundcloud and all the other platforms out there, Spotify and YouTube are the places the industry wants to see traction.

Invest time every day in growing your audience on these platforms. Employ a logical strategy and set ambitious, yet achievable goals to grow your stream counts.

Employ an aggressive use of social media, creative and regular content, and any other means at your disposal. A label will have to see growth in your audience over time to a number they believe they can monetize. When you have done the hard work of building the audience that can support you as an artist, the label will be interested in investing their time and money into growing that audience larger. Well, it turns out I've written a whole guide on that subject already.

You can see the best way to get signed to a worthy record deal here. That's up to you. But remember, as unsolicited demos generally don't even get opened they usually get trashed , there's no way for the record label to know if your song's good or not. My advice is to follow the above guide, and work towards earning a record deal instead. So there you have it, why you shouldn't send in unsolicited demos. Do you have any experience with this?

Have you ever sent in a demo a record label hadn't requested? And if so, what kind of responses did you get? I'd love to hear your views, so leave a comment. Remember though, none of what you've learned will matter if you don't know how to get your music out there and earn from it. Want to learn how to do that? In fact, the majority of the advice on this website is based around moving yourself forward without having to rely on others to do you favors.

UK is home to many legendary record labels, some independent, some major and many somewhere in between. Many of these labels were born out of the DIY punk movement in the late 70s, and that DIY ethos continues to inform the attitudes of labels today.