Getting signed?

ClutchIt

Hey,

My band just finished our demo, I'm really happy with it. I think we have great potential and am confident there would be interest in us. We play electro/hiphop/metal stuff. But what the hell do we do now? Just get gigging again I suppose. We haven't gigged in months just gettin this ready.
Do any labels show interest before seeing the group live, as in just off the back of the demo we'll send? Any advice would be great, cheers,
Mike

judas101

post up the demo so we can listen

ClutchIt

Oh shoot, forgot to say it's not quite mixed yet, so it will be ready on wednesday. No point in sticking it up till thats done

MagicMarker

I wouldn't bother sending your demo anywhere. Chances are it'll just be dumped without ever getting a listen. Save those copies and give them out at gigs instead. Word of mouth is much more effect than an post.

DSB

Do send it off places. But send it in a proper presspack so that you look professional from the get-go. But a demo alone is unlikely to do much for you. Get out there, gig and build up a fanbase.

ChainFireMetal

As DSB said put together a press pack. Biography, photos ect. Record companies get lots and lots of demos every day, you want to put effort into yours so that it stands out.

Dord

Try get some more gigs, higher profile gigs. Find out if any similar international bands are playing in the next few months, contact the promoter and ask if you can do the support. Obviously you'll need your demo and a press pack.

A lot of record companies won't accept unsolicited material and will just bin it.

NeMiSiS

Record companies won't "generally" give a rats ass about you unless you have queues going out the doors of your gigs. They are not willing to hand out money like they used to.
You should put in your own ground work as in;

Have an established fan base
Have material ready to put on say two albums
Have pre-productions of this material done.
Have your art work/logo design/poster/fliers future album - CD/EP designs done.
Everything you can do yourself - do.

Approach it like a business because that is all it is, and they are investors.
Imagine you had a new product and you wanted funding, when you go to an investor you need to show them you have all your groundwork done, that you have invested your own time and effort in the product, and you are not going to them and saying "Hey I need money!"

Best of luck.

TK

JimiTime

^^ Yep, what he said. Its the unfortunate reality of the business these days. Whereas, in the past companies would invest in a band by giving a developing deal, not no more. They are looking for the sure thing. I'd be dubious about doing anything with 'any' Irish label. they have very little clout in the bigger picture. Try do it yourself, buy a book like 'all you need to know about the record industry' by Dan Passman. Great advice in that. Even old independants like 'Sanctuary Records' are sticking to signing established artists who are out of contract with other labels. Get the knowledge, and do it yourself. Yes, send your demo about, yes court the record companies, but DIY also, certainly don't rely on them. Also, beware of their bullsh1t. When i was in my 1st band, I was about 16, and very naive, they really played with us and it was heartbreakin in the end. Just don't believe their cr@p until you see some return from them.
Best of luck.

Oh yeh, and don't believe the myths about a band, like oasis, who played this gig and Alan McGee saw them and just snapped them up. There'll be a number of gigs and probably a number of demo's. Or, these days, your myspace page gettin thousands of hits

Frankiestylee

Some good advice there, some terrible advice... but saying which is which really depends on your situation. All record companies aren't the same. You've got major record labels who may have the money, but will quite possibly ruin your lives. There are loads of examples in Ireland of bands getting signed by a major, getting the advance, making the album, not selling enough... getting left with the advance looming over their heads and their asses owned by a record label that wants to cut label losses. Ok, so if you have a mad successful release with a major label you're likely to be rolling in the cash, but hey, that's a chance on top of a chance.
Take the independant record label business model, there are loads of them about and as they become more successful they can start changing the way they operate, but basically there are totally differant ways of playing the game.

We recently got signed to an indie label. What attracted interest in the first place was the material... not playing a load of gigs. Then we were seen in a live (and less then ideal) setting & apparently pulled that off. Then we went into the studio off our own backs and the product was still considered a high quality. Then we got signed. We didn't know we were being considered for anything like that, we were just doing what we do. Nobody came up to us with a neon "I work for a label" sign. The initial contact was admittedly a complete fluke, we were overheard in a rehearsal room, so obviously it's not a tried and tested method that's easy to copy.

Just do everything as if it's always important, because, well, it is. Give every gig your all, act with a bit of cop on when dealing with people and just be genuine. Possibly the most important bit of advice is to be patient. I was in a band where it fell apart because some members thought they'd be playing "bigger gigs" after a few months. I still chuckle when I think back to that. Nothing wrong with ambition, but some people start acting like rockstars for no reason, and if you've already got a bad attitude then no-one'll want to work with ya.

miju

NeMiSiS wrote: »

Have an established fan base
Have material ready to put on say two albums
Have pre-productions of this material done.
Have your art work/logo design/poster/fliers future album - CD/EP designs done.
Everything you can do yourself - do.

Approach it like a business because that is all it is, and they are investors.
Imagine you had a new product and you wanted funding, when you go to an investor you need to show them you have all your groundwork done, that you have invested your own time and effort in the product, and you are not going to them and saying "Hey I need money!"

excellent post and you will do well to follow it

JimiTime wrote: »

^^ Yep, what he said. Its the unfortunate reality of the business these days. Whereas, in the past companies would invest in a band by giving a developing deal, not no more. They are looking for the sure thing. I'd be dubious about doing anything with 'any' Irish label. they have very little clout in the bigger picture. Try do it yourself, buy a book like 'all you need to know about the record industry' by Dan Passman. Great advice in that. Even old independants like 'Sanctuary Records' are sticking to signing established artists who are out of contract with other labels. Get the knowledge, and do it yourself. Yes, send your demo about, yes court the record companies, but DIY also, certainly don't rely on them. Also, beware of their bullsh1t. When i was in my 1st band, I was about 16, and very naive, they really played with us and it was heartbreakin in the end. Just don't believe their cr@p until you see some return from them.
Best of luck.

Oh yeh, and don't believe the myths about a band, like oasis, who played this gig and Alan McGee saw them and just snapped them up. There'll be a number of gigs and probably a number of demo's. Or, these days, your myspace page gettin thousands of hits

i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you are still naive :rolleyes:

just to follow up on what FrankieStylee says about indie labels. there are some excellent labels which will get you a good grounding. there are of course many terrible ones who will do more damage to your band than anything else in the long run ;);););)

Jelly 292

i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you are still naive

Whats naive about the post

JimiTime

miju wrote: »

i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say you are still naive :rolleyes:

It would be good manners to qualify that statement with a reason? Maybe then you could give me the benefit of your experience of which I'm assuming is extensive?

Frankiestylee

miju wrote: »

just to follow up on what FrankieStylee says about indie labels. there are some excellent labels which will get you a good grounding. there are of course many terrible ones who will do more damage to your band than anything else in the long run ;);););)

Yeah, as with anything there are good and bad examples. I'd avoid someone locking you in with an overly long contract, especially if they haven't done much work with ye before. It's alright if you're David Bowie and the company knows you'll keep crankin' out material, but as a young band you have to ask yourself why label x wants you to sign up for 10 years etc, because if they actually did a good job they wouldn't be afraid of you going elsewhere, if ya get me.
Also, try and maintain as much control over your material as possible, though I guess that's a given.

MagicMarker

Basically, what everyone is trying to say is have a bit of cop on. Don't worry about getting signed, if it happens it happens, just put the odds in your favour and work your asses off in the mean time. There's only speculation in this thread as to the do's and don'ts. Just be smart and take everything your told with a pinch of salt, either by fellow musicians or labels. When it comes to contracts, don't be afraid to say no if you don't think the deal is right. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be.