"How to send demos" by Steve O Sullivan (and me;)

[Andre_Crom]

Great article!

https://www.xlr8r.com/features/2017/06/ ... osullivan/

I second all that's written there, and would add:

1. find out a personal contact of the labelowner or A&R (e.g. check their socials / website, ask artists on the label, etc), and write a personal greeting
2. introduce yourself briefly and explain why you want to sign with just this label (ofc this requires you to really listen closely to their sound and ask yourself if your music fits)
3. if you don't hear back, send a nice brief reminder after 10 days or so
4. if you don't hear back after the reminder, accept that you did what you could for now and wait a bit before contacting them again.

To find the right balance between patience and making sure you are not forgotten is essential. It happened to me in the past months that i sent demos to a small selection of my favourite (and quite established and long-running) labels and did not hear anything for 2 weeks. Then after 2-3 weeks, i got emails from 2 of the labels within 2 days from each other, that they were interested. It went back and forth for 2-3 more months, where sometimes they went silent for a week or two or three and i already thought they lost interest, but then i sent another new demo, or maybe they played out my tracks again and remembered about them, and got back again... at the end of the day, they both did sign the EP's. Had i pushed too much (or opposedly given up too early, not sending new material), they might have lost interest.

Keep in mind that many DJ-A&R's do not only receive zillions of demos, but also are constantly travelling and may access their emails infrequently. If they don't get back to you, it does not mean that they don't listen or that your music sucks. Have patience and persistence and do good stuff and eventually you will succeed. Amen

A.

[intrusav]

Nice link.

Always had a good opinion of Steve O'Sullivan and he seems like a good guy reading that. Remember the first Bluetrain track I picked up. Supernice sub-heavy dub stuff.
Dub Techno as it should be...

[TimBuys]

So you're telling me my "HEY M8, GOT SOME SICK BANGERZ. EXPECTING FULL SUPPORT" approach is no good?

Very informative post will keep this in mind when I finally feel like my tracks are good enough to send out.

[The_G]

That's great advice

[Root]

"HEY M8, GOT SOME SICK BANGERZ. EXPECTING FULL SUPPORT"

Just sign here. I'll drop ya BOMBZ, mate.

[PatrickHughes]

Anyone have any tips on how to get a&r to actually play the demo you send them? I started sending demo's out exactly the way this article recommends (brief email, unique private soundcloud link, my best unreleased track, label matches my sound ect ect...) a few months ago and i'd say 95% of the private soundcloud links I send don't get a single play meaning they didn't ever listen to the demo. Is there a best time of day/week to send demo's or is there anything more proactive you can do besides just cross your fingers that your demo is the one they actually listen to?

[intrusav]

Play it to friends, if it's good it'll go on a little adventure.
Don't bank shit on randomers, find your network or build it...

[Stace]

"HEY M8, GOT SOME SICK BANGERZ. EXPECTING FULL SUPPORT"

[Alume]

Play it to friends, if it's good it'll go on a little adventure.
Don't bank shit on randomers, find your network or build it...

I'll second and third that. Gives you music more meaning too, its not just a product you are trying to sell on the roadside. Your tracks should be like your babies, its best to get them well situated.

[block.punch]

Persistence does pay off. In the sense of not giving up, not in pestering the same label over and over again. That said, i think that timing can be critical and you just get a lucky break. But that will only happen if you keep trying. If you don't send, they're never going to listen, right?

[jordanneke]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread.

I'm at the stage whereby I'm confident enough that some of my tunes are releasable. I've sent out a few emails in the passed whereby I've curated the message... ie referencing tracks on the label that I like etc... but 9/10 it's either nothing (and not listening to the tracks), or the odd time, thanks, but they are not what they are looking for. (Which makes me think that my tracks aren't worthy.....).

Then after a couple of months, I just give 'em away.

One of the problems at my age is that I just don't go clubbing, so it's hard to build up any social capital within the scene. And so all my mails go out cold.

So with my latest tracks I've just decided to hit up 5 labels at once (not in cc).

I'll let you know if I get anywhere.

[Lost to the Void]

Anyone have any tips on how to get a&r to actually play the demo you send them? I started sending demo's out exactly the way this article recommends (brief email, unique private soundcloud link, my best unreleased track, label matches my sound ect ect...) a few months ago and i'd say 95% of the private soundcloud links I send don't get a single play meaning they didn't ever listen to the demo. Is there a best time of day/week to send demo's or is there anything more proactive you can do besides just cross your fingers that your demo is the one they actually listen to?

Regardless of what you write, sending your audio out on your first contact might as well say nothing and just have a link.

I sent a contact email first asking the label if they are taking in music at the moment and if they are interested in me sending some to listen to.
If I get no reply at all, then no point sending audio.

IF I get a reply, then they are then expecting audio to come to them.

Beyond that, there is no way to get your stuff listened to on a cold call.

Don`t cold call with audio.

[Lost to the Void]

Recently I have been getting the worst demo`s with lowest effort ever, for the label.

Just wetransfer links sent to my email, no cover letter, nothing.

DELETE.

[Lost to the Void]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread.

I'm at the stage whereby I'm confident enough that some of my tunes are releasable. I've sent out a few emails in the passed whereby I've curated the message... ie referencing tracks on the label that I like etc... but 9/10 it's either nothing (and not listening to the tracks), or the odd time, thanks, but they are not what they are looking for. (Which makes me think that my tracks aren't worthy.....).

Then after a couple of months, I just give 'em away.

One of the problems at my age is that I just don't go clubbing, so it's hard to build up any social capital within the scene. And so all my mails go out cold.

So with my latest tracks I've just decided to hit up 5 labels at once (not in cc).

I'll let you know if I get anywhere.

Sometimes it is just a matter of taste, not "worthiness".

It`s finding the right label that matches your sound or philosophy, and then communicating with them.

IF you do get rejected, sometimes it is good to ask for feedback, which may or may not be helpful to you.

Be brutally honest about what you are offering too. If it sounds generic (not a poke at you, I think what you do should be getting released, I just think that you haven`t found the right place for it yet). Then you stand a hard task of getting released, unless it`s Bumload and you have pretty boy promo photos.

[jordanneke]

Anyone have any tips on how to get a&r to actually play the demo you send them? I started sending demo's out exactly the way this article recommends (brief email, unique private soundcloud link, my best unreleased track, label matches my sound ect ect...) a few months ago and i'd say 95% of the private soundcloud links I send don't get a single play meaning they didn't ever listen to the demo. Is there a best time of day/week to send demo's or is there anything more proactive you can do besides just cross your fingers that your demo is the one they actually listen to?

Regardless of what you write, sending your audio out on your first contact might as well say nothing and just have a link.

I sent a contact email first asking the label if they are taking in music at the moment and if they are interested in me sending some to listen to.
If I get no reply at all, then no point sending audio.

IF I get a reply, then they are then expecting audio to come to them.

Beyond that, there is no way to get your stuff listened to on a cold call.

Don`t cold call with audio.

Fair point. I just assumed that I'd only get one shot of them bothering to open an email, hence why I sent audio. The mails are very polite indeed, even to the point of self depreciation.

But I must also mention, that most of the labels I target do say something like ' Please send demo's to...'. Even then no response.

If I try cold-calling, then I'll send out a feeler first.

[jordanneke]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread.

I'm at the stage whereby I'm confident enough that some of my tunes are releasable. I've sent out a few emails in the passed whereby I've curated the message... ie referencing tracks on the label that I like etc... but 9/10 it's either nothing (and not listening to the tracks), or the odd time, thanks, but they are not what they are looking for. (Which makes me think that my tracks aren't worthy.....).

Then after a couple of months, I just give 'em away.

One of the problems at my age is that I just don't go clubbing, so it's hard to build up any social capital within the scene. And so all my mails go out cold.

So with my latest tracks I've just decided to hit up 5 labels at once (not in cc).

I'll let you know if I get anywhere.

Sometimes it is just a matter of taste, not "worthiness".

It`s finding the right label that matches your sound or philosophy, and then communicating with them.

IF you do get rejected, sometimes it is good to ask for feedback, which may or may not be helpful to you.

Be brutally honest about what you are offering too. If it sounds generic (not a poke at you, I think what you do should be getting released, I just think that you haven`t found the right place for it yet). Then you stand a hard task of getting released, unless it`s Bumload and you have pretty boy promo photos.

Yeah, that could be a point. Funny thing is that I have a label in mind, check out their latest offerings, then that voice creeps up. You know, the 'Your stuff is total shit compared to this' voice.

For me personally, the track I have as my signature, has received about 30 downloads compared to 300 plays, which suggests to me that if people bother to click, it probably backs up my thought that it was release worthy.

I can objectively say that some of the tunes on podcasts I hear are worse than my very best. By some I mean very few, but I do hear them and think... I could/ have done better.. once.

I'll keep trying.

[Lost to the Void]

Yeah, you can`t beat yourself up about being "worthy".

I don`t see any reason why your stuff wouldn`t get released, especially the housey stuff.
It is a matter of finding the right home, at the right time etc, or just making the right connections.

Your stuff is easily, in technical terms, ready to be released.

[jordanneke]

Thanks for the compliment, means a lot.

If I find a magic formula, i'll let subsekt know!!

As you said before, with computers democratizing music production, the competition for artists yet to establish themselves is way higher than it was 20-15 years ago. It's like trying to grow from a seed in a fucking rain-forest.

[RWise]

Thanks for the compliment, means a lot.

If I find a magic formula, i'll let subsekt know!!

As you said before, with computers democratizing music production, the competition for artists yet to establish themselves is way higher than it was 20-15 years ago. It's like trying to grow from a seed in a fucking rain-forest.

The self-doubt of a music producer is crippling. But hey man, stop referencing yourself so much and tell that little voice in your head to fuck off...

If YOU feel like your music is ready, then just dont over listen to it and send it out. Once you start getting into that self-doubt mode of referencing your music to everything, you stop hearing your music in a clear, objective way and you literally just start having purely pessimistic thoughts about your music, when in reality its not as bad as you think.

Ive had it so many times where id be hyped on some new material and then id start over listening and referencing to other stuff thinking 'is this really good?....' and next thing you know, i hate the tracks. But then when i listen to them in a clear mind a month later, i realise i was just in a pessimistic mind state for my own music.


So to conclude - Dont over listen/reference your music to others, its about if YOU are feeling it.

[intrusav]

And any two released tracks can have completely different production values. You pick up on that when djing ..