The best way to get in contact with a record label?

[Krumbz]

Krumbz 10 Rules to Rockstardom...

1. Get a GOOD manager. 15 - 20 %. No more. (Google, search forums, TAXI, the Wendy Day Coalition, Felicia Booker at DynamicProducer.com etc)

2. Find an investor. Someone to provide you with enough funds to get your "Demo" into the right hands or at least in the ballpark. (Something like marketing it but not quite).

3. DON'T SHOTGUN YOUR DEMO TO VARIOUS RECORD LABELS MAJOR OR INDIE! (Which means if you don't have a contact there either make one or don't send your material without prior notification... cuz it WILL get thrown DIRECTLY into the trashcan!)

4. Once you do find an interest from a label... hire a GOOD Entertainment Lawyer. He will do all the negotiating for you and hopefully won't Effffffff you over THAT bad. :)

5. Hustle. Schmooze. Talk. Search. Market. Be humble but confident in your material when you do get the chance to show it off to someone in some form or another.

6. DON'T SPAM ANYTHING ANYWHERE AT ANYTIME.

7. If you're NOT 100% sure that you have what it takes... find a way to believe in yourself or DON'T get into this business.

8. Get signed and finally become "cool".

9. Sleep with supermodels and hire concubines to clip your toenails.

10. Invite me over for triznain... thats Triznathaniel to you...

* Follow these 10 SIMPLE rules and you will be well on your way to being a famous person. If these 10 rules do NOT result in you getting signed or becoming famous... efff off... it was never in the contract.

** On the other hand if following these 10 rules directly or indirectly leads you to a record deal of any kind then, as stated in Clause 89:B12, Krumbz, from now on referred to as OWNER, will receive any and all album advances along with any privileges including but not limited to: 99.9% of all publishing rights, writing royalties, performing royalties, mechanical royalties and a kiss on the cheek.

Goodluck!

Easy

Krumbz
Jerzy

[Krumbz]

Yup.

[edcampos]

I have a few friends who are very successful entertainment attorneys (representing both artists and labels) and presidents of record label. Anyone interested in this sort of thing feel free to PM/email me. I will try to help out. All the best,

Ed

[The Byre]

Some points for all of you here (from an old hand who has been in this business for 40 years or more!) -

1. Play your song ONCE to some old relative. Now ask them to whistle it or sing the chorus. If they have forgotten it already, bin it. It does not pass the famous 'old grey whistle test.' (This was the test publishers at the Brill Building in NY used with the old doorman there!)

2. Nearly all labels bin all demos sent through the mail for legal reasons. They even state this on their websites. They also bin them for the obvious reasons that they just do not have the time to go through hundreds of demos every day - and the simple fact that anybody can knock up a fantastic demo. That doesn't tell them much.

3. All labels I have ever worked with look at local TV, concerts, festivals and that sort of thing for their next new talent. I was with somebody last night from a label and she was watching the Gaelic programmes and a band came on that played a local festival that she had missed. "That's the sort of thing we are looking for!" she said. She will get an aid now to talk to that band.

4. If a label likes you, they will start to investigate your fan base. When they go to a concert, they are more interested in the audience, than in you.

5. Don't expect anybody to be interested in an act that does not play live.

[edcampos]

Originally Posted by The Byre

Some points for all of you here (from an old hand who has been in this business for 40 years or more!) -

1. Play your song ONCE to some old relative. Now ask them to whistle it or sing the chorus. If they have forgotten it already, bin it. It does not pass the famous 'old grey whistle test.' (This was the test publishers at the Brill Building in NY used with the old doorman there!)

2. Nearly all labels bin all demos sent through the mail for legal reasons. They even state this on their websites. They also bin them for the obvious reasons that they just do not have the time to go through hundreds of demos every day - and the simple fact that anybody can knock up a fantastic demo. That doesn't tell them much.

3. All labels I have ever worked with look at local TV, concerts, festivals and that sort of thing for their next new talent. I was with somebody last night from a label and she was watching the Gaelic programmes and a band came on that played a local festival that she had missed. "That's the sort of thing we are looking for!" she said. She will get an aid now to talk to that band.

4. If a label likes you, they will start to investigate your fan base. When they go to a concert, they are more interested in the audience, than in you.

5. Don't expect anybody to be interested in an act that does not play live.

Bingo!

[MarkRB]

Do some research.

SonyBMG A&R in the UK are now 'strongly encouraged' to write a public blog and I know Warners UK are starting to do the same thing.
You can find their names and send them a nice email. Maybe an mp3?

It's not hard, they are in the Yellow Pages.

[DamnYankee]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Record labels have almost never signed anybody based on music because any idiot can go out and hire the best producers and songwriters available. They only sign artists who can demonstrate that they have the ability to draw and engage audiences.

All a demo does is help people make a decision about an artist being worth going out to see. A video showing an audience going nuts will probably do you a lot more good than any music recording.

Very true...but I loath this image vs music equation the Labels seem to use. Tom Scholz/Boston wrote/recorded one of the biggest selling debut albums in the history of recorded music based solely on music alone. Those songs from that album get regular airplay even today. So it makes me wonder how many more Tom Scholz's are out there who were natural music geniuses but were turned away because someone at A&R decided the artist didn't have "the look".

For me, the Madonna, Metallica, & Nirvana homogenized, on-stage clones have grown very stale. I miss the music of the 50's/60's/70's where most "artists" wrote their own music, played their own music, and strived for their own signature sound.

[The Byre]

Originally Posted by DamnYankee

For me, the Madonna, Metallica, & Nirvana homogenized, on-stage clones have grown very stale. I miss the music of the 50's/60's/70's where most "artists" wrote their own music, played their own music, and strived for their own signature sound.

I agree totally.

Not only do I agree, but so do most people in the A&R depts. at labels. So do the people that sign off on major investments in acts at those labels.

But it doesn't matter. Nobody give a toss what you or I or the A&R girl at Sony think. Or even what the CEO thinks.

Most normal people reach for the off-button the moment anything from U2 and all that drivel-rock that followed them comes on the radio. These acts drone on and on, completely without structure or key changes. They think they are the second Nirvana or Madonna or whatever, when in reality they are the very worst thing you can be in show business - boring.

But non of that matters.

All that matters is do enough people out there (whereever 'there' is!) like it for us to invest a large sum on money in it.

Think of media companies as banks. If you go to a bank, looking for a loan, with an idea for a business, all the clerk there will ask himself is 'Does this idea have legs? Will the turkey fly? Does the guy-girl have the track record and knowhow to pull this off and will we therefore make a profit?'

He or she does not care if you are making porn videos or step-ladders.

It's no good blaming labels for the demise of good music, blame the little Millhouses all over the World that buy into bland and unimaginative drivel.

[mix-it-well]

Myspace will help a lot.
I mean you can get in touch with nearly every A&R or manager through myspace...just ask them for an email adress to send tracks to ,you would be suprised how much industry guys answer. If they actually listen to your material is another thing ,my experience is ,that maybe about 10% of them really listen to the tracks & give feedback.

The door is open from there ,just don't send any crap to them and they will keep asking for more tracks.
Also if you are a songwriter ,contact the artists directly!

[Infernal Device]

Unless you know someone or have buckets of money, going after a record deal is like chasing the horizon.

Many people will take your money and say you are "so close" and just need more money.

Of course there are exceptions. I would not bank my entire career on hoping to be an exception (and that is coming from someone who lives solely from producing albums).

[8th_note]

Think of media companies as banks. If you go to a bank, looking for a loan, with an idea for a business, all the clerk there will ask himself is 'Does this idea have legs? Will the turkey fly? Does the guy-girl have the track record and knowhow to pull this off and will we therefore make a profit?'

I've often explained to young bands that indie labels are like venture capital firms. They make very high risk investments in unproven acts. They are lucky if 1 in 10 of those investments pays off well but if it does it finances the next 10.

The better track record a band has, the more likely an indie label is to invest. If the band has played live for awhile, inspires its audiences, and has sold some CDs it looks a lot better than a brand new band with no history.

If a venture capital firm finances a startup company they pretty much own it. It's their money that got the thing going and if it pays off big they expect to get a substantial share of the profit. As a band you have to look at an indie label the same way. Their dream in many cases is to sell your contract to a major label after you've broken out big time. You may have little say in where you end up.

One more point. The label is betting on the professionalism and stability of the band as much as they are betting on the consumer appeal. If all your ducks are lined up to seek a record deal you want to portray your band as professionally as possible. If the label perceives that the lead singer is a prima donna and may quit the band any minute, or that the main song writer is a flaky drug user, they aren't going to risk their money on you.

It's hard to get a clear perspective but ask yourself this question. "If I had $100,000 in the bank, and it was all the money I had, would I invest all of my own money into this band right now?"

[Sqye]

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best way to get in touch with a label....



...smoke signals....

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[Randall]

Find the President of the labels personal parking space and take a huge dump in it.

[CDS]

Originally Posted by no ssl yet

You should soundscan 5k a week and have a bunch of BDS adds.

That my friend will get you in touch with them.

As sarcastic as you may think this^ sounds, it's actually one of the best answers.

There are no more development and A&R at labels, only a big fan to blow the flame, which means you have to make yourself a hot ticket.

If you can achieve this, you may even find that you're making more on your own than with a record label in this day and age.

We are updating our system with Soundscan for February release. If you want to catch the attention of bigger sponsorship, then you will need to perform on the charts in which they use as a bible.

[Sqye]

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semaphore.....




oh

also..............krumbz's rules are in full effect.....

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[No4PCs]

You must need to have a kind of 2 Pittbulls and a machine gun.