Who Should I Send My Music To?
From my experience this has been practiced with independent dance music labels however the concepts are universal. Not only that, but a lot of labels have the same types of goals you do. They are building something from nothing to help push your sound forward.
Remember, at the end of the day you are sharing music with other human beings. The mechanics of each label may be different but by and large, this process should get your music picked up.
For many young artists, (myself included when I was just starting out) they of course know of the biggest and most influential labels/artists in their scene. Ask anyone from the hip hop scene, techno scene, vaporwave scene, trance scene, etc and they could rattle off the biggest players that are the lifeblood of their little corner of the world. This is great but it is important to know who the B list, C list, and D list labels are as well. Who are the young and upcoming labels in your scene?
Who are the young, hungry artists? What labels are they releasing on?
It is important to research and assess the movers and shakers in your community. Go to Beatport, Bandcamp, Spotify, Soundcloud, etc and start making a spreadsheet of label names, their websites, their social media pages, and if you can be sure to note their contact info. This is all important information to have as it will form the framework of how we approach this process.
Quick and important side note, remember to look at labels that fit the sound you are creating.
One of the biggest pet peeves from label owners is having to sift through demos of music that just don’t fit the aesthetic or sound of the label.
For example, if you are creating big room house, you probably wouldn’t reach out to a drum and bass label or if you run an indie pop label you most likely will be annoyed if you keep receiving warehouse techno tracks. If you shop to labels that fit the sound you are going for, this process will be much easier!
Once you’ve made your spreadsheet of labels start to organize them. I suggest doing something like I mentioned earlier in this section; create a tier system such as:
A – List/Dream Labels – These are the biggest labels that you look up to. Usually the most established artists in your scene are releasing on these labels. These are the long term goal labels that you would like to end up one day.
B – List – These are the ones that you would feel proud to say you’ve released music on. These are the ones that make up the majority of the releases within your sound and could potentially lead to your A List labels.
C – List – These are the up and coming labels who may either be releasing their friend’s records or are taking chances that some of the bigger labels may not be. These are solid ones that would be great to have on the resume but aren’t the ones that are going to send your music into the stratosphere.
D – List – I can best describe these labels by comparing them to you the artist. They are young, hungry, and are looking to make a name for themselves. Typically not a lot of people know about these labels… yet. They are on the ground floor and looking to grow, to build a sound/aesthetic, and are (usually) aggressive to find good talent. Remember, more often than not they want to get their label to a point where they can sign music from an established artist within the scene. In order to do that, they need to build a solid catalogue/reputation and that starts with signing great music…like yours!
Remember:
Know who the players are in your community
Understand where they are in the market
Do your research!
Make a spreadsheet with any and all pertinent information about the label that will help you later on
Be sure to send your music to a label that fits your sound
How Should I Deliver My Music?
Now that we’ve started to build our framework, we have a clear delineation of who the players are in our community. The next step is preparing your music to be showcased. This oftentimes can be a little tricky because different labels have different requirements for demos.
For example, some like direct emails, others use platforms like Label Radar to streamline the submission process.
How to prepare your music
Whenever I share my music with a label I want to show them the most true-to-life sound that I possibly can. As a bedroom producer, you have the ability to make sure that what you send to a label makes the best first impression. It’s not like you have to do test screenings for movie producers/studios or send in drafts to an editor.
You can actually create as close to a finished product as possible! What does this mean exactly? It means that you’ll want to send a fully mixed and mastered version of your track to the label.
Why is mastering your track important? Won’t the label just end up mastering my music for me? I’ll answer that by sharing an excerpt from our example email (which you can download below). I will typically say verbatim:
“These tracks have gone through a rough home mastering process for showcase purposes. If you would like to move forward with it let me know and I’d be happy to send over the unprocessed copies.”
Most labels will want unmastered versions of the tracks they sign so that either someone at the label or a mastering engineer can take care of that job.
This helps add to the overall sound of the label over time. It is important to send and tell them that you’ve done even a rough master so they know that what they are hearing is as close to what it would sound like in a club or event. Take the guesswork out of their experience and show them what your music sounds like. Again, you’ve spent countless hours on this project, why deliver something that doesn’t truly represent what you were intending?
You’ll also want to make sure that your metadata is all correct. What this means is that you’ll want to ensure that your artist name, the name of the track, etc is all imprinted within the file. This in the event you end up sending a zipped file of your tracks/EP/LP.
Be sure to send .wav files of your music. Do not, I repeat, do not send .mp3’s of your music. Even though your music will end up in .mp3 format, remember to look back at number 1 in this section. Always deliver your best product!
Remember earlier when we were talking about doing your research into the labels? Part of that research includes the following:
Do they even accept demos?
Do they accept demos through email?
Do they have a demo submission page on their website?
What are their guidelines for submitting demos?
What email are you to send your demos to?
What file format do they prefer?
Do they want Soundcloud links?
Do they want file transfers?
If you look around enough you’ll find that the answers to these questions all depend on the label. Labels will put guidelines like these out so they can receive demo submissions in a way that will help them get through everything as efficiently as possible.
It is very important to follow these guidelines! Remember, you are most likely reaching out to these people for the first time. Why not start by making a good first impression?
I usually like it when they have an email address because that way I can utilize this entire process. It’s more personal and I get to really “sell” myself along with the music.
What Do I Say in My Email?
If you’ve ever read an article from label owners you will most likely hear the same thing, “we hate receiving mass, spam demo emails!” This is one of the biggest pet peeves of label owners or A&R executives.
It never fails though, people will still send out mass messages to multiple labels at a time. It’s cold, has no soul, and frankly is quite disrespectful to the label. Again, we are not only trying to get our music out to the world but we are trying to build quality connections in the industry.
So, how do we do this? It all comes down to taking the time to craft a genuine email. Show these folks that you A) want to work with them B) that you are a fan of their label, and C) the knowledge you have about their releases.
Remember, the people operating the majority of labels out there are just people who have invested in a passion project.
By and large they aren’t in it for the money, they are in it to push a specific sound forward. Show them you know what the hell you are talking about!
As mentioned previously, I personally like it when there is an email address to send a demo to. This way I can send a carefully worded message along with the music. Below is the draft that you can work from every time you submit to a label.
FREE Demo Submission Email Template
Subject: Demo Submission for ___ (Name of Label)
Hey __ (Name of Label) Crew,
I hope you are doing well! My name is __ and I am a DJ/producer currently living in __. First off, congrats on (name a recent release or milestone they’ve accomplished. This shows you’ve been paying attention). Everything sounds really nice on it.
I’m writing today to share some unsigned tracks for consideration of release on the label. I’ve been a big fan of __ (Name of Label) for some time now and I frequently play out the __ (Name a track or two that you play and/or listen to). I also really enjoy the __ (Name another track, preferably a deeper cut from the catalog).
I know that you have gone with some more established names in the __ (Name of genre/s) genre but I wanted to see if this is something you would be interested in. The __ (Name of your EP) is a collection of three grooves that __ (Describe your EP in a few words). All three tracks were born of the same elements and could be played together or separately in various styles of sets.
LINK TO YOUR TRACKS – SOUNDCLOUD PRIVATE LINK – FOLDER, ETC
These tracks have gone through a rough home mastering process for showcase purposes. If you would like to move forward with it let me know and I’d be happy to send over the unprocessed copies.
I haven’t sent these tracks to anyone else as I wanted to share them with you first. Given your catalog and the style of music you put out I thought they might have a good home here. It would be an honor to release on __(Name of Label) and help the sound move forward. If you aren’t interested in the tracks then no hard feelings at all. I will continue with my support for the label and the sound that you are pushing!
I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Best,
Your Name
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