SENDING YOUR MUSIC TO AN A&R/MUSIC LABEL

By now if you have been following the steps from the previous articles, you have a pretty stable foundation for beginning your music career. You have an independent distribution channel where you are releasing your music, and possibly a few connections with industry personnel. (most likely through different shows, showcases and maybe even the music publishing avenue I spoke about in my last article) Now you’re wondering how to take the next step and get your music heard by the major labels and A&Rs. Sending music out to A&Rs and label representatives can be intimidating, because you never know what to expect. Are you sending it to the right person? How will they react? Will they react or give you feedback at all? How do you introduce yourself? What do you put in your initial message? What is the correct way to send your song submissions? How many songs should you send? There are a litany of questions that are undoubtably going through your mind as you prepare to send your music to different labels with the hopes of something great happening. With that being said, rather than sending out a bunch of unsolicited emails (which most likely will not net you an answer, response or even be opened at all) there are a few different ways to submit your music to labels, A&Rs and managers, as well as get noticed and on the radar of these same people.

Music blogs still stand on top of the leaderboard as places to discover new artists and gain credibility in the industry. Getting your first few publications on blogs like Dancing Astronaut, YourEDM, Nest HQ, EARMILK, and Run The Trap can help gain significant traction amongst producers and fans, these blogs can get traffic of up to 1 million visitors per month, but what is the best way to actually get a hold of the blogger? The best way is to go for the personal interaction with the bloggers, as your chances to have your music considered are much higher this way. You first need to identify which writers would cover your type of music, which can be done by googling other reference artists and where they have been covered. Let’s say your track is stylistically comparable to Lil Uzi, by searching “Lil Uzi review,” a list of numerous blogs that have covered his music through the years will appear. Another avenue is, Hype Machine, which is a website that ranks new and upcoming tracks based on a few things. The first metric is how many blogs write about that specific track. They also look at how many likes the track has and the blog’s follower base. Many industry professionals, labels, and A&Rs look at which tracks are popular to understand what’s trending and who the next rising star will be. This means that if you’re trying to get discovered, you may want to aim to get your track posted on Hype Machine, because this website actually shows you exactly which blogs you should be reaching out to. In fact, Hype Machine is “la crème de la crème” of music blogs. This is because, each track on this site includes a list of all the blogs that have mentioned the track and posted the track. The best part is, these blogs are carefully handpicked by the staff, and they firmly decline any sites that have commercial interests. So you can rest assured that all the blogs on this site are legit, meaning the only thing you have to worry about is figuring out which blogs would be the best to reach out too.

Big playlist curators and the main blogs who own a major playlist on Spotify all have submission forms where you can submit your music. To find these submission forms, you need to do some digging around, especially on Instagram. It’s commonplace now for artists to shout out curators for including their new tracks on Spotify playlists. By following big electronic music artists, you often come across one particular name: Austin Kramer, former programmer for SiriusXM’s BPM, Electric Area, and Tiesto’s Club life, who is now Spotify’s dance music curator. He manages all the biggest electronic music playlists. To efficiently manage all these playlists weekly, he created “mint.” This stands for “multi-directional incubation tool.” This means there is a meritocracy to how your music climbs to make it to the top. If your music is good enough, you’ll be placed in one of the smaller playlists to begin with, and after few more quality releases, you’ll start making your way into the more followed ones. Tracking down the curators might increase the chances of them listening to your track, as this is a more personal approach. However, the process of finding them and engaging in a conversation is a little tricky and requires some detective work. First, you need to identify which playlists are hot right now and include the artists that are most similar to your style.

Signing a track to Spinnin’ Records, OWSLA, and Monstercat is what all producers dream of. They’re also the hardest places to get released on, and their standards are very high. These labels operate as businesses and make moves based on what will generate the most revenue. Therefore, they only sign artists that fit their brand, produce amazing music, have a big fan base, and hold marketing power. When your music is amazing and you’ve had a good number of quality releases on other reputable labels, the chances are, they will contact you directly. They’re always on the hunt for new talent, but to first be considered for their talent pool, you need to have a lot of quality releases behind you. So how do you approach these labels to release your next track? You submit your track using three options: find their general submission email, a submission form, or contact their A&R (which we will talk about in the next section). Most labels have A&Rs (Artist & Repertoire) working for them. These are the ones who go through the demo submissions and deal with artists directly. Fortunately, with the amount of information available at our fingertips on the web and social media, it’s pretty easy to discover who these people are. The most straightforward way to get started is looking on Google, and simply type “label name + A&R.” It’s very important that you trace these emails back to the original source to understand who the right person to contact is. Don’t email all of them as it’s not professional. The trick to set yourself apart from the other producers who are trying to get in contact with them is to interact with them constantly. Share your thoughts when they publish something on Twitter or Instagram, genuinely show interest in what they do and the music they share. Give them something of value like ideas, new interesting articles about trends in the music industry, or the latest Spotify updates. Sometimes they even reach out to their followers to ask for help in discovering new talent but avoid sending them your own music in those cases. After you fostered this relationship and friendship, they will naturally become more interested in learning more about you and your music.

YouTube Channels still play a key role to music producers, as the platform can reach millions of people and new potential fans. YouTube gets over 30 million visitors per day, and almost 5 billion videos are watched every single day. The people who own big YouTube channels have the same power as Spotify curator or labels when it comes to making an artist popular. Just look at some of the numbers on these famous YouTube Music Channels:

1. NCS (13M subscribers)

2. Trap City (8.6M subscribers)

3. Mr. Suicide Sheep (7.6M subscribers)

4. UKF Dubstep (6.1M subscribers)

5. Proximity (5.3M subscribers)

6. The Sound You Need (4.2M subscribers)

7. Majestic Casual (3.6M subscribers)

8. CloudKid (1.6M subscribers)

Don’t let these numbers scare you though, submitting music to them is easier than you think. Most of the time their contacts are hiding in plain sight. Proximity for example, has a link that redirects you to a demo submission page through Toneden on the about tab on their YouTube channel. However, if you want to dig deeper, under “Details,” “For business inquiries,” there’s a hidden email address of the page’s owner. This is the most underrated method to submit music, but it’s one of the most effective.

If you think your calling when it comes to producing is composing music for movies, ads, radio, video games, and websites, then music libraries should be your go-to. Music Libraries are catalogs of music available for professionals in need of legal, cleared music to license. Whenever you hear background music in movies, commercials, or even video games, chances are that they have been picked from a stock library. These are not tracks released on labels that you could hear on the radio or Spotify. They are custom made based on what the library requested of that artist. If you want to apply to sell your music on these libraries, you need to have an extensive resume of quality music. You also need to have a private folder of custom music to show them how versatile you can be. And it’s a plus if you released on any labels. You may actually want to consider this since music libraries are one of the best revenue stream options for musicians and producers, as licensing tracks can generate quite a lot of money. Before you start applying, it’s very important that you take your time to research which libraries are reputable and could be a good fit for you.

Here’s some of them:

1. Pond5

2. Musicbed

3. Artlist

4. PremiumBeat

5. Music Vine

6. Marmoset

7. AudioJungle

Information on how to sell your media on these websites is usually at the bottom of the homepage, so don’t be afraid to reach out to them through email.

Nowadays, most labels and famous artists have their own radio show/podcast, available on SoundCloud, iTunes and other podcast friendly websites. This is a place for artists to showcase other artists of the label and support music from other talented producers in the industry. Most of them also have a designated “demo day track,” which they pick from the many submissions they receive every week! Many producers have used this road to reach a bigger audience with their music, and sometimes they also secured a release with that same record label afterward. Shows like Hardwell’s “Hardwell On Air,” Don Diablo’s “Hexagon Radio,” and Noisia’s “Noisia Radio,” all play a demo track during the show. Most of the time, emails to submit your tracks are on the SoundCloud profile, or they shout them out during the show. Building relationships and networking in the music industry is always helpful. Get out and connect with people, regardless of their status. Try to meet other artists, producers, DJ’s, publicists, booking agents, label staff, fans, and anyone else in the music industry. These connections could lead to opportunities.

With those and the variety of other ways of getting your music noticed by the public, it all comes down to being able to separate yourself from the crowd in terms of your music and yourself as an artist. Thousands of songs are released daily, by both new and established artists. Having something that sounds like everything else may garner some attention (obtaining placements on a few blogs and playlists simply because your sound is cohesive with the rest of the playlist) but it will not gain you the overall attention you are looking for in regard to labels and A&Rs. So, what happens if you have a few placements on these blogs and/or playlists? What is the next step in the process of getting your music heard by the labels and A&Rs you want to get signed and/or work with?

Do you have finished tracks and want to send a demo to record labels? Signing your music with an established record label is the best way to reach a global audience. But how do you get a record label to listen to your demo, and how do you persuade them to release it? Preparing your demo for submission is an essential first step. Before you send a demo to a record label, ensure your music is sounding the best it possibly can. Don’t waste an A&R manager’s time with unfinished or poor quality tracks. Make sure your tracks are finished, mixed down, and either mastered or ready for mastering. Send your best work. So how do you know if your tracks are ready for release? The short answer is, ask for feedback. Seek feedback from people whose opinion you value such as another music producer with experience. Moreover, be cautious about asking close friends and relatives. They may not provide hard criticism because of their close connection to you. Furthermore, ensure you’re exporting your tracks in the correct format and tagging them properly. Most labels prefer links to stream demos over downloading them. Make sure the exported tracks meet the requirements of your preferred streaming service, or find out what file format a label prefers and use a service like Dropbox to send a download link. Labels often prefer MP3 files over other formats because of the smaller file size. Also, give your tracks clear file names and ID3 tags. For example, Artist Name, Track Title, and contact information such as an email address. Lastly, DO NOT send demos with copyrighted material unless it’s cleared for use. Labels will reject tracks that could land them in legal trouble. Moreover, avoid sending remixes and mashups, labels want original work and not to worry about copyright issues.

Many record labels specialize in a specific genre and style. It’s essential that you research a label before sending them your demo, make sure your music aligns with the music they release. It makes zero sense sending a future house track to a techno label. Moreover, check out the other artists signed to the label you’re researching. Does your style of music sound similar to theirs? Research artists that produce the same style of music as you and find what labels work with them. Lastly, compile a list of the labels you want to release with the most. Familiarize yourself with those labels, look for their website, SoundCloud, Facebook Page, Twitter account, and other channels. Find names and contact information such as the A&R manager’s email address, and locate their demo policy. The more you know about the label, the better. The information you collect will help you personalize your message during the submission process, and will help you reach the right people.

Once you have your list of labels, locate and carefully read their demo policies. Most labels have a demo policy displayed on their website. A demo policy outlines a set of guidelines they require for demo submissions. Some also offer advice. Demo policies often include information about:

1. Unsolicited demo submissions: Many labels reject unsolicited material for legal reasons.

2. Copyrighted music: Most labels ask for original full-length tracks. They often reject remixes, mashups, short previews, unfinished tracks, and anything with copyrighted material.

3. Acceptable demo formats: For example, private SoundCloud or Dropbox links, MP3 or WAV attachments, CD, thumb drives, etc.

4. Mastering and mixdown preferences: Some labels even ask for specifics like a mixed down track with -6db of headroom.

5. Email format and artist details: For example, a label may request the basics such as artist name, track names, and contact info. However, other labels may prefer an EPK (Electronic Press Kit), a bio, music career achievements, photos, or other artist details.

6. Contact instructions: These could include email or submission form guidelines and other contact information.

7. Follow up explanations: Many labels make it clear that they will contact you if your music is accepted. Others may give follow up instructions.

8. Additional info: Some labels explain how many demos they receive and the hardships of listening to every one. They may also offer insight into how they handle demos.

The easier you make it for someone to access and listen to your music the better. Avoid attaching your tracks to emails unless the label prefers it. Emails with attachments are often deleted for security purposes or end up in the Spam folder. Also, files can take long to download, clog inboxes, and can seem suspicious. Record labels can receive dozens or even hundreds of demo submissions a day. Personalizing your message is vital to stand out from the crowd. Like any emails, the golden rule is to keep them simple, concise, straight-to-the-point, and polite. For example, briefly introduce yourself, say something about your track(s) and why they are a good fit for the label. Below are some best practices:

Do’s

1. Crafting an enticing subject line that will persuade someone to open your email

2. Mentioning what city or country your from or currently living in

3. Listing some well-known artists you’ve collaborated with or supported

4. Listing a few gigs you performed at if they are well-known venues, clubs, or festivals

5. Mentioning other tracks or artists you like from the label

6. Asking for feedback

Don’ts

1. Listing artists you think you sound like

2. Giving your music a specific genre

3. Listing links too demos with lots of plays. Labels want exclusive music that is not public.

4. Overselling yourself, adding spammy details or being unrealistic

5. Adding too many links

6. Including a long bio

7. Inappropriate language

Lastly, avoid sending mass mailings to multiple labels. This approach is not effective and often rejected. A&R managers are keen to spot lazy attempts using marketing software and unsolicited emails. It’s always best to put in the effort and personalize your email to the specific record label. The waiting game starts once you send your demo to a label. It takes some patience before knowing your tracks fate. It also takes time to go through demos, especially for labels that receive hundreds a day. Moreover, it could take several weeks before getting a reply. If the label has a demo follow-up policy, make sure you stick to that. If not, it’s safe to send a follow-up email after a couple of weeks. Send a short, polite email asking if they received your demo and had a chance to listen to it. The hard truth is, you will get a reply if they find your demo is a good fit the label. Otherwise, you should not expect a response. Don’t despair if a label rejects your demo. Perhaps the rejection has nothing to do with your track’s quality, but rather it doesn’t fit with the label’s sound. Take it as a learning experience and continue improving your music. Accepting rejection and learning what works and what doesn’t helps you grow as an artist. Send a polite email thanking them for taking the time to check out your music. Also, ask for feedback, advice, and suggestions of other labels that may like your music. Don’t scratch a label off your list if they reject your demo. You can always send another demo to labels that have rejected you in the past. Below are some top Dos and Don’ts to help with demo submissions. (corresponding with the list above) Before you send a demo to a record label, check out these tips:

DON’T

1. Send bulk emails to multiple record label contacts

2. Send a demo through social media messages

3. Tell the A&R that your demo is a work in progress

4. Send unfinished tracks, remixes, or mashups

5. Send tracks with copyrighted material

6. Attach MP3, WAV or other files to emails unless it’s preferred

7. Send more than three tracks at once

8. Write long or spammy emails

9. Stalk record label staff if they take long to reply

10. Get discouraged if your demo is rejected

DO

1. Research record labels

2. Follow a record labels demo policy

3. Communicate on the label’s official channels

4. Personalize your demo submission message

5. Send private SoundCloud links with the downloads feature enabled

6. Detail your success in a clear, simple, and concise way

7. Be polite and use appropriate language

8. Seek feedback and advice

9. Establish an online presence and branding material

10. Build relationships and network with people in the music industry

This process of submitting your music to labels, A&Rs, blogs and playlists is a patience and waiting game. Most likely it will not happen over night, and will take months, sometimes even years before you get the notice you are looking for. You have to be ready to accept anything and everything that comes your way. You will spend hours, days, weeks and months sending your music around the internet to different blogs and playlists before getting as much as a single song picked up by one publication. The game is even that more difficult when it comes to label and A&R submission. Scouring the internet for the correct contact information for the right person (I suggest purchasing and/or downloading the A&R directory, as it has a complete up to date compiled list of every A&R at every major label) at the correct label and submitting your tracks correctly will take an extraordinary amount of time. Personally I have spent entire days searching the internet for label contact information, just to find out the email I submitted tracks to no longer was in service. I have also spoken directly (mostly through LinkedIn) to A&Rs and managers who told me where to submit tracks, only to submit tracks and never hear from the representative again, even after sending a follow-up message.

Pardon the cliche, but a career in this industry (especially as an artist or producer) is a marathon not a sprint. Discounting Kevin McCall’s lyrics in a Chris Brown collaboration, “It only took a year and a half to get on,” it could take years to gain the traction and recognition you desire. Continue pushing forward through all the rejection, continue working even if no-one is noticing at the moment, because it will all come to a tipping point. Think of all the stories Kanye speaks of about all the times he got rejected as an artist before he got his chance. He was literally jumping on tables in meetings and studios rapping, being told to sit down, because he was seen as just a producer. Everyone in the industry has stories of being turned down, and overlooked. If you keep working eventually it will all work out.

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