One thing to remember when submitting demos to a Record Label

 

There was an article posted on Beatport’s news section a few years ago that was shared fairly widely across social media on ‘What you need to know to get signed by Size, Axtone, Spinnin’, Big Beat etc.’. The reason it was such a hot topic was that it offered REAL advice directly from the A&R/Label bosses on what aspiring producers/artists should do to get their demos heard and signed. Unfortunately since Beatport moved over to their new layout last year, they have since canned the ‘News’ section and said article can no longer be found. Now as great as this article was, it more than likely wasn’t going to get any South African producer signed to any of those big name labels, so the point of this piece is to bring it closer to home and offer advice from local A&Rs (For those of you who don’t know, A&R stands for Artist & Repertoire, these are the individuals in a label who sign records and artists).

Having been on both sides of the wall as a producer and as an A&R, there are probably 100 things I could put in this article on what you should remember when submitting your music, for instance make sure it isn’t shit (i.e. don’t take your mother’s praise, go and ask someone who knows what they’re talking about), approach an appropriate label (i.e. don’t send your 8 minute long instrumental techno track to a Major label), make it personal (i.e. don’t CC or BCC every A&R you can find and hope one of them bites) and the list goes on.

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The initial article I had in mind for this topic was to highlight what each A&R I reached out to felt was most important and to compile a list. Ironically it turned out that we all had the same feeling. The most important thing to remember when submitting your demos to a label is to make it easily accessible.

“Soundcloud links are best, there’s no need to waste time downloading and we can stream them at a click of a button.”

 

Allan Nicoll a.k.a. Kid Fonque

Owner – Stay True Sounds

“Our focus isn’t necessarily on receiving demos but rather developing our own artists we find. When we do receive promos, making them easy to listen to is key. Soundcloud links are best, there’s no need to waste time downloading and we can stream them at a click of a button. 90% of the music we have signed/licensed has been from professional emails/inboxes with a link to listen on Soundcloud.”

To send demos to Stay True Sounds, you can inbox them via their Soundcloud page.

Follow their page on Facebook.

“Get to the point. No one wants to read a life story, but I do want to know who has supported your music, who you’ve released with, international support etc.”

Kevin Grenfell

Head of A&R – Universal Music South Africa

“I get a lot of emails everyday, and between responding to them or running in and out of meetings, there’s no time to be going through a 3 page long biography or motivational letter as to why we should sign you, the music will speak for itself. If I like what I hear, I will definitely reach out to you and ask for more information, so rather get to the point as quickly as possible. Streamable links are always better, if I’m required to download something, I am already put off before even listening. If there is any key information that I should know, put that first with your link and don’t send me your entire catalog, rather captivate me with your best work and if we feel there is something there, we’ll ask for more material.”

To submit demos to Universal Music South Africa send an email to za_demos@umusic.com.

Here are some additional tips from my side :

1. Make sure the demos you’re sending are the best they can be, you only get to make a first impression once.
2. DO NOT attach your demos to your email. We have limited inbox storage space and prefer it not to be wasted on unnecessary attachments.
3. Despite popular belief, we do manage to keep ourselves busy, so allow some time for the label managers/A&Rs to get to your mails. It could take 24 hours or it could take a week. Be polite if you feel it necessary to follow up after a few days.
4. Send your email directly to the person you intend to. I was once CC’d on an email to another major label whereby we were both being addressed and basically put ‘head-to-head’ to respond as to who was interested, needless to say I was immediately put off and will more than likely never open another email from them.

If you’d like me to listen to your demos, please leave them in the comments section below or alternatively in the comments section on Facebook.