Here's another good video from TruSound - this time all about making a demo.
What's great about these videos is that the people being interviewed are successful musicians, producers and label execs and they are simply telling it like it is from experience.
This is good quality stuff!
Once you've made the demo, read our thoughts on submitting a demo.
My basic answer is that you shouldn't.....that is, not until you have some level of fanbase built, something going on around you already that you have built (a local following, sold out gigs, buzz on blogs etc) and then, hopefully, some of the people that can help you succeed in your efforts will come looking for you.
That's much better.
When you submit your music to me (with my 'manager' hat rather than my 'music business advice' hat on) what you're really asking me is to say 'no - I'm not interested'. If it's not mind bogglingly good, it'll get ten seconds attention (if it gets any at all) and we'll remember that artist as not being good enough - therefore chance blown. It's much easier for us to say 'no' after a very brief look than to actually take a considered view. So, really, you're sending a demo looking for rejection.
Much better to wait until you have some 'heat' and people are coming to you, or to try and get the attention of lawyers, PR companies, promoters, venues etc - the first line of defence if you like. Network with people like this at gigs and online.
Why? Well when a music biz exec gets an email or a call from one of those 'gatekeepers' saying that they have seen or heard a great artist, then we all take notice. Crap, isn't it?!
But, don't fight it (unless you are ardently DIY forever, which you know we think is the best way to be these days anyway).
However......if you are going to send a demo to someone - and this applies to those on that first line of defence as well, then Simon at Sentric has just written the gospel of how to do it.
I've written this blurb so that I can use this post as my answer to those regular queries!
Simon says:
Arguably there is no ‘perfect’ way to send demos to industry people, but there are definitely wrong ways. So many wrong ways. More wrong ways than a faulty Sat Nav. And each person you send a demo to may very well have their own preference such is the beauty of us all being individuals by our inherent human nature. All this to one side though, the following is how I personally would utterly adore to receive all demos in the future.
Read and digest his views here. I wholeheartedly agree!
And read my view on demo submission from 2009 here which says much the same thing, just in a different way!
Image by MiiiSH
Thanks to @TQuillfeldt for this tip - worth following, as he always uncovers good stuff.
This one covers 5 points that I fully agree with and have seen many times!
When you're writing songs and making demos, bear these in mind as you can waste a lot of time and money recording stuff that either isn't good enough or that you just aren't ready to record or perhaps use.
Keep your powder dry so that you don't waste your efforts!
The professional demo-recording process is a necessary part of the equation for songwriters aspiring to get their material heard by music industry decision-makers and, hopefully, cut by successful recording artists. Despite the fact that hundreds of demos are recorded every week in places like Nashville, New York and Los Angeles, new songwriters often find themselves overwhelmed and a bit intimidated by the prospect of getting their songs demoed and ready for primetime. By highlighting some of the mistakes I’ve encountered in my years of recording songwriter demos, I can hopefully help new songwriters avoid some of the pitfalls that result in either overly expensive or ineffective recordings.
Image by The Daily Ornellas
I mostly manage songwriters and producers these days - so I found this short piece to be solid and useful advice.
So often a band these days will come to us thinking that because they have the equipment and some (pretty good) skills, they can record, produce and mix their own record.
And, some can - to a degree.
But, what people often forget is that production and engineering is a skill, like any other, that can be perfected and honed over many years practice - Malcolm Gladwell and his 10,000 hours (Google that if you don't know what I'm on about!).
So, whilst you might well have a great little studio set up (the democratisation of the means of production being a laudable step in the right direction for the music biz), and may be able to produce a pretty good sounding track or two, that doesn't mean that you wouldn't benefit from a producer.
Give it some thought.
The best way I know to describe what a producer does comes in the form of this analogy: A producer is to a recording as a director is to a film. When it comes to making a film, the buck essentially stops with the director.
In a film, the director steers the ship, working with everyone from the technical editors to the actors in order to achieve his or her overall vision of the movie. It is exactly that way with a producer when it comes to making a recording.
The producer have the experience to work with the studio engineer (often possessing the technical expertise to engineer the project themselves) and the musical understanding to help the artist with everything from song choice, structure and arrangement to the all-important vocal performances that are vital in giving a recording its personality. In short, a producer provides the experience and necessary perspective to guide a recording from start to finish.
There's a post on our main blog that adds some background steps on how to get a record deal - you might want to read it as well as these below.
Then there's this great 2 part post from the Live Unsigned Blog.
Part 1 looks at the position you need to be in to get signed - you're best off creating a 'buzz' with DIY musician efforts (although I believe sending in a demo if you're at that stage is still a reasonable use of your time - a long shot for sure, but worth it if that deal is what you're after).
Although it is possible to do really well completely independently some people still want a record deal, some see it as a form of validation. Some artists only want to concentrate on the music and let the label handle the business (although I’d argue that its easier to concentrate on the music if you have control of your own career). Signing to a label isn’t about forgetting about the business side of things – its the start. Labels expect you to work hard promoting your product and can often fail to do the same for you. Its not ever going to be that easy.
Part 2 lists a whole load of things you need to get straight if they offer you that deal!
Make sure you get a music industry lawyer to review anything before you sign it. I know of one indie label that signs a lot of indie acts then just uploads their music to Bandcamp and takes a large percentage of the sales. The bands could do this themselves and make far more money, they gain nothing from the deal. Don’t let this happen to you. If its a bad deal just walk away.
These two posts have a lot of good advice - check them out.
I was asked today to take a look at a new site called Audiorokit that aims to connect your music with industry players who are actually looking for specific material, styles or genres.
It's a great idea and a site I'd definitely add to those that you should be aware of and using as a diy musician. It's brand new and needs to get some density to reach its potential, but go and take a look.
Darren who set it up has been around the music biz for a while and is looking to fix a problem of access that all musicians have.
He's also been kind enough to let us give away a free eBook that he's written that tells the story behind how 10 acts (some you know, some you don't) got their break and got noticed. It should inspire you and maybe give you some ideas!
Download - 'So how did they get signed?' here.
These are two simple yet utterly brilliant articles that explain how to properly tag your mp3 files so that they show up in the recipient's itunes with a title and how best to send people large files.
Loads of musicians don't do this so their tracks end up lost in the itunes folder of the person they sent it to. And, perhaps worse, most musicians try and send massive files to industry folks - which makes them pissed off with big and slow emails before they have even tried to listen to the act's track.
There's a connected post on our blog about sending a demo to record labels.
But, as far as tagging your file and sending it digitally, do it this way - it's the right way.
Part 1 - Get your metadata straight.
Part 2 - Send demos by Dropbox or Soundcloud.
