sending in demos to labels

Speakafreaka

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I'm just about to bite the bullet, and send some stuff in to labels, to see wether they will be willing to publish any of it.

Now i've finally cracked the kick drum (many, many thanks to you lot!)dilemma, thigns are progressing much more smoothly, and i have a track or two that might just be good enough!

What is the best way to go about things? Carpet bombing, or precision hits? I would really love to walk into a club and hear one of my tracks making people go nuts! that would be a huge rush for me!

How should i present myself to prospective labels in otherwords? i have no idea what is the accepted norm. Do I want to be the norm? agghhh.

Any advice?
 
I say "Precision hits", without a shadow of a doubt

exactly one week ago i had a phone call from sweden, someone confirming he wanted a track of mine for a compil. At one stage I thanked him at which point he said, "no, no, i thank YOU, for sending me this music..."

he proceeded to explain that he receives dozens of awful demos with no relation to his label... apparently all the ibiza kids send a demo to perfecto, then when they hear nothing, send it to every other label whose website has the word "trance" mentioned, without bothering to notice they mean goa trance or psytrance... he ends up with a stack of music he's not slightly interested in... So, take the time to research labels' styles and send only to the related ones so u dont waste anybody's time.

other than that i got 3 bits of advice.

1. regarding walking into a club and hearing your tune. labels arent necessarily the (only) way-- i've never actually heard any of psy played at clubs or parties, but i know it has happened - in uk, france, belgium, canada, india... and thats without them being signed... Just hook up with djs who like your style. How? Erm...well they come to me usually. I just post my tracks on loads of forums and so on, and get PMs saying "can i get a cd of that"... send em CDs... voila

2. presentation

well... the basic demo package is pretty simple. a CD: probably no point in putting on more than, say, 4 tracks, as they dont have time to listen to an albums worth. Clearly tracklisted. Whilst some people say "the music speaks for itself", i like to include a brief bio...

Speakafreaka, a 23 year old from Azerbajan, began making psytrance 3 years. With a distinctive style that blends tribal full-on with Bulgarian Polka, his tracks are rapidly becoming legendary in the Azerbajani scene, with dj support from...

Or whatever. Any 'credibility' you can crowbar in here to prove you're not a total joker, the better.

3. contacts. sending to labels 'blind' is likely (but not entirely guaranteed) to achieve nothing. sending to someone you 'know' and who is expecting your CD is much much more likely to get listened to. if you're trying to harvest destinations from the web, then try emailing them instead of just copying down the postal address. ask if they are interested in a demo, and (if it doesnt already say), the NAME of the A&R guy who you should address it to.

It is worth chasing people up if you expect a response, too. (Again, in theory, you could say they will simply never get back to you if you dont prod them, but in practice i have actually had that rule broken, and some very nice people got back to me without reminding, after i sent it to them blind... only 2 out of dozens of demos though)
 
the first track should generally be your best track too ;)
 
If all else fails, try to bribe them with cocaine and prostitutes.
 
Good thread - I've had tunes ready to send out for a while, but have been umming and aaahing for ages. Half the problem for me is deciding which tunes to select for the demo!!
Then I get slowed down by thinking about a cover and other pretty features...
Still, I have the commitment and I'll get the off in the end, and I will hear my music in a club one day!!!

GOod luck speakafreaka!
 
Rory Monster:

Good luck to you to mate ;) perseverance is the key i reckon. Don't worry, we'll get there :)

Soliptic:

Thanks for the good advice ;) this is exactly what i was after.

Opia:

Duely noted, and agreed with, my twenty minute chord progressions will not be making an appearnce ;)

Ott:

In this order, or perhaps the other way around, or indeed why not encourage them to discover which their own personal preference is?
 
Record companies can be funny, give your music to djs at partys and to promoters face to face, djs like to get free unreleased music that would be the most direct way of getting your music heard in the clubs and parties.
 
Full steam ahead, the demos are flying out of the studio today.

Who knows, maybe I'll get somewhere! Thanks for the advice guys, would have been even more a shot in the dark otherwise. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
 
Hey, you can always send some demos to us at Ketuh Records, we're always up for promoting new talent ;) :peace: :) :wizard1:
 
just like to let it be known - organic are ALWAYS up for hearing new music :-)

cheers speeka!

Andrew
 
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