1. Present yourself as a professional. Contact the label in a professional manner not “easy man I wanna get signed”. Do some research on the labels website to find the correct way of contacting them. Most will have a demo submissions form which will email your submission to the correct email address. Facebook is a great place for getting in contact with representatives of the label but show your professionalism by instead of submitting them your demo there, use this contact to make them aware that you are going to be sending a demo by the correct means.
2. Ask yourself what is a demo. A demo is to showcase your talents as a musician. Show the label what you have to offer. Show them you are not just a producer. You may be a dj with a background of live music in bands. Let them know how versatile you are in music. Your demo could be a single track but all this shows a label is that you can produce music of one style. Are you looking to have a track signed or are you looking to be signed as an artists who will progress through the ranks and have multiple releases. Your demo could be a unique mash up of tracks you have produced in various genres switching between styles really showcasing what a talented producer you are. Remember you need to capture the listeners attention almost instantly.
3. Research what the label releases. If the label releases house music do not send them hip hop or drum and bass. It’s simple to find out what the label is releasing. Most labels will have a discography on their website or a simple google search will give you an idea what the label is releasing. Search the labels releases on sites such as Beatport or Juno Download, this will give you a good idea of what the label is releasing over the last few months. They may not be releasing the same music they began releasing. The music scene is ever changing.
4. See if the label is right for you. Are they going places and moving forward in the direction you want to go in? If you are a dj look at contacting labels with artists signed to them playing out on a regular basis. Once signed to the label you may be asked to support these artists on nights. Some labels will be putting on regular nights so if you are a dj of a good standard look at contacting labels putting on nights.
5. Get to know the artists on the label before contacting them. You may be able to get a recommendation off one of the artists or they may be able to put in a good word for you. If label management have received a recommendation from a reliable source ( an artists signed to them ) they are more likely to take notice of your music.
6. Do not send published tracks on soundcloud. Once a track has been posted to soundcloud chances are it has either been ripped or downloaded. No label will want to run the risk of the track leaking before release. Use a private link or private server link.
7. Send complete work not WIP’s. The time scale from a WIP to a finished product in some cases can be a few months. A label want to hear what the finished professional product will sound like. Have your track mastered professionally to stand out as a professional artist who is investing in their sound.
8. Keep facebook professional, don’t post your life dramas. The label may not want to be associated with unprofessional or negative post. You are representing the label, if they think you are going to bring bad press to the label they will not want to associate with you. This is a good reason to have a page dedicated to your music where you do not post your drama.
9. Use your social media exposure to your advantage. Show the label you have a wide reach and many fans. If you have a facebook page with 5000 likes or twitter page with 3000 followers, let the label know who you will be able to reach once you are signed to them. They will see this as not only a great way for you advertise the release, but also these are potential fans of their label they will obtain by signing you.
10. Get in contact with one label at a time, try not to send your music out to everyone at once. When emailing a label contact them personally. Don’t CC in every other label in your contacts sending the same copy paste email. Make the email unique to them. Try to include text that applies to the label.
