i think this is pretty accurate for most labels, however, if the label tends to be a bit less specific with their output, an additional 3-4 might be nice. especially if your work has a nice range of deep to hard. know what i mean?
i usually like to get 3 targeted tracks, but like the option of having a couple more in case there's something that grabs me outside of what the producer might think would be my label's sound.
Things I've found when talking to well known labels, however, is that they are looking for consistency... they want artists to have found their sound so that they can be picked up as a complete package. It really depends on the label I guess, but two great travks in one style can certainly disuade an A&R rep when there are two completely different tracks accompanying.
The number one thing is that you have GREAT material. It's easy to get excited after finishing a batch of tracks and want to send it everywhere. My advice is to wait for at least a week, work on some new stuff (however long that takes you.. some people it takes a couple days to write a track, others it takes weeks or even months). Take the very best of all of it and send those.
You also need to be true to yourself and make/promote your own music. Don't get caught up in emulating your favourite artist. Natural influence takes place but don't be trying to make music just for a label that you think likes a certain sound, because the fact is that labels change.
Write the music you want to write and then find an appropriate home for it.
As per number of tracks on demos, keep it short and sweet for maximum impact. 3 tracks is a sort of standard in the music industry in general. Once you have established contact with a label, you have an open door to send more. One rule of thumb: If you can't come up with a combination of 3 tracks that you don't feel insecure about sending, you probably need to think long and hard about whether you are ready to send a demo or not. It's ok to be nervous, but I've found that the best artists tend to be sure of what they are doing and have a definate direction. Rather than trying to buckshot a label with all your tracks, buckshot the industry by sending a 3 track demo to as many labels as possible. Group similar labels together and send a demo to them, and perhaps send a demo with more suiting tracks to another label, etc.. this allows you to get some of those other tracks sent out too which will satisfy the feeling we all get of wanting to make sure everything we do is heard by someone.
Also, don't pester labels with "Hey, if you like, I can send you more.. hope you like it", etc.. they WILL ask if they want more and this only demonstrates insecurity. Cover everything you send with your contact info... they care most about hearing the tracks and being able to contact you if they like them. Don't waste your time with plastering the latest artwork you've come up with in illustrator or photoshop or cool font you just found. It turns away more than it attracts. Don't send something that's a mess either.. just do whatever you have to do to keep it neat and simple.
Artist name, email, website, mailing address, phone number.. all good stuff to have... email and website and artist name seem to be sufficient these days but I find that there are surprisingly alot of labels who claim they don't have much web access, etc, as well (more my experience when dealing with ambient and more experimental labels for whatever reason though). Use your own discretion but make it as easy as possible for them to contact you.
It's also a good idea to hit some of the same labels again with another small demo at least a month or two later if you haven't heard from them.
- Don't send mp3 links per email.
- Don't attach an mp3 in an email.
- Do not ever send impersonal email to 1000 label at once, all with the same message.
- Don't sent a demo without contacting the label first (email, phone).
- Don't send random music (ex. Perlon wouldn't release psy-trance), make sure the tracks you are sending fit the label's direction.
- Don't forget to put your name + EMAIL on the cd (important).
do:
- Get to know the label's releases before sending just to make sure you can discuss about music with them.
- Once you got in touch with the label, feel free to ask how much tracks you can send them. This builds a good relationship with the label at start.
cyhl wrote:but you should contact them before to make sure!
it's funny for me to give this advice since I just sent several unsollicitated emails, hehe
anyway, another questions for the experts... do you think you should do things differently depending whether you're totally unknown or you already have some references behind you?
personnaly (when listening to demos for foundsound), if somebody is totally unknown, I like to have access to more tracks... but I dunno how bigger labels do it (my point of view is probably different from theirs since, even if we get a lot of demos, it's still not totally out of control yet...)
