how the hell do you get signed

loldm

Just make whatever you want without trying to emulate a genre or sound, and if you're good enough, people will start listening.

if you're over 18 and don't have a record deal, then forget about having any sort of long-term career in the music business.

1. Be a Tamil-British art student who makes a hip mixtape with the DJ she is sleeping with

2. <?>

3. Profit

  On 10/6/2009 at 4:28 AM, mrx said:

if you're over 18 and don't have a record deal, then forget about having any sort of long-term career in the music business.

don't listen to lies like this

i never wanted music to be my job, so i'm happy enough creating and listening to my own vast library of unreleased masterpieces, both innovative and inspiring.

ok maybe not, but srsly music is for fun, any time i've tried to make myself sit and write music it's like i'm just shitting all over my keyboard.

  On 10/6/2009 at 6:41 PM, theSun said:

i never wanted music to be my job, so i'm happy enough creating and listening to my own vast library of unreleased masterpieces, both innovative and inspiring.

 

ok maybe not, but srsly music is for fun, any time i've tried to make myself sit and write music it's like i'm just shitting all over my keyboard.

I feel you on both of these points. I think if I HAD to sit down and write music for a living I'd psyche myself out and never accomplish anything.

ha. so this thread and the reading i've been doing lately has made me rediscover why i originally started making music. i think the past few months have been a real mindfuck for me, and i've gotten caught up in some thoughts and ways of being that i didn't originally intend to get caught up in.

i now realize that i shouldn't expect anything, and to be patient and wait to see what comes my way. i don't need to be "signed" to be happy. it would be nice to be appreciated, but that's a whole other thing. i'm sure tons of people around here think that their music is the bees knees, and i'm sure those people understand how it feels to put up a song and have one or two listens and zero comments after you've spent hours working on something that you perceive to be incredible and unique.

i've learned never to put something up until it's been a few days finished, that way you can tell whether it's actually good or not. as i've found, some of my tracks end up sounding very unfinished when i rush to put them up. in this new music world, shit needs to be above and beyond to be noticed. you can't just be fucking idm, and what the hell is idm anyway? anybody making anything that they describe as being "idm" probably isn't ever going to get anywhere, i reckon.

so yeah, in this day of personal growth, i share with you my lesson learned: make the music you want to make, love your music, love the process, and don't expect anything. be patient, and put forth some effort into getting noticed if you actually really do think you've got what it takes. i believe i have something in these tracks that is quite special, despite what anybody here may say. believe in yourself, ignore some criticism, listen to some criticism, grow, grow, and do what you feel and think to be right. follow the path that your unconscious mind leads you on.

  On 10/6/2009 at 10:11 PM, vamos scorcho said:

ha. so this thread and the reading i've been doing lately has made me rediscover why i originally started making music. i think the past few months have been a real mindfuck for me, and i've gotten caught up in some thoughts and ways of being that i didn't originally intend to get caught up in.

 

i now realize that i shouldn't expect anything, and to be patient and wait to see what comes my way. i don't need to be "signed" to be happy. it would be nice to be appreciated, but that's a whole other thing. i'm sure tons of people around here think that their music is the bees knees, and i'm sure those people understand how it feels to put up a song and have one or two listens and zero comments after you've spent hours working on something that you perceive to be incredible and unique.

 

i've learned never to put something up until it's been a few days finished, that way you can tell whether it's actually good or not. as i've found, some of my tracks end up sounding very unfinished when i rush to put them up. in this new music world, shit needs to be above and beyond to be noticed. you can't just be fucking idm, and what the hell is idm anyway? anybody making anything that they describe as being "idm" probably isn't ever going to get anywhere, i reckon.

 

so yeah, in this day of personal growth, i share with you my lesson learned: make the music you want to make, love your music, love the process, and don't expect anything. be patient, and put forth some effort into getting noticed if you actually really do think you've got what it takes. i believe i have something in these tracks that is quite special, despite what anybody here may say. believe in yourself, ignore some criticism, listen to some criticism, grow, grow, and do what you feel and think to be right. follow the path that your unconscious mind leads you on.

respect

  On 10/6/2009 at 10:11 PM, vamos scorcho said:

ha. so this thread and the reading i've been doing lately has made me rediscover why i originally started making music. i think the past few months have been a real mindfuck for me, and i've gotten caught up in some thoughts and ways of being that i didn't originally intend to get caught up in.

 

i now realize that i shouldn't expect anything, and to be patient and wait to see what comes my way. i don't need to be "signed" to be happy. it would be nice to be appreciated, but that's a whole other thing. i'm sure tons of people around here think that their music is the bees knees, and i'm sure those people understand how it feels to put up a song and have one or two listens and zero comments after you've spent hours working on something that you perceive to be incredible and unique.

 

i've learned never to put something up until it's been a few days finished, that way you can tell whether it's actually good or not. as i've found, some of my tracks end up sounding very unfinished when i rush to put them up. in this new music world, shit needs to be above and beyond to be noticed. you can't just be fucking idm, and what the hell is idm anyway? anybody making anything that they describe as being "idm" probably isn't ever going to get anywhere, i reckon.

 

so yeah, in this day of personal growth, i share with you my lesson learned: make the music you want to make, love your music, love the process, and don't expect anything. be patient, and put forth some effort into getting noticed if you actually really do think you've got what it takes. i believe i have something in these tracks that is quite special, despite what anybody here may say. believe in yourself, ignore some criticism, listen to some criticism, grow, grow, and do what you feel and think to be right. follow the path that your unconscious mind leads you on.

  On 10/6/2009 at 10:35 PM, Brian Tregaskin said:

people should read my posts in the internet piracy thread in GB, a really good theory on modern music industry.

Too long/lazy to repost in here.

Just don't give a fuck

Shitting (aluminum) bricks?

I got signed once, it wasn't very pleasant. actually signed a contract at my house lol. nothing came of it, he released one other artist, then moved to london and disappeard/quit.

wouldn't mind releasing some vinyl though, but I would expect some fucking dedication and a little less feigned professionalism.

Hmm, getting "signed" is a bit of an odd concept. I think it's increasingly rare for artists to be signed (at least in this field of electronica) to complete X number of records over X number of years.

Could speculate endlessly why that may be, personally I think that nowadays people aren't in it for the long game. Finding some untapped talent and nurturing it is a bit old fashioned, not immediate enough. Things progress and evolve far quicker than 5 - 10 years ago, a bit too fast perhaps. but the result would appear to be that most labels are more interested in finding an artist who's stuff is relevant at that moment in time. A quick and easy sell. Chances are that any contract will be for one release only.

No doubt things are different in other genres, but in electronic music this seems to be the way it goes.

In any case, if you're really eager to get picked up by some label, making great music is just one part of it. What also plays a huge part in it is how envolved in the scene you are. sounds dumb tbh but has some merit. Think of it this way, which would be more likely to get approached by a label? the dude who never goes out, never plays out, and makes great music that no one ever hears, or the dude who gets out a lot, plays regularly, makes equally great music that people are familiar with.

it's stupid "networking" bullshit, but if you're really after getting signed, helps if people know who you are. If you're pulling a crowd of a few hundred people every time you pay, that's a few hundred possible sales. and that's why a label would sign anyone, sales.

Regardless, IMO, scenes, sales, labels and releases. it's all stuff to be taken with a pinch of salt. you see people getting pretty excessive with the whole thing, to the point of spammery, an what ultimately suffers is the music. People often go overboard trying to make the music they think will get them signed and the result is generic dull trash.

just be honest with what you're doing, make the music you want to make, and make it as great as it can be. certainly dip into the scene now and again, helps to keep a little perspective on what you're doing, what's happening around you, and how and where you might fit in to the whole thing. But just persevere with what you're doing, do it as good as you can, play out as much as you can, and in time the labels will come to you.

don't expect a glittering gilt contract with advances and limos etc. It will more likely go along the lines of

"hey mate, like your stuff, wanna do a release on my label? we can't promise you any money, but maybe if we sell enough copies."

the only thing that'll get signed will be your release and permission to duplicate (maybe) and that'll be that.

But the reward is having a wonderful vinyl or CD with amazing artwork and your fkn music on it, awesome! it's a funny thing really, I've done a few solo release, a load of compilation releases, and some remix things too. All different labels, none of it I ever got any money from, hardly ever signed any contract, sometimes get a few copies to sell myself. But it's always awesome to have a little disk with your music on it, a great feeling, reward in itself!

have 1000 cds made and send them out

one thing i read is that when you send a cd out include tootsie rolls hahahahha

i'm bout to send out cds with ferrero rocher that shit is tasty while listening to new music

  On 3/1/2012 at 2:26 AM, sonny said:

have 1000 cds made and send them out

one thing i read is that when you send a cd out include tootsie rolls hahahahha

i'm bout to send out cds with ferrero rocher that shit is tasty while listening to new music

we don't have tootsie rolls here in England :(

could you suggest an alternative item that might sweeten the deal? preferably something that can be sourced within the United Kingdom of Tea and Scones

  On 2/29/2012 at 6:39 AM, vamos scorcho said:

thats funny. That picture is what I do for a living. densification of recycled bottles. lol

  On 10/6/2009 at 4:34 AM, joshuatxuk said:

1. Be a Tamil-British art student who makes a hip mixtape with the DJ she is sleeping with

2. <?>

3. Profit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBiSI6OdqvA

??

  On 3/1/2012 at 3:52 AM, StephenG said:

thats funny. That picture is what I do for a living. densification of recycled bottles. lol

That sounds like a wicked job, especially with I'm assuming lots of potential for crazy mechanical samples.

You could try mailing a tape to Skam. They say that they want to hear them.

  On 3/1/2012 at 4:06 AM, Cryptowen said:

  On 3/1/2012 at 3:52 AM, StephenG said:

thats funny. That picture is what I do for a living. densification of recycled bottles. lol

That sounds like a wicked job, especially with I'm assuming lots of potential for crazy mechanical samples.

Lol! Not sure if you're being sarcastic but I think it's actually a pretty cool job. Some of the machinery would make some cool samples for sure. =)

  On 3/1/2012 at 3:45 AM, oscillik said:

  On 3/1/2012 at 2:26 AM, sonny said:

have 1000 cds made and send them out

one thing i read is that when you send a cd out include tootsie rolls hahahahha

i'm bout to send out cds with ferrero rocher that shit is tasty while listening to new music

 

we don't have tootsie rolls here in England :(

 

could you suggest an alternative item that might sweeten the deal? preferably something that can be sourced within the United Kingdom of Tea and Scones

Tunnocks tea cakes!