Demo rejects
Demo rejects
I'm slowly getting around to sending out some demos - its crunch time - the rejection I fear and have been postponing imminent! This year is make or break for me.
I was wondering how many have had demos rejected and if so how often, have you become disheartened or more determined because of the experience and do you get any useful feedback?
I was wondering how many have had demos rejected and if so how often, have you become disheartened or more determined because of the experience and do you get any useful feedback?
Re: Demo rejects
it's rare that an artist finds a label with a demo.2bad wrote:I'm slowly getting around to sending out some demos - its crunch time - the rejection I fear and have been postponing imminent! This year is make or break for me.
I was wondering how many have had demos rejected and if so how often, have you become disheartened or more determined because of the experience and do you get any useful feedback?
the label finds you...
that's why i hardly send out demos anymore to labels.
and if i do it, it is because i don't want to regret not doing it. when i'm 50 years old i don't wanna think like "what would have happened if i sent a demo to (fill in label name)...?".
What kind of music do you do? Depending on that there is probably a certain amount of rejection just based on over saturation and at some point might come down to who you know.
I also know several people who just started their own label with an artist roster of just themselves. Some people think things are easier now for artists but I think the opposite is true, too much competition. You can just as easily get wiped off the map by bad artists as good depending on how persistant they are.
I also know several people who just started their own label with an artist roster of just themselves. Some people think things are easier now for artists but I think the opposite is true, too much competition. You can just as easily get wiped off the map by bad artists as good depending on how persistant they are.
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Re: Demo rejects
im sorry but this is almost totally incorrect when it comes to electronic music.pieter wrote:it's rare that an artist finds a label with a demo.2bad wrote:I'm slowly getting around to sending out some demos - its crunch time - the rejection I fear and have been postponing imminent! This year is make or break for me.
I was wondering how many have had demos rejected and if so how often, have you become disheartened or more determined because of the experience and do you get any useful feedback?
the label finds you...
that's why i hardly send out demos anymore to labels.
and if i do it, it is because i don't want to regret not doing it. when i'm 50 years old i don't wanna think like "what would have happened if i sent a demo to (fill in label name)...?".
factors come into play i.e. the labels release schedule perhaps being too full, ur sound suiting them etc etc..
what is correct is that labels dont really sign based on demo's .. they expect a near finished or totally finished product.
you will have to get over yourself and fear of rejection because it WILL get rejected by many labels for various reasons but if its good it will find a home.
80% no reply ever
19% rejects
1% lets make a deal
get used to it.
getting a label deal is not something that will probably happen with your first demo. Unless you know the label people.
your job, with your first demo, should be to get to know some of these people. not to get a record deal (and if you do get one, hooray!).
Send demos to labels, follow up with email, send another demo next year.
Send demos to bands you like. make new friends.
Play shows. Give demos to the bands you open up for.
hang out at the merch table. Maybe the label guys & gals are working there. Give 'em demos. Talk about playing more shows with the label folks.
the, send more demos.
Consider it a success when a label actually listens to your unsolicited demo.
most labels are run by folks like you or me. We dont have enough time to do all the stuff we want to do, or buy all the gear we want. etc... and they are probably getting scores of un-asked-for demos every week. It takes time to listen to all that crap. And, yes, most of it is crap. So when they do listen to your CDr, finally, and actually spend the time & effort to get back to you even just to say "thanks but no" then consider it a success.
If they don't say "never send us crap like that again" then send them a demo next year.
19% rejects
1% lets make a deal
get used to it.
getting a label deal is not something that will probably happen with your first demo. Unless you know the label people.
your job, with your first demo, should be to get to know some of these people. not to get a record deal (and if you do get one, hooray!).
Send demos to labels, follow up with email, send another demo next year.
Send demos to bands you like. make new friends.
Play shows. Give demos to the bands you open up for.
hang out at the merch table. Maybe the label guys & gals are working there. Give 'em demos. Talk about playing more shows with the label folks.
the, send more demos.
Consider it a success when a label actually listens to your unsolicited demo.
most labels are run by folks like you or me. We dont have enough time to do all the stuff we want to do, or buy all the gear we want. etc... and they are probably getting scores of un-asked-for demos every week. It takes time to listen to all that crap. And, yes, most of it is crap. So when they do listen to your CDr, finally, and actually spend the time & effort to get back to you even just to say "thanks but no" then consider it a success.
If they don't say "never send us crap like that again" then send them a demo next year.
Re: Demo rejects
how does that workpieter wrote:
it's rare that an artist finds a label with a demo.
the label finds you...
that's why i hardly send out demos anymore to labels.
and if i do it, it is because i don't want to regret not doing it. when i'm 50 years old i don't wanna think like "what would have happened if i sent a demo to (fill in label name)...?".
my music is various electronic, computer generated, some dancefloor some more laid back. no real musicians, just me and a machine
I realise labels are flooded but surely the cream must rise to the top and if something is good enough it will glisten like gold to whoever has the job of listening. I know people listen to demos because thats how they make money, money is there to be made.
I've never sent demos and I got picked up by being on the internet.
now four releases down the line, I get sent promos from loads of labels and most of it I think is shit. my label boss recently showed me how much demos he gets sent daily and I was flabbergasted. and most of it I think is shit, so after a while you can't be bothered to listen to the same difference over and over again.
depending on what genre you do there are various options you can take.
for electronic music or music with a high collectability, like balearic or stuff like Deepchord, just get a distribution deal and press your own vinyl, if you think it's worth the $1500 of which you'll probably only see $1000 come back to you. this will get you noticed (provided the music is good) and this in turn light lead to other labels, or jobs or ...
now four releases down the line, I get sent promos from loads of labels and most of it I think is shit. my label boss recently showed me how much demos he gets sent daily and I was flabbergasted. and most of it I think is shit, so after a while you can't be bothered to listen to the same difference over and over again.
depending on what genre you do there are various options you can take.
for electronic music or music with a high collectability, like balearic or stuff like Deepchord, just get a distribution deal and press your own vinyl, if you think it's worth the $1500 of which you'll probably only see $1000 come back to you. this will get you noticed (provided the music is good) and this in turn light lead to other labels, or jobs or ...
Set up your own mini label and release it your self and promote the hell out of it. I have been doing this for a few years now and The sales are getting better each month. Its rare that you could ever do it as a main living, but atleast you own all your rights and have the freedom to do what you want.
You can use someone like Tunecore.com to get you on the main download stores, kunaki.com for pressing limited cd runs and then sell these from your site + cdbaby + amazon etc
Just another option like
Steve
You can use someone like Tunecore.com to get you on the main download stores, kunaki.com for pressing limited cd runs and then sell these from your site + cdbaby + amazon etc
Just another option like
Steve
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dont take things personally
there will be loads of people who dont even reply
80% no reply ever
19% rejects
1% lets make a deal
I am not sure where Lairds stats came from but they seem proportionally realistic to me. No reply is definitely the most common response I have had in the past. Laird makes some good points
At the end of the day there is always a market for good tunes so if you have good tunes and believe in your sounds you will find other people to believe in them too.
The people who do reply will give you some encouragement and some folks take time to say thanks but no thanks and even give you pointers etc.
No-1 likes putting they're hard work on the line for someone else to crush you with one sentence but the reward outweighs the risk.
just remember just coz someone at some label you love doesnt reply it doesnt mean your tunes are pish and you should give up! Keep positive, keep raising the bar for yourself. You will meet cool people along the way
Keep Sending your tunes out but dont harass the people you are sending them too. Many of them will get 20 or more unsolicited tracks a day
good luck
there will be loads of people who dont even reply
80% no reply ever
19% rejects
1% lets make a deal
I am not sure where Lairds stats came from but they seem proportionally realistic to me. No reply is definitely the most common response I have had in the past. Laird makes some good points
At the end of the day there is always a market for good tunes so if you have good tunes and believe in your sounds you will find other people to believe in them too.
The people who do reply will give you some encouragement and some folks take time to say thanks but no thanks and even give you pointers etc.
No-1 likes putting they're hard work on the line for someone else to crush you with one sentence but the reward outweighs the risk.
just remember just coz someone at some label you love doesnt reply it doesnt mean your tunes are pish and you should give up! Keep positive, keep raising the bar for yourself. You will meet cool people along the way
Keep Sending your tunes out but dont harass the people you are sending them too. Many of them will get 20 or more unsolicited tracks a day
good luck
Re: Demo rejects
myspace, youtube, contacts, concerts... give you more visibility than a cd in their pile.2bad wrote:how does that workpieter wrote:
it's rare that an artist finds a label with a demo.
the label finds you...
that's why i hardly send out demos anymore to labels.
and if i do it, it is because i don't want to regret not doing it. when i'm 50 years old i don't wanna think like "what would have happened if i sent a demo to (fill in label name)...?".
i'm not saying that there are no bands that aren't signed because of a demo/cd sent in - my post was only based on my own experience, and i read the same story elsewhere. i signed a record deal with a UK label: the owner was a friend of a friend (=contact). now i'm talking to a US label. they found me through myspace. they contacted me out of the blue.
if i may quote a belgian musician (alex callier/hooverphonic): "it's like a girlfriend. if you're looking for one, you're not gonna find one".
well, i wouldn't say you can't get a deal by sending demos. it happened to me twice (but i agree with the 80%/19%/1% thing).
anyway, that depends on what you call a demo. it's got to be pretty polished obviously. don't send a CD with a note saying "if you sign me, i'll do this and that better". do it before!
regarding rejects, i think it's a good school to improve and to get more confident. one thing: don't forget to follow up when you send a demo and harass the label DA with mails and phone calls. after all, it's their job.
just think that artists feed them. if there's no artist, ther's no label. so you're entitled to harass them.
if you get a feedback like "i liked your stuff but don't have room for new artists/releases" (which is often the case). try to make friend with the DA so that he'll help you and give you other contacts.
i think sending demos is a good thing, i confronts you to real life.
anyway, that depends on what you call a demo. it's got to be pretty polished obviously. don't send a CD with a note saying "if you sign me, i'll do this and that better". do it before!
regarding rejects, i think it's a good school to improve and to get more confident. one thing: don't forget to follow up when you send a demo and harass the label DA with mails and phone calls. after all, it's their job.
just think that artists feed them. if there's no artist, ther's no label. so you're entitled to harass them.
if you get a feedback like "i liked your stuff but don't have room for new artists/releases" (which is often the case). try to make friend with the DA so that he'll help you and give you other contacts.
i think sending demos is a good thing, i confronts you to real life.
I went through a prolific demo sending phase a few years back and got quite a lot of responses - I dont really know what it's like now though
they were from big labels too, Defected wanted a track I'd already promised to Low pressings, 20 20 vision were going to sign one track but weren't into the others enough for a full release - NRK gave me a detailed response about what they didnt like about which tracks and why, Primary wanted another track that I'd promised to Low pressings, and the LP releases were also from a cold demo, I think even Bedrock replied. In fact I just remembered - strictly rhythm even got back to me and were trying to find out whether I had anything for Crystal waters to sing on for her comeback! needless to say I didnt at the time.....
the main thing with demo sending is to do your research and make sure you send the right stuff to the right people, and it probably helps if you check they dont have on their website "please dont send demos we have too many.." like warp - maybe even ring them to see if they are taking demos
generally speaking though, if you can get an adress for A&R then they are probably open otherwise they would keep it hidden
basically, start small, go for smaller labels that you know are into what you do, then build up from there
they were from big labels too, Defected wanted a track I'd already promised to Low pressings, 20 20 vision were going to sign one track but weren't into the others enough for a full release - NRK gave me a detailed response about what they didnt like about which tracks and why, Primary wanted another track that I'd promised to Low pressings, and the LP releases were also from a cold demo, I think even Bedrock replied. In fact I just remembered - strictly rhythm even got back to me and were trying to find out whether I had anything for Crystal waters to sing on for her comeback! needless to say I didnt at the time.....
the main thing with demo sending is to do your research and make sure you send the right stuff to the right people, and it probably helps if you check they dont have on their website "please dont send demos we have too many.." like warp - maybe even ring them to see if they are taking demos
generally speaking though, if you can get an adress for A&R then they are probably open otherwise they would keep it hidden
basically, start small, go for smaller labels that you know are into what you do, then build up from there
In addition to the excellent advice given here, you might want to have a look at the Computer Music special that's just come out, "The Musician's Guide to the Net". Not that I work for CM or anything, but it has a couple of Q & A features with PR people and some general tips on generating good publicity (which stay on the 'right side' of the law, if that's considered a bonus ).
I found it a good read overall (but I don't know very much about this stuff, so YMMV).
Good luck!
P.
I found it a good read overall (but I don't know very much about this stuff, so YMMV).
Good luck!
P.
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