Your advice...

Hi everybody!

Recently I was talking to somebody who became an established artist a few years back. This artist now has an album released on 'GU Music'.

I was so glad that I was able to ask a real artist what his steps were to getting his album on a label.

This is the artist:

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Last+Atlant,+The

Basically, he told me that rather than trying to get his stuff played on the radio. He sent a demo directly to a label.

My questions for you guys are:

-Which label should I send happy electronic music to? (consisting of basic waveforms/upbeat blippy video game music)

-Which label should I send Instrumental hiphop to?

-Should I send labels low quality samples of each track or the full tracks?

Thank you all for your time

This is more suited to the EKT discussion forum - moving...

always send full high quality tracks

send to labels that you like, who's ethics you agree with

  CBrown said:

always send full high quality tracks

 

send to labels that you like, who's ethics you agree with

Thank you for the reply but how do I find out what their ethics are?

....and I also forgot to ask, should I be worried about somebody stealing my tracks?

Do lots of research.

I'm in the process of finding a label myself, and this is what I have done so far:

1 - I looked into every label of my favourite electronic musicians, and found their websites/demo submission addresses (and noted them)

2 - I went on Wikipedia and went down a super long list of labels (List of Electronic Music Labels on Wikipedia)

3 - I looked into labels that sounded nice and read about them, checked the artists, and checked to see if they accept demos

Currently I have a list of 15 labels that I want to send to, but of course I'm still finishing the mastering of my tracks, and will hopefully send things out sometime in October.

I don't know for certain if it's the best way to do it but I will be sending my full album, with a slightly different track listing to show the songs that have shorter intros (I assume they'll be less patient to listen if the first song has a long intro, etc)

Other than that, I hear that having some sort of publicity photo of yourself with a bio and what your intent is artistically is good. Basically you want to show the labels that you are serious about what you're doing, if you send some sort of half assed package they'll be less likely to care.

Basically do what you would do when you're trying to get a job. A good resume goes a long way, no one wants someone with a shit resume and no pride...

if you build it they will come

address your package to Rephlex Records and punt the demo out the door.

Have a myspace page. Most scouters listen to tracks that way, as it is easy and much quicker.

If you send hard copy demos, only send 4 or 5 tracks.

Participate in remix competitions and submit tracks to compilations. That is a good way to get noticed.

why would anyone still need a label

  hahathhat said:

why would anyone still need a label

Because it's hard to get noticed no matter how good you are, what with the amount of shit on the Internet these days...

  Tamas said:

  hahathhat said:

why would anyone still need a label

 

Because it's hard to get noticed no matter how good you are, what with the amount of shit on the Internet these days...

You can do it yourself if you have some imagination, but yeah, i guess do help. But there's the even more important question -- why do you want to get noticed? Why do you write music?

i write music because i like creating it. it's like birthing a child.

BUT, of course you want other people to like your child and for it to have friends.

and to grow up and become a big shot lawyer so that it can support my retirement on a tropical island somewhere.

  hahathhat said:

  Tamas said:

  hahathhat said:

why would anyone still need a label

 

Because it's hard to get noticed no matter how good you are, what with the amount of shit on the Internet these days...

 

You can do it yourself if you have some imagination, but yeah, i guess do help. But there's the even more important question -- why do you want to get noticed?

money

  ET said:

  hahathhat said:

  Tamas said:

  hahathhat said:

why would anyone still need a label

 

Because it's hard to get noticed no matter how good you are, what with the amount of shit on the Internet these days...

 

You can do it yourself if you have some imagination, but yeah, i guess do help. But there's the even more important question -- why do you want to get noticed?

 

money

 

 

Definitely the largest reason I make music is so that I have something to listen to, but yeah, ET and vodor make good points. Making music is a form of communication, and if only a handful of people get to hear it, then it's not a really good form of communication IMO. The more people that hear it, the better. And obviously any musician would love to get enough money to not have to work a regular job. The way I look at it, if I got on a label and got enough money to support my life, my next album/music I make would be 1000x better since I'd have all the time in the world to make it. When you only have the time after an 8 hour day of work, it gets a little hard...

  Tamas said:

When you only have the time after an 8 hour day of work, it gets a little hard...

I know what you're talking about, but I love working class hero music

first, you got to be "out there"

  patternoverlap said:

Participate in remix competitions and submit tracks to compilations. That is a good way to get noticed.

:) I won one remix competion, and the track I submitted for a compilation didn't get picked, shit! :(

but yeah the furthest I think my music has reached is basically EKT. I sent a demo out a few weeks ago though, and plan on sending more. Its so hard to find a label I think would be receptive to my music though, not that its anything too new or different sounding but I don't know of anything that sounds exactly like it.

But yeah as soon as I find some more labels I have the mailers ready.

one day peop[le will be begging ekt'rs to release, seriously shits getting good in there.

  Spore said:

  patternoverlap said:

Participate in remix competitions and submit tracks to compilations. That is a good way to get noticed.

 

:) I won one remix competion, and the track I submitted for a compilation didn't get picked, shit! :(

 

but yeah the furthest I think my music has reached is basically EKT. I sent a demo out a few weeks ago though, and plan on sending more. Its so hard to find a label I think would be receptive to my music though, not that its anything too new or different sounding but I don't know of anything that sounds exactly like it.

 

But yeah as soon as I find some more labels I have the mailers ready.

*starts label*

  Spore said:

  patternoverlap said:

Participate in remix competitions and submit tracks to compilations. That is a good way to get noticed.

 

:) I won one remix competion, and the track I submitted for a compilation didn't get picked, shit! :(

 

but yeah the furthest I think my music has reached is basically EKT. I sent a demo out a few weeks ago though, and plan on sending more. Its so hard to find a label I think would be receptive to my music though, not that its anything too new or different sounding but I don't know of anything that sounds exactly like it.

 

But yeah as soon as I find some more labels I have the mailers ready.

You'll get noticed eventually. You just have to keep at it. It took years for labels to notice Wisp.

  hahathhat said:

  Tamas said:

  hahathhat said:

why would anyone still need a label

 

Because it's hard to get noticed no matter how good you are, what with the amount of shit on the Internet these days...

 

You can do it yourself if you have some imagination, but yeah, i guess do help. But there's the even more important question -- why do you want to get noticed? Why do you write music?

ugh fucking spare me

kotsu/tips

* put myspace/mp3 website in your sig

* be friendly and help people

* be yourself, local, national kind of thing

for example, if u have local dialect in your town, put it in yr track names and lyrics

* naturally a small audience will develop

* joke around, dont take life so seriously

* ignore any nasty people, dont respond & keep clear until they learn to be nice

* say electronic music not electronic music, because electronic music means just copying aphex twin and you will never be better. electronic music means the possibilities are endless and you can eventually surpass aphex twin

* study and improve technical skills in electronics and in music

* harness your imagination, ride it through time and space while eating nan bread curry and rice on the time machine the aliens gave you outisde mcdonalds queen street last week...

  chunky said:

* be friendly and help people

* be yourself

* joke around, dont take life so seriously

* ignore any nasty people, dont respond & keep clear until they learn to be nice

* study and improve technical skills in electronics and in music

* harness your imagination, ride it through time and space while eating nan bread curry and rice on the time machine the aliens gave you outisde mcdonalds queen street last week...

I like this guy.

why ask this forum? most of us just post in "your latest creations" and that's about it.