Sending Demos to Record Labels - A Few Things You Should Know
1 - What are Demos?
When it comes to music, more precisely electronic dance music (my area of expertise), Demos are the songs you send to record labels to get them signed, licensed or something. Those responsible for reviewing your music will listen to it, analyze it in studio, see its potential, maybe alongside partners that are working on the same record label, and once they put together their thoughts, they will send you a proper response, a proper feedback (or not, remember that some labels receive hundreds of demos every day, it's impossible to get back to everyone).
It doesn't look like a complicated process, right? Wrong! It is complicated, it usually takes time... and here is where the first big advice comes... (I'll put in upper case letters to make sure you read it), SEND ONLY FULL AND FINISHED MATERIAL TO THEM, unless you saw on their pages they want to listen to unfinished stuff, but I really doubt it. Some labels really don't mind if you send a pre-master version, as long as you make sure you let them know that you don't have properly mastered the song, but definitely do not send unfinished music, like.. short clips, previews, work in progress, stuff like this. Most likely they will not listen to it if they notice you haven't sent them the final mix, and in some cases, it will be the last time they will open an e-mail with a demo you sent. Remember, build relationships and do not self sabotage them... and again.. it's just called Demo, it doesn't mean you must send them just a "demonstration" of your work, amaze them!
2 - Track name format and track file format.
Ok, you have finished your newest song, it took you a lot of time and work to have it all together, the mix sounds great and the master should be easy to the record label work. Since everything is on place, now what? Well, no matter what purpose you will give to your music, you should export it from your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to your computer, to your hard drives. Here is where the second big advice comes (it's ok, I'll use lowercase letters now)... First, the track name format, the standard used in the music industry is "Artist Name - Song Name (Mix Version)", I'll use one of my own songs as example "Coldbeat - Magic Portal (Original Mix)". Some cases, Original Mixes mostly, you'll see also "Song Name - Artist Name" or reverse "Artist Name - Song Name", without the song version name within parenthesis, but if I may suggest, the most recommended is the first example.
Now the music file format. Export it in Mp3 and Wave format, if you are familiar with all the music production process it probably will be not a problem for you to do that. But hey! Why Mp3 and Wave? Well, most labels ask demos in mp3-320kbps format, the reason is because the file is lighter (about 12 MB for a 5 minute long song) and still in a good quality to get it properly analyzed. You may end up finding labels that work differently, but most follow this pattern. Assuming they like your music and they want to sign an agreement with you and release it or whatever, they probably will contact you asking the final wave-16bit-44100 file. Is the standard that most record labels, distributors and stores work. The music will be in high quality and it will be possible to convert it later to the required formats.
That's it, music name format and music file format.. oww, yeah.. you can also export the song stems (a.k.a the remix pack), but it's up to you. If you're not sure what does it mean or how you do it, leave me a message and maybe I'll write a post to explain... maybe..
3 - How do I send Demos?
From the beginning you should learn to observe the label you crave. Their pages, what kind of music they promote, from where they are, who are the possible artist and repertoire representatives (A&R Representatives), where you should send e-mails, and so on... Why am I saying this? Well.. because every label have a different way to receive demos, some labels have designated people to search new talents, some labels have an e-mail address where they get all the demos, some of them have demo submission forms, some are closed to demos, etc... Pay attention to that, read their biographies, their releases... make sure you are sending the e-mail to the correct address, make sure the music you are sending fits to the label. And if you are still not 100% sure, contact one of the artists already working with that label and ask them for advice.
4 - Writing the e-mail/ filling the demo forms.
Most record labels receive demos through these 2 ways, e-mails or demo forms. For e-mails, the first thing you must remember is that the person that will read it may be not a man, so, don't start writing the e-mail with something like "Hey bro" nor "Hey guys", believe it or not, there are many women working behind record labels, not only record labels, but licensing companies, blogs, etc.. as well. Make it short and genderless, like "Hello, how are you?".. Yes, be polite, ask them how they are, even if they don't respond, but trust me, you are doing it short and in a right way with a good introduction to a possible conversation. Thereafter be brief, 2 sentences to let them know who you are, your real name with your stage name and from where you are... those are fine.. your full biography is something that you should place on your Facebook and Soundcloud pages, and not in the e-mail message. As I said before, pay attention to the labels description on their pages, if they ask a Sendspace link, use Sendspace, if they ask Soundcloud private link, use it! And don't forget, if you missed the details we already mentioned in the previous paragraphs, you can't complain if you don't get answers from the record labels. In the situation of forms, most labels have it to make your life easier, fill it accordingly, fill all the fields, even if they aren't required... if those fields are there, they have a purpose.
In conclusion, always remember to follow my suggestions.. oww.. and never commit grammatical errors... no matter if you are not familiar to the language, ask for help, but don't let grammar errors harm your success.
5 - Evaluating the record label and the agreement.
Owyeah, as important as all the items mentioned above, you have to evaluate the record labels as well. There are many of them out there, some are good, some are not so good. It's your duty to analyze the record label and see if it fits to you, if it meets your needs and if it is fair and serious with you and your work. Even if it was you that sent them a demo in the first place, do not hesitate to refuse, to give up the partnership. Remember! It's your work, it's your music.
6 - Now what?
You have followed all of my advices, you have signed the agreement with a good and serious record label and your music will hit the stores (or something else) soon. All you have to do now is let people know you have signed a deal and let them know when your music comes out, right? Wroooong!! You're doing it wrong, trust me when I say that it's not all about the music, it never was. You remember back then? When you heard your favorite songs in the radio, and you knew it would come out soon to your favorite store, where you could get the entire album just because of that single song? It was sort of the marketing strategies they had back on that time. It was expensive, truly expensive, trust me... but used to work, even more if the band was doing frequent shows, had their music playing in most of the radio stations, etc... Time passed but the need to do marketing in order to sell a product has not passed, the only thing is that now you have a solid way to connect with literally thousands of thousands of fans, all over the world.. Why don't you use that!? Twitter, Soundcloud, Facebook, etc.. etc.. etc.. countless pages and ways to reach your target audience, build relationships, and all that stuff you need as artist... or should I say, think about you and your music as a product you want people to consume, it may seem an odd way to think at first, but the sooner you do, the sooner you'll be able to pay your bills with your music.
We have many useful posts here at our Coldbeat Blog, to help you in your career, to reach fans, grow your online presence and more... all you have to do is read it and do it... And if you need further assistence, remember.. your buddy Coldbeat is here to help you (I can try, at least).
I am Eliezer Hofstaetter (a.k.a Coldbeat), the author of this article, founder and owner of EH MÃdia and the record labels it represents, DJ and music producer, fan of a few TV series, Sci-Fi and super hero movies, born, raised and living in Brazil.
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